The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok [Paperback]

Richard Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

A fictional account of the life of James Butler Hickok recreates the events that caused the gunfighter and U.S. Marshal to turn violent and the exploits that transformed him into a legend of the Western frontier.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Matheson excels at the depiction of one man alone, locked in a desperate struggle against a force or forces greater than himself.”
--Stephen King

“His stories not only entertain, they touch the mind and heart.”
--Dean Koontz

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Richard Matheson won the Spur Award for his previous western novel, Journal of the Gun Years.  He has also won the Edgar Award, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Writers Guild Award.  He lives in Calabasas, California.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Jove (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515117803
• ISBN-13: 978-0515117806
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,474,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Matheson was born in 1926. He began publishing SF with his short story 'Born of Man and Woman' in 1950. I Am Legend was published in 1954 and subsequently filmed as The Omega Man (in 1971), starring Charlton Heston, and I Am Legend (in 2007), starring Will Smith. Matheson wrote the script for the film The Incredible Shrinking Man, an adaptation of his second SF novel The Shrinking Man. The film won a Hugo award in 1958. He wrote many screenplays as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone. He continued to write short stories and novels, some of which formed the basis for film scripts, including Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1971. A film of his novel What Dreams May Come was released in 1998, starring Robin Williams. Stephen King has cited Richard Matheson as a creative influence on his work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild Bill Hickok Reimagined, August 31, 2009

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a great read! Richard Matheson, the author, is an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy writer (one of the three main writers for the TV series "The Twilight Zone" as well as author of well reputed sci-fi publications and TV and movie scripts [Remember the episode with the gremlin trying to destroy the wing of an airplane?] Do you know that he was the one who wrote the TV thriller "Duel"?). This is a reimagining of the life of Wild Bill Hickok. It is by turn hilarious (Hickok is depicted as a klutz, as someone who gets stomach aches and throws up before and after armed combat, as, in essence a coward) and lugubrious (there is a somberness to the work).

Hickok, apparently, is a fellow Illinoisian like me. The book imagines his father as abusive. The story is configured as "Wild Bill's" memoirs. Note: His given name was James Butler Hickok. It was only later when a woman, caught up in excitement, referred to him as "Wild Bill" that he picked up his nom de guerre. The "memoir" traces his career from teenager (with his father, early on, teaching him to shoot without much discernible success) to stage and wagon driver to Civil War soldier (imagined as a sharp shooter, taking shots at people as--essentially--a sniper), back to hardscrabble work, then to lawman.

As a lawman, he comes to the attention of journalists who create a fabricated picture of him. As "Wild Bill," he becomes a hero of the Old West. In reality, he is nothing of the sort. His life is fairly miserable. He is drunk much of the time because he fears facing down "bad guys." He hates the phony record of his life. He cannot find the long-term romance that he rather wants. His stomach churns under pressure (there is a lot of throwing up in this book!).

Especially poignant is his meeting with another "famous" gun fighter, where they obviously share a great deal in common. He does find love later in life but does not deal with it well.

Then, Deadwood. . . .

A bracing novel, couched as a memoir. In turn hilarious and lugubrious. . . . Matheson scores with this novel.

5.0 out of 5 stars Matheson...need I say more, December 19, 2010

By 

NEOPROG RAN (EL PASO TX) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok (Mass Market Paperback)

Richard Matheson is my favorite author. This book is just one of many that he has written that is both captivating and creative. He has written books of many different genres. His westerns are great. I never thought I would like a western book.