WILD BILL HICKOK

A glorified view of one of the Old West's most violent and colorful characters. Hickok may not have started out wild (christened ``James,'' he didn't start out as ``Bill,'' either), but after an early series of rough jobs, including scouting and spying for the Union Army, he developed a taste for fancy clothes, hot baths, and gambling. Downplaying his reputation for brutality, the author cheerily recounts his career as law officer, actor, and celebrity, his half-legendary feats of marksmanship, and his untimely end—shot at a gaming table, holding the ``Dead Man's Hand'' of aces and eights. An oversimple, romanticized picture of life in the West and of one of its preeminent gunmen. Illustrations not seen. (Biography. 9-11)