Who more than Buffalo Bill symbolizes the American West? William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) personified, packaged, and perpetuated the myth of the Wild West. This lively biography documents fully the events of his extraordinary career as a buffalo hunter, army scout, freighter, and guide on the Great Plains, and as a showman on two continents. More than 150 fully captioned historic photographs—many never before published—depict Buffalo Bill from his childhood days to his reign as a superlative actor and producer whose Wild West remains unique in the annals of show business. This volume preserves the color and spectacle of a bygone era—and, best of all, shows that that the real and heroic figure rivals the invented and legendary Buffalo Bill.