Customer Reviews

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

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Taken as individuals, Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley were legends of "The West." Put them together and you have a form of entertainment that seems almost unfathomable to today's sensibilities.

In his day "[his celebrity] was not exceeded by anyone in the world.... Cody was one of the first performers to truly acquire superstardom," writes Larry McMurtry, author of LONESOME DOVE, one of the best examples of cowboy fiction (not to mention Pulitzer-winning), as he goes the nonfiction route in THE COLONEL AND LITTLE MISSIE.

Although not as riveting as DOVE, McMurtry does an admirable job in explaining how Cody parlayed his reputation as a scout non-pareil and Indian fighter into a lucrative form of theater, bringing that daring lifestyle to areas of the country --- and the world --- to which his exploits seemed, well, like fiction.

Over several decades Cody and his troupe put together dramatic renditions of "fights with the noble savages," as well as other exhibitions of western skills. When sharpshooter Annie Oakley joined his company, their success was all but guaranteed.

McMurtry describes Cody and Oakley mostly in glowing terms, although he does not try to make them saints; such would never do in the modern world. Instead he depicts them realistically, minor warts and all, along with the major characters in the development of Cody's wild west show. The amount of work that went into such an undertaking is truly mind-boggling, especially when the reader takes into consideration the lack of modern technology: imagine trying to organize and promote such an enterprise without the benefit of phones, faxes, or computer communications. It makes the accomplishments of Cody and his staff all the more impressive.

McMurtry seems to get a little frustrated at times, unable to find the definitive description of Cody. The author quotes John Ford, the illustrious director, who "is said to have decreed that if you have to choose between the truth and the legend, print the legend." Many writers have followed that course when writing about the wild west and its colorful characters.

Oakley gets short shrift; the first 140 pages of the book are devoted almost exclusively to Cody and his "back story," with the heroine of the story getting barely a dozen before McMurtry shifts his focus to the troupe's European tour, beginning with Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887. Indeed, many of the chapters are teasing, needing further elucidation. Unfortunately, it is seldom forthcoming; like Oakley's shotgun, McMurtry's style is a bit scattershot. He jumps from discussions about Cody's shortcomings as a businessman ("Cody was trapped by his own ambition. He couldn't afford either to quit or not to quit") to interactions between various principles like Cody, Oakley, Frank Butler (Oakley's husband), Cody's numerous partners, his wife, his mistress, et. al.; it can get a bit confusing trying to follow a timeline. Too often he employs phrases such as "it will never be known why" or cites conflicting reports, which the modern reader, accustomed to instant analyses and "final answers," might also find frustrating.

Even with all these minor annoyances, THE COLONEL AND LITTLE MISSIE offers a fascinating look at the entertainment industry in the pre-electronic age, as well as a peek into the lives of two enduring American legends of the old west.

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (RonK23@aol.com)

According to Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize winner and Western authority, Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley were the first superstars in America. And, he's probably right. Queen Victoria came out of mourning to see Cody's Wild West show; he was the central figure in more than 1700 dime novels, and his face was recognizable the world over. It was a handsome face which he used to his advantage in promotion and indulging his penchant for drink and women.

Personality wise Annie Oakley, a crack shot, was probably his polar opposite, a small, sometimes self effacing young woman from Ohio who was happily and faithfully wed to sharpshooter and businessman Frank Butler. She was brought to more recent prominence with the hit Broadway show "Annie Get Your Gun." Nonetheless, their pairing of Cody and Oakley was huge box office in the 1880s and 1890s as railroad cars carried the Wild West show into 130 cities a year.

Obviously, McMurtry has a fondness for these two iconic figures as he remembers his uncles reminiscing about seeing Buffalo Bill in person. Nonetheless, the author candidly describes both subjects of this dual biography - warts and all.

The pair toured in their show for 16 seasons; she called him Colonel and he dubbed her Missie. Evidently, the two were compatible despite the difference in personalities. He was a bit like a bull in a China shop, and frequently drunk. Annie, while ebullient on stage, was frugal and reserved in private, so modest that she even requested a female embalmer.

