The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and the Beginnings of Superstardom in America

Product Description From the early 1800s to the end of his life in 1917, Buffalo Bill Cody was as famous as anyone could be. Annie Oakley was his most celebrated protegee, the "slip of a girl" from Ohio who could (and did) outshoot anybody to become the most celebrated star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In this sweeping dual biography, Larry McMurtry explores the lives, the legends, and above all the truth about two larger-than-life American figures. With his Wild West show, Buffalo Bill helped invent the image of the West that still exists today-cowboys and Indians, rodeo, rough rides, sheriffs and outlaws, trick shooting, Stetsons, and buck-skin. The short, slight Annie Oakley-born Phoebe Ann Moses -spent sixteen years with Buffalo Bill's Wild West, where she entertained Queen Victoria, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and Kaiser Wilhelm II, among others. Beloved by all who knew her, including Hunkpapa leader, Sitting Bull, Oakley became a legend in her own right and after her death, achieved a new lease of fame in Irving Berlin's musical Annie, Get Your Gun. To each other, they were always "Missie" and "Colonel" To the rest of the world, they were cultural icons, setting the path for all that followed. Larry McMurtry-a writer who understands the West better than any other-recreates their astonishing careers and curious friendship in a fascinating history that reads like the very best of his fiction. Review "McMurtry has done his research well and presents a history that is well written, entertaining, and informative. The subtle humor and many ironies in the text are superbly read by Michael Prichard. He is understated without being flat."---AudioFile About the Author Larry McMurtry is the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Lonesome Dove.Michael Prichard has recorded well over five hundred audiobooks and was named one of SmartMoney magazine's Top Ten Golden Voices. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award and several AudioFile Earphones Awards. From AudioFile McMurtry, Western author, historian, and Texan, presents the stories of the Buffalo Bill, William F. Cody, and his most famous star, Annie Oakley. Seemingly polar opposites in temperament, they were both world-famous in their day and became icons of the Wild West, then and now. McMurtry has done his research well and presents a history that is well written, entertaining, and informative. The subtle humor and many ironies in the text are superbly read by Michael Prichard. He is understated without being flat, and his tempo has a slight staccato quality that goes well with this story. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine