Your first stop on your way to learning about Wild Bill Hickok should definitely be They Called Him Wild Bill, by Joseph G. Rosa. There are many writings on Hickok previous to Rosa’s book, but the benefit is that he has synthesized everything into a comprehensive, and well documented chronological biography. Rosa’s knowledge is vast, and he is the expert on all things Wild Bill, in much the same way that DeArment is for Bat Masterson or Gary Roberts is for Doc Holliday.
The qualities in Rosa’s book is that he doesn’t make assumptions, nor does he require it of the reader. He gives plausible statements for what he determines to be the most likely truth, and still leaves room for things to change were new evidence to be presented. In fact, his introduction states as much, and cites it as the reason why a second edition follow-up to the first was necessitated.
There were a lot of stories told about Wild Bill; he was a western celebrity while he was still alive, and journalists loved to tell stories about him. Unfortunately this makes for a murky quagmire when wishing to process the truth out of the swamp of lies, but Rosa handles it deftly and thoroughly. When one hears an anecdote, and due to it’s un-believability, Rosa consistently makes a fair case for both ways the conventional thought could. Regarding the claim that Hickok was made a U.S. Deputy Marshal at Fort Riley in the beginning of 1866, Rosa shows that the work he was doing would certainly fall under that title, and also shows why it could be plausible that there may be no documentation of his engagement. And, at the same time, Rosa also shows how the title may have been an exaggeration of what he was actually doing, which was classed as detective work. Almost without fail, when he reaches a conclusion, he will state that it is his belief, and not dismiss what he doesn’t believe.
The book goes, with introduction, almost exactly 350 pages, however, Rosa has written four different books on Wild Bill, and this one serves as the first volume, for all practical purposes. Together with the other three, he has done rather similarly what Lee Silva has done with Wyatt Earp; the prime difference being that Silva published one very large volume, where as Rosa did four different books. But what results in the end is complete dissecting of James Butler and all the pertinent elements of his life as a gunman. He has covered him in a standard, and very well done, biography, followed by books that break down his gunfights, examine the world he lived in, giving context to his world, and a book solely devoted to examining the stories that made Hickok a legend.
To really study Wild Bill Hickok, a person should read all four of Rosa’s books covering the man, and They Called Him Wild Bill is definitely the starting point. And if you want to know about him, but don’t need to go deeper into follow-up books then this one will set you straight.
Handy With A Gun...! 