Annie Oakley of The Wild West

by Walter Havighurst, Christine Bold (Introduction)

Born in rural Ohio in 1860, Annie Moses rose from poverty to become Annie Oakley, the diminutive star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show who could outshoot any man. She comes fully to life in this rousing biography by Walter Havighurst, the respected historian of the Old Northwest. In her probing introduction to this Bison Book edition, Christine Bold considers the striking incongruities, the symbolic meanings, of Annie Oakley's life and career.

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this biography of Annie Oakley. Havighurst does a great job at capturing life in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in the pages of his book. I loved the greater understanding of Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull and so many other famous men and women from the winding up scene of the wild west. Annie Oakley was a true pioneer for women.

[MaryL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Annie Oakley. She had seemed to be more of a myth than a real person because all I previously knew of her was from the movie Annie Get Your Gun: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better!" Remember that song? Anyway I read that really long and informative book Buffalo Bill's America which had a chapter about Annie Oakley, and that sparked my interest. This biography by Walter Havinghurst is the reference that the author of Buffalo Bill's America used. Annie Oakley was born in Ohio in 1860, and she had three older sisters and two younger siblings. Her father died when Annie was about nine years old, and all of the children were sent to live at other homes. Annie was sent to an orphanage and from there into a foster home after a few months. Her foster parents were cruel to her, and used her for hard labor. Annie ran away from them after a year or two and found her way back home. Her mother had remarried by this time, and had taken back her two younger children. Annie's stepfather was kind to her and the other children so Annie was happy. It was here that Annie learned to hunt. She sold game birds to a man in town who sent them to a Cincinnati hotel restaurant, and she sold fur pelts to a fur trader in town. Annie was born Annie Moses, and she changed her name to Annie Oakley when she started shooting competitively. After she meets Frank Butler who was a competition target shooter, he shows Annie how to use her skills in shows. At times in this biography I felt like there was more information being given about Buffalo Bill and his show than about Annie Oakley. The last few chapters, though, after Annie stopped traveling with the Wild West show were focused completely on Annie and Frank. That's when the reader finally gets to understand Annie Oakley's personality. She was a soft spoken individual, and the reader feels that she was very kind to the people around her.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t lie, when I picked up this book from a free sale at one of my college’s events, I didn’t really think I would get around to reading it. I have never liked to read non fiction out of school or research, so I never read biographical books. But I remember hearing about Annie Oakley as a kid and thinking she was the coolest girl ever. And SHE WAS!!

What I didn’t expect from this books was to get to hear about some of the first iterations of touring theatre in America!!! My dream is to work on theatrical tours, so it felt very special that this book happened to focus on that without me even knowing when I picked it out!!

What a cool girl, what a cool time, what a cool piece of history

[Joe Keefhaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I have read other books about Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull, this 1954 volume was an enjoyable and informative read. The book is written in a rather celebratory style and doesn't address certain aspects of Oakley's life. For example, did she and her husband Frank Butler ever wish for children? Also, what did Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley think about the killing of Sitting Bull by reservation police? After all, Cody was allegedly a great friend of Sitting Bull, and Oakley was "adopted" as his daughter. Nevertheless, the author does provide a wealth of material about the famous markswoman, as well as Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, and the operation of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ less about Annie Oakley than i expected

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of Annie Oakley, read it when I was a young girl.