Buffalo Bill and the Wild West

Oxford University Press, 1955. Hard cover. Good/Very Good. William F. Cody was many things in his fantastic and colorful lifetime...but above all he was BUFFALO BILL, King of the Wild West, the greatest showman the world has ever known. This is his story. A fascinating words-and-picture biography that recaptures the turbulent times of the charming hero who created his own legend and fixed forever the image of the West in the hearts of the world. William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. became a rider for the Pony Express at age 15. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.One of the most famous and well-known figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill's legend began to spread when he was only 23. Shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and continental Europe.