Buffalo Bill's Life Story: An Autobiography

From his words, it seems like Buffalo Bill never missed a shot, and maybe he didn't. His autobiography was exciting at times, but left out most of my interests. It would have been nice to read an explanation for the war against Native Americans, but that apparently wasn't important to a man of his time-period.

I am not an American, but am nevertheless fascinated by this period in their history. It was a boiling pot of adventure and violence. This is one of those rare occasions in history where many factors came together to create the perfect environment for extreme heroism and evil to flourish.<br /><br />I had no idea who Buffalo Bill was when I started this book, but the name sounded familiar so I gave it a go.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><br />1. Many adventure stories. Young boys and men will love it.<br />I especially enjoyed the one where Bill and a friend had their own wagon and two oxen when they met with calamity. What a story! I would read a whole book just on that entire experience.<br />2. A glimpse into the Pony Express.<br />3. Adventures concerning cross-country wagon trains.<br />There's an excellent story about three men who were separated from the rest who were attacked by a band of Indians and their ingenuity in getting out of the fix. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="31d563e3-97f5-4856-b631-4c7338e4c20e" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="31d563e3-97f5-4856-b631-4c7338e4c20e"> They shot their horses, dragged them into a triangle, sat inside and used them as cover. Amazing. </label><br />4. He spent time in the Scouts and acted as a spy once (for the confederates, in the union army).<br />5. It is explained where he got his title "Buffalo Bill" from, later in the book. There was a competition. It was entertaining. <br />6. it is also explained how he got into showbiz.<br /><br /><b>Cons: </b><br />1. A lot of animals were killed. When Bill shot his mule for running away from him, my estimation of his character took a dive.<br />2. When people love the spotlight I tend to not want to shine it on them. Bill liked his fame.<br />3. One feels bad for the Indians.<br />4. One suspects embellishments.<br /><br />I'm glad I read this. I just wish that I could retain all the information, since there are some wonderful stories. Definitely recommend to those who love real-life adventure. <br /><br /><br /><br />A note on the audiobook:<br />The Librivox recording I listened to was jarring. Each chapter was read by a different person and some chapters were read by people whose native language is not English, which is fine, but it does takes you out of the book. If you are going to listen to it, try to find a version where the whole thing is read by one person.

What the author says in the Foreword is enough of a forewarning why his life and deeds are less than admirable to at least this reader. Why did he kill 4280 buffalo in 18 months? That is a lot of meat for the railroad workers: 237 per month or almost 8 per day. The natives are included 185 times in this autobiography so there was a greater concern with them. I did not care to get to the details nor about his second career in circus shows.<br /><br />E.E. Cummings put it far better in one of his best poems:<br /><br />Buffalo Bill ’s<br />defunct<br /> who used to<br /> ride a watersmooth-silver<br /> stallion<br />and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat<br /> Jesus<br /><br />he was a handsome man <br /> and what i want to know is<br />how do you like your blue-eyed boy<br />Mister Death

This is a fantastical read, which makes me take nearly everything Col Cody says with a big pinch of salt. Still, for the larger than life figure Buffalo Bill has become, it is fitting that his autobiography is a tall tale.<br /><br />About 15 chapters in and I had to give up. This tales are the same, he rolls into a town, is almost attacked by bandits/Native Americans/Confederates and not only manages to heroically save himself, he saves a few damsels that happen to be in distress. All at the age of 10. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Mmmmmm it was well written, but I learned I don't like Buffalo Bill, the author and main character of the book

This is the ninth book of my American history series. I finished Mark Twain's book Roughing It and it not only whet my appetite for some more Wild West material but I was also looking for a book to take me into the 1900s. William Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, lived from 1846-1917. As a young boy my grandmother gave me old copies of a series of biographies she had. They included "Wild Bill" Hickcok, Kit Carson, Chief Black Hawk, and Buffalo Bill. From reading those stories at a young age I've always been interested in the heroes of the Wild West. (I accept that the term "hero" is problematic but I am merely writing casual reviews for my own remembrance for the most part). <br /><br />I am perhaps being generous by giving this book three stars, but giving two is simply not fair. Someday I should read a really objective, in depth, bio of Buffalo Bill because I think that Cody exaggerates some of his tales. At the very least he sees his accomplishments through rose-colored glasses. His ingrained view of the American Indian as an enemy was probably necessary for survival in his line of work as a scout and guide in the American West at that time, but I still find it jarring today even with that knowledge. <br /><br />A few things that stuck out to me from this work besides all the typical "cowboy and Indian" stories are the recollections of the Pony Express (such a fascinating bit of American history), further information on the character of Joseph Alfred Slade (who appeared in Twain's Roughing It), and Cody's theatrical show called "Scouts of the Plains" including the humorous interactions with "Wild Bill" Hickok in that arena. Unfortunately I did not bother to check that this book was published in 1879 when Cody was only 33. So it naturally did not include stories about "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" the show that followed "Scouts of the Plains." The Wild West show was something I distinctly remember reading about as a child and it played into the 20th century. Alas, I leave this book with a desire to learn even more about Buffalo Bill and to find a book to take me into the next century.<br />

Getting a Kindle has gotten me into reading much of the 19th century (it's all free, which helps pay for the Kindle). <br /><br />This one's from 1879, soon after Buffalo Bill had switched from scout and buffalo/Indian slaughterer to theater producer, but a few years before he established his Wild West show.<br /><br />Cody's an odd bird. From the off-hand way much of the book's written (and I'd presume at least partly ghost-written) I tend to think it's largely truthful (and later accounts by others back this up in most cases). An amazingly accomplished all-around-hotshot, he killed more buffalo, more effectively than probably any other "hunter"--but he gives as much credit to his horse as to himself. He admits to being so embarrassed his first time on stage that he could barely mumble a half-dozen words and vowed never to go near a theater again--yet with three years had established his own flourishing theater troupe. He seems both deeply proud of what he's accomplished in shooting, scouting for the army and of both his mental and physical prowess--yet almost seems at time to be an observer as much as a participant. He killed Indians in a completely matter-of-fact way--yet two years after Custer's massacre, when his friends were writing poems of vengeance against the Sioux, he was hiring these Indians to join in his productions and protecting them from government intervention.<br /><br />He may have had a strange ability to objectify himself. He also had a mordant sense of humor, pulling elaborate practical jokes that sometimes seemed to place himself and those around him in danger.<br /><br />An interesting side view is of the West as a 1,000-mile-wide small town, where the few white men, riding hundreds of miles, regularly meet up with "old friends" in the middle of nowhere and seem to see nothing at all strange in the encounters. <br /><br />I ended up liking Buffalo Bill quite a bit, but I don't think he's someone who's really comprehensible. Which may be true of all Great Men.

Extremely interesting first hand accounts of what it was like taming the American west. Accounts of many, many scouting trips and Indian skirmishes gets a little boring along the way. However, a good American history refresher. If you read this be sure to google and have handy a map of the American frontier that notes all of the American army forts and the major rivers. These are a helpful reference to understand exactly where things were happening. Very well written considering he only had a few years of schooling!

A fascinating look into the blustering life of one of America's great iconic western figures, and a fascinating look at the mores of his times from his perspective. I've heard it said of this autobiography that Cody exaggerated something fierce, but I didn't get that impression from his writings. Exaggeration? Sure, definitely some. But not so much that you don't feel the record is pretty close to authentic.

After reading a biography of Buffalo Bill, it's even better to read Cody's own description. Opposite of the biography, Cody talks mostly about his childhood and scouting years, describing many adventurous expeditions, and only in the last chapter mentions the Wild West Show.