Buffalo Bill and the Mormons - by Brent M Rogers (Paperback)

About the Book

Brent M. Rogers connects the histories of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and the Mormons, highlighting two pillars of the American West to better understand cultural and political perceptions, image-making, and performance from the 1840s through the early 1900s.

Book Synopsis

In this never-before-told history of Buffalo Bill and the Mormons, Brent M. Rogers presents the intersections in the epic histories of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and the Latter-day Saints from 1846 through 1917. In Cody's autobiography he claimed to have been a member of the U.S. Army wagon train that was burned by the Saints during the Utah War of 1857-58. Less than twenty years later he began his stage career and gained notoriety by performing anti-Mormon dramas. By early 1900 he actively recruited Latter-day Saints to help build infrastructure and encourage growth in the region surrounding his town of Cody, Wyoming.

In Buffalo Bill and the Mormons Rogers unravels this history and the fascinating trajectory that took America's most famous celebrity from foe to friend of the Latter-day Saints. In doing so, the book demonstrates how the evolving relationship between Cody and the Latter-day Saints can help readers better understand the political and cultural perