The Life of Buffalo Bill

By the time this autobiography appeared in 1879, William F. Cody was already a legend of the American frontier, and here he tells his own story: the boyhood on the Kansas plains, the years as a Pony Express rider, army scout, and buffalo hunter who earned the nickname that stuck. Cody recounts skirmishes on the Plains, life among soldiers and settlers, and the hard travel of the open West, though readers should know he polished many episodes for effect. The book helped shape the myth he would later sell in his touring Wild West show. As a firsthand voice from a vanishing frontier, it stays lively and revealing. Available now as a free PDF and EPUB edition.