Advance man, press agent, and publicist extraordinaire, John M. Burke (1842 1917) was instrumental in turning William F. Cody into the iconic persona of Buffalo Bill. And with this biography, published in 1893, Burke put the finishing touches on the legend that persists to this day. This new, definitive edition includes the full text and all the photographs and line drawings of Burke s original, while providing critical background on the literary sources, historical characters, and events that figure in the work.

With a few plain truths, unadorned, Burke purported to give a frank...