Necessary for their success were the services of a competent manager and press agent as the Show employed over 500 people and carried hundreds of animals with them. At one time their manager was James Bailey of Barnum and Bailey fame.

Complete with 16 pages of black and white photos "The Colonel and Little Missie" is a fascinating chronicle of American history and an unlikely partnership that brought fame and fortune to both.

- Gail Cooke

Echoing some of the other reviews - it's 'thin', disorganized and has a large Bill:Annie ratio. McMurtry's point is that, per the title, BB & AO were among the 1st superstars in America & he repeats it every other chapter or so. It reads like something that was whipped up over a weekend. The style & depth of the book are intentional on McMurtry's part but readers should be forewarned that this isn't a traditional biography.

Mc Murtry gets back to his first love --the Old West.It's obvious he has a great interest in the two people he considers the first super stars.No doubt there is a ton of stuff that has been written about the period after the Civil War,1865 and the end of the 1890's.Some of it is factual,and much is embellished.The whole country and much of the world had an appetite that was boundless for stories about the Old West.This didn't happen a lot of years after it was all over;the stories and books appeared as soon as the people started to "open the West."This thirst is still alive today as evident from Mc Murtry's novels such as Lonesome Dove,the Berrybender Narratives and other series like Longarm,The Trailsman,Lone Star and Louis L'Amour.
McMurtry tries to sort out some of the fact from fiction about Cody and Annie Oakley.What he really does is to show how important Cody was in taking the subject of the Old West and bring it to life and then bring it to people across America and Europe. Without a doubt, his was a major impact.Try as McMurtry may,he finds it fairly easy to sort out Cody;but he ends up showing that Annie was a much more secretive person.
\I found the book a great read and gave a good insight into the origin of the Wild West Shows,though Cody never considered his productions just a show.It is good to remember that McMurtry is first of all a storyteller and observer of historical life;and not a detective.He makes a good effort in showing how all the people got along with one another.I think the one thing that really comes through in this book is that all these characters are real flesh and blood people despite all the exaggerations and legends.
McMurtry includes a list of 41 Western Heros, Heroines and Villians and how long they lasted.What this list does is remind us that these people did not live that long ago;in fact many continued to live into the 1910's,20's,30's, 40's, and 1950.
One thing about McMurtry is how much his books differ;and this one is certainly different from anything else he has done.
Don't overlook the Bibliography of excellent books about Cody,Annie Oakley, Wild West Shows as well as some other good western resources.

I like Buffalo Bill. Among my treasured possessions is an 1898 "Wild West Show" programme, and a cabinet card of his photograph. I am still hoping to get an actual autograph but that's another story.

This is the first biography of Buffalo Bill to be published in many years, unless one counts the beautiful pictorial by R. L. Wilson, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show", which essentially was more of a catalog of Wild West show items than a full-length Cody biography. The gifted McMurtry of "Lonesome Dove" and "Buffalo Gals" fame (one of his books provided the name for one of my favorite bands - "Desert Rose")has not only given us a new biography of Buffalo Bill but sensibly combined it with one of Annie Oakley as well.

For the most part, McMurtry's skills as a captivating, gripping, novelist works well here. The chapter on Bill's efforts to try and save his good friend Sitting Bull at the time of the Ghost Dance Uprising is an extremely dramatic one, even though readers familiar with the subject know what the dreadful end will be. He also provides an balanced, easy to follow narrative on the Indian Wars, and what made the Wild West Shows so extremely popular (of course centered around the personalities of the "Colonel", the Little Queen, and the Cowboys and Indians who joined them)

Buffalo Bill Cody is also presented as the larger-than-life persona he was - warts and all. Hard drinking, womanizer, frontier hero and valiant scout...and failed businessman at the end.

Ironically though, it is McMurtry's consummate skills as a novelist that is my only problem with his fine work. This technique can sometimes be just as distracting as it is meant to captivate the audience. For example, are his meandering into non-sensible quotes by Ned Rorem, and taking novelist's liberties with this dual biography. Another novelist, Michael Korda, sensibly avoided this, though barely with his concise biography of U.S. Grant - perhaps McMurtry should have been more concise, stayed on the historical track, but maintained his rich, high quality writing in that sense. He cannot nor should be faulted for giving us a fine work on a great man - or for his open admiration for both Bill and Annie.

After just completing 1776 by David McCullough, and being mezmerized by his excellent story telling, I was anxious to read this non-fiction account of Bill Cody and Annie Oakley by Larry McMurtry. You see, early in the last century, my grandfather worked as an itinerant worker and gunsmith for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show as well as the 101 Ranch. A lifetime of his stories made me anxious to read this book, especially as it was written by one of my favorite authors with a gift for all things western. I found the style disconnected, confusing and not up to Mr. McMurtry's normal quality. He's a great fiction writer, and I suppose everyone is entitled to an occasional disappointment.

It was with interest and curiosity that I sat down to read this book only to discover it was not what I expected, yet once I deciphered the overriding thesis and purpose, I found it to be an enjoyable, and somewhat casual read. Without trying to write a biography or even a precise chronological historical narrative, McMurtry has created a book providing insights into one of the first great entertainment industries of our country. The book reads well in typical McMurtry fashion and captivates the time period, drawing the reader into the world of the Wild West and the myths surrounding it.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the shows, the people, the complexity of the marketing systems, and mostly Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. As McMurtry continually reminds us, truth in history is rarely as exciting as creative fabrication of the same events. And Buffalo Bill certainly knew how to make those events serve the greater entertainment purpose--to make money! The book also serves as a reminder that most of what we experience now--movies, shows, concerts, even sports events--had a beginning and that beginning was not always easy. Today we benefit and reap what began long ago as Buffalo Bill began the frontier of entertainment and exploitation of the Cowboy myth.

But as I was reading I felt confused by the events, the stories, and the asides that tried to describe the actual people. I think the book could have been reorganized and been a tighter more meaningful and pointed look at the industry. I also felt a little disappointed in the lack of thorough descriptions of the places where the shows took place, wanting to know more about the territory that existed prior to the event. As the book concluded, I felt more knowledgeable about Buffalo Bill but less so about Annie Oakley since she was not given as much time.

This was an excellent book that could have been better with more thought put into its organization. I still enjoyed it and have great respect for its premise of demonstrating the rise of the entertainment industry through the Wild West Show. Smooth writing, excellent scholarship, and mostly funny stories abound, making this a fine addition to the literature on Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley.

Being a complete sucker for his western fiction, I was surprised at how slim a book this is. There a more than a few good stories to tell about Americas' first media star, but the chapters are so short, McMurtry never gets any momentum going.
It's surprising too that while the book is supposed to be about the two title characters, Cody gets the lions share of attention, while Annie Oakley gets only a handful of chapters.

If you are a fan of the old west or not, this book will entertain you and make you one. I now know more about buffalow bill and annie oakley along with a deeper understanding of that last period of the wild west and the characters that made it such a wonderful exciting time in america.

The author cites the rise of these two as the first superstars of American culture. This may be true, but in this thin somewhat interesting book, we find out that they weren't exactly what they portrayed themselves to be. Buffalo Bill Cody was certainly a good horse rider and hunter, but his feat of arms may not have been all that much. He killed Indians, but how many is not known. He may have killed one white man. Annie was not a Westerner, but a native of Ohio, and lived a frugal existence. Bill died broke after making millions while Annie enjoyed a comfortable life in retirement.

This book repeats the same facts endlessly, so there is not a lot of meat in this book. I learned something about Buffalo Bill and the start of the show, and I learned about the reserved Annie. This is an OK average read about the start of the legend of the Wild West.