Wild Bill Hickok

After reading Joseph G Rosa's extensive biographies on this subject I wasn't expecting much from this book that contained only a brief bibliography and no index. But I was pleasently surprised. This book is actually quite good. Apparently O'Connor actually did research and found sources even before Rosa got there. Much of what he relates is stuff that appeared in Rosa's books. And he offers his own fresh insight, which I found very interesting, into the events. O'Connor also injects occasional humor and wit into the telling of these tales which often had me chuckling and kept this account from reading stiff and overly serious. The guy is a very good writer! My only complaint about this book is that around the latter third of it, he begins to include many hearsay events, as fact, that sound as if they were lifted out of sensational dime novels. I was left with the impression that the latter part of Hickok's life was not as well researched by O'Connor as the earlier part. Felt as if he meticulously researched the first half and then rushed through the second half. Doesn't compare to Rosa's 'They Called him Wild Bill' but still a very good biography and an enjoyable read for anybody interested in this topic.