The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Oklahoma Western Biographies) [Paperback]

Glenda Riley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2002 | Series: Oklahoma Western Biographies (Book 7)

With a widowed mother and six siblings, Annie Oakley first became a trapper, hunter, and sharpshooter simply to put food on the table. Yet her genius with the gun eventually led to her stardom in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The archetypal western woman, Annie Oakley urged women to take up shooting to procure food, protect themselves, and enjoy healthy exercise, yet she was also the proper Victorian lady, demurely dressed and skeptical about the value of women’s suffrage. Glenda Riley presents the first interpretive biography of the complex woman who was Annie Oakley.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Those who know of Annie Oakley largely through film and theater portrayals by Barbara Stanwyck, Ethel Merman, or Betty Hutton will find a more nuanced and complete biography of "Little Sure Shot" (as Chief Sitting Bull called her) at the hands of Riley. Author of Western studies such as A Place To Grow: Women in the American West (Harlan Davidson, 1992), the author here provides not only a biography of Oakley but also an evaluation of her legend and influence-a woman who sought economic equality and recognition for women in a male-dominated profession, but who, as a proper Victorian lady, opposed suffrage for women. Riley's is the latest and most scholarly in a long line of biographies, including Shirl Kasper's excellent study, Annie Oakley (LJ 3/15/92).
Nicholas C. Burckel, Washington Univ. Libs., St. Louis
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

To provide a factual and intimate biography of Annie Oakley, the legendary female sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, Riley attempts to place her seemingly mythical subject firmly into historical, cultural, and sociological contexts. While faithfully recounting Oakley's personal and professional chronology and impressive list of accomplishments, the author also offers an interpretive view of Annie's highly successful effort to reconcile her public image as a resourceful and athletic western woman with her private perception of herself as a genteel Victorian lady and a model wife. What emerges is a multidimensional portrait of an entertainer and a businesswoman whose enduring fame and popularity both reflected and defied the conventions of her era. Unlike many previous Oakley biographers, Riley moves well beyond the realm of folklore, producing an insightful and original account of the life, the times, and the significance of a uniquely American heroine. Margaret Flanagan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806135069
• ISBN-13: 978-0806135069
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academically Solid!, March 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Hardcover)

I've read many spurious versions of Annie Oakley's life. Now I don't have to read another, because I've seen the real story as documented by Riley. Her scholarship is outstanding, and she analyses Oakley's role as symbol of the showbiz Western myth as well as her quiet, hardworking life behind the scenes. If you like the dramatic lies, this book is not for you. If you want a portrait of Oakley as a woman and a symbol, read this.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent concise reference, April 27, 2001

By 

Flame_926 "flame_926" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Hardcover)

This was one of the sources that I used for my college term paper. Glenda Riley is concise and simple in her explanations; she does not "wander" in explaining and includes an extensive index which makes this an invaluable scholastic reference. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to quickly sort out the fact from the ficition of Annie Oakley.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Heavy on the Feminism, June 4, 2003

By 

Judith C. Kinney (Westerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Oklahoma Western Biographies) (Hardcover)

The facts in this book seem complete and accurate. We learn that Annie Oakley did not deliberately lose a shooting match to Frank Butler as she did in "Annie Get Your Gun," a product of the unfeminist fifties.

The information on the trials of Oakley's early life was especially interesting. I felt the book bogged down when the author began trying to fit Oakley into a feminist straitjacket, relating everything she did and didn't do to its connection with women's rights. I also grew tired of hearing how sweet, feminine, and ladylike Oakley was.