Buffalo Bill's Wild West by R. L. Wilson and Greg Martin is a panoramic, colourful celebration of Buffalo Bill Cody and recreates the life and times of this pioneer superstar with 225 colour and 160 black and white illustrations, and a sparkling and detailed narrative. This superb book examines Cody's early life, the origins and development of the Wild West shows, the troupe and their performances, and their impact on the American and European imagination. No theme in history has captured the imagination like the American West, and no presentation of this drama surpassed the original West West shows. In this unparalleled theatre the cast of characters were themselves authentic heroes: Buffalo Bill Cody, Texas Jack Omohundro, Wild Bill Hickok, Captain A. H. Bogardus, Annie Oakley, Doc Carber 'Evil Spirit of the Plains', Lillian Smith, Captain Jack Crawford 'the Poet Scout of the Plains', Sitting Bull and hordes of Indians, Pawnee Bill, and May Lillie. These pioneer stars and superstars were predecessors to the Western film and television stars of later times, and to the troupe in the contemporary extravaganza at Disneyland, Paris. Cody's shows toured extensively in the States and visited Europe several times between 1887 and 1906, recreating such key Western events as Custer's Last Stand, Indian attacks on a Wells Fargo stagecoach and buffalo hunting. R. L. Wilson and Greg Martin draw on years of research and collecting to present the full story of the Cody experience and the people involved. Cody and his contemporaries made the West come alive to millions, through their Wild West show tours of Europe and America. Lavishly illustrated and unsurpassed in its authenticity, Buffalo Bill's Wild West is a collector's item for anyone interested in the most fascinating array of all objects of Americana, and in the uniquely colourful saga of the West. This lavishly illustrated evocation of Buffalo Bill and his Wild West shows is in a special format of 222 and 282mm landscape, and weighs in at one and a half kilos. R. L. Wilson (best known as 'Larry') has written many books and articles on firearms and engraving and is a historical consultant to private collections and museums. Greg Martin is the foremost antiquarian in the field of collectors' firearms and a director of the Arms and Armour Department of the leading specialist American auctioneers Butterfield & Butterfield in San Francisco. The fact that this book is so extremely attractive was confirmed at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where a very first copy especially brought over from the United States was on display. This special, first copy of Buffalo Bill's Wild West was the only book stolen from our exhibit! Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 87 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com