Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter
Written by Tom Clavin
Narrated by Johnny Heller
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
“The first thing you will notice about this engaging and delightful biography is that [Narrator Johnny Heller] sounds like a character actor who moseyed off the set of an old-fashioned oater. His voice is a little scratchy, a little seasoned and perfectly suits this biography of larger-than-life Bill Hickok and his pals, from Calamity Jane to Buffalo Bill Cody and General Custer.” —The Berkshire Edge
This program includes a bonus interview with the author.
The definitive true story of Wild Bill, the first lawman of the Wild West, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dodge City.
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.
James Butler Hickock was known across the frontier as a soldier, Union spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. He crossed paths with General Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody, as well as Ben Thompson and other young toughs gunning for the sheriff with the quickest draw west of the Mississippi.
Wild Bill also fell in love—multiple times—before marrying the true love of his life, Agnes Lake, the impresario of a traveling circus. He would be buried however, next to fabled frontierswoman Calamity Jane.
Even before his death, Wild Bill became a legend, with fiction sometimes supplanting fact in the stories that surfaced. Once, in a bar in Nebraska, he was confronted by four men, three of whom he killed in the ensuing gunfight. A famous Harper’s Magazine article credited Hickok with slaying 10 men that day; by the 1870s, his career-long kill count was up to 100.
The legend of Wild Bill has only grown since his death in 1876, when cowardly Jack McCall famously put a bullet through the back of his head during a card game. Bestselling author Tom Clavin has sifted through years of western lore to bring Hickock fully to life in this rip-roaring, spellbinding true story.
"[Narrator Johnny Heller] ensures that Western aficionados will enjoy listening to the life of Wild Bill" — AudioFile Magazine
Tom Clavin
Tom Clavin is the author or coauthor of sixteen books. For fifteen years he wrote for The New York Times and has contributed to such magazines as Golf, Men's Journal, Parade, Reader’s Digest, and Smithsonian. He is currently the investigative features correspondent for Manhattan Magazine. He lives in Sag Harbor, New York.
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Reviews for Wild Bill
36 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5As a fellow Kansan and lover of Wild Bill (right; not a native but had a great history there) I was surprised to learn how little I really knew about him! Great historical feature.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Well told and colorful recitation of the story, always keen to separate legend and true facts. Passing mention of actual persons depicted in Deadwood TV series.
Pleasant and competent narrator.