Written by Tom Clavin
SUMMARY:
Released in 2019 by St. Martin’s Griffin, this 333-page softcover is a biography of “Wild” Bill Hickok. The prologue recounts Hickok’s July 1865 duel with Davis Tutt in Springfield, Missouri. The author then explores Hickok’s lineage dating back centuries before moving on to his youth and pre-Civil War adulthood. Including his friendships with “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, Hickok’s life as an Union Army scout/spy receives extensive attention, as does his growing (and self-promoted) fame as a frontier lawman/gambler.
After a tragic incident effectively ends Hickok’s career in law enforcement, readers learn more of his aborted run as a stage actor. With his health and future options dwindling, the end of Hickok’s mercurial life is explored. In addition to his alcoholism, the author examines Hickok’s only confirmed marriage and a less-than-romantic reality disproving his alleged fling with Calamity Jane. The epilogue reveals the fates of significant individuals in Hickok’s life who outlived him.
REVIEW:
To author Tom Clavin’s credit, he is rightfully skeptical re: many (but not all) of Hickok’s superhuman exploits that enthralled gullible admirers in his own lifetime. Relying upon a solid bibliography, Clavin delivers a mostly plausible account of Hickok’s controversial life. Clavin occasionally sidetracks re: peripheral participants, but he manages to resume his entertaining narrative without much strain.
The sole oddity is that some documented incidents from Hickok’s life (i.e. a saloon brawl/shoot-out vs. two members of the Seventh Cavalry) are omitted while others (i.e. various other frontier shooting and scouting incidents) are inserted. Of particular interest are glimpses of Hickok’s poorly-spelled correspondence with his family and later his wife, which reveal the frontier legend’s intriguingly sentimental side.
Yet, Clavin’s best segment discusses Hickok’s premonition of his own imminent death in August 1876. Evidently sensing days and likely weeks before that some unknown threat would finally gun him down, an aging Hickok’s decision-making (as if waiting for the inevitable) makes for an engrossing read. While Clavin’s effort might not be the best-ever Hickok biography, Wild Bill will likely be the definitive one for this generation.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
There’s a sixteen-page black-and-white photo section, plus some additional black-and-white portraits interspersed of Hickok. Included is an author’s note, acknowledgments, bibliography, and index. A 11-page chapter entitled “The Fight’s Commenced” previews Clavin’s next book: Tombstone, which is set for release in April 2020. The last page is a head shot of Clavin and his paragraph-length bio.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
