Wild Bill Hickok Gunfighter

“James Butler Hickok, generally called ‘Wild Bill,’ epitomized the archetypal gunfighter, that half-man, half-myth that became the heir to the mystique of the duelist when that method of resolving differences waned. . . . Easy access to a gun and whiskey coupled with gambling was the cause of most gunfights--few of which bore any resemblance to the gentlemanly duel of earlier times. . . . Hickok’s gunfights were unusual in that most of them were ‘fair’ fights, not just killings resulting from rage, jealousy over a woman, or drunkenness. And, the majority of his encounters were in his role as lawman or as an individual upholding the law.”--from Wild Bill Hickok, Gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (1837–1876) was a Civil War spy and scout, Indian fighter, gambler, and peace officer. He was also one of the greatest gunfighters in the West. His peers referred to his reflexes as “phenomenal” and to his skill with a pistol as “miraculous.” In Wild Bill Hickok, Gunfighter, Joseph G. Rosa, the world’s foremost authority on Hickok, provides an informative examination of Hickok’s many gunfights. Rosa describes the types of guns used by Hickok and illustrates his use of the plains’ style of “quick draw,” as well as examining other elements of the Hickok legend. He even reconsiders the infamous “dead man’s hand” allegedly held by Hickok when he was shot to death at age thirty-nine while playing poker. Numerous photographs and drawings accompany Rosa’s down-to-earth text.

A #1 New York Times Bestselling AuthorJames Butler Hickok was known across the frontier as a soldier, Union spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. But in July 1865, "Wild Bill" Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt in Springfield, MO -- the first quick-draw duel on the frontier. Thus began the reputation that made him a marked man to every gunslinger in the Wild West. Even before his death in 1876, Wild Bill became a legend, and he is brought fully to life in this rip-roaring, spellbinding true story.

His contemporaries called him Wild Bill, and newspapermen and others made him a legend in his own time. Among western characters only General George Armstrong Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody are as readily recognized by the general public. In writing this biography, Joseph G. Rosa has expressed the hope that "Hickok emerges as a man and not a legend." For this comprehensive revision of his earlier biography of Wild Bill the author was allowed to work from newly available materials in the possession of the Hickok family. He also discovered new material pertaining to Wild Bill’s Civil War exploits and his service as a marshal and found the pardon file of his murderer, John McCall. Additional, rare photographs of Wild Bill are published here for the first time. The results of Rosa’s additional research make this second edition the best biography of Wild Bill likely to be written for years to come.

Introduces some of the gunfighting legends of the West, both criminals and law officials, and attempts to explore the realism of accounts of their feats

"James Butler Hickok, generally called 'Wild Bill, ' epitomized the archetypal gunfighter, that half-man, half-myth that became the heir to the mystique of the duelist when that method of resolving differences waned. . . . Easy access to a gun and whiskey coupled with gambling was the cause of most gunfights--few of which bore any resemblance to the gentlemanly duel of earlier times. . . . Hickok's gunfights were unusual in that most of them were 'fair' fights, not just killings resulting from rage, jealousy over a woman, or drunkenness. And, the majority of his encounters were in his role as lawman or as an individual upholding the law."--from Wild Bill Hickok, Gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (1837-1876) was a Civil War spy and scout, Indian fighter, gambler, and peace officer. He was also one of the greatest gunfighters in the West. His peers referred to his reflexes as "phenomenal" and to his skill with a pistol as "miraculous." In Wild Bill Hickok, Gunfighter, Joseph G. Rosa, the world's foremost authority on Hickok, provides an informative examination of Hickok's many gunfights. Rosa describes the types of guns used by Hickok and illustrates his use of the plains' style of "quick draw," as well as examining other elements of the Hickok legend. He even reconsiders the infamous "dead man's hand" allegedly held by Hickok when he was shot to death at age thirty-nine while playing poker. Numerous photographs and drawings accompany Rosa's down-to-earth text.

The era of the gunfighter in the Wild West began during James Butler Hickok's life. Better known as “Wild Bill”, he was the first and most famous gunfighter. He was a man without equal, who, according to the many outrageously exaggerated accounts of his escapades, killed hundreds of outlaws in valiant and bloody struggles to the death, from which he invariably emerged the victor and the hero. Hickok himself was not above adding his own embellishments to the stories about himself to any reporter who sought him out. "Wild Bill - The Story of James Butler Hickok" is about the man as well as his adventures. Hickok was much more than his image and reputation as a gunfighter. He was in reality a man of impressive character, courteous and gentlemanly, a generous and loyal friend, a fearless and dangerous foe. But behind his calm, confident presence lay an acute wariness, a sense of foreboding and paranoia. He had become the best man with a gun, a fearsome and feared killer, but Wild Bill had also made himself a target for every aspiring gunslinger with nerve enough to try to become known as the man who killed Hickok.

The Illustrated Life and Times of Wild Bill Hickok: The First Gunfighter

Eulogised and ostracised, James Butler Hickok was alternately labelled courageous, affable, and self-confident; cowardly, cold-blooded, and drunken; a fine specimen of manhood; an overdressed dandy with perfumed hair; an unequaled marksman; and a poor shot. Born in Illinois in 1837, he was shot dead in Deadwood only 39 years later. By then both famous and infamous, he was widely known as Wild Bill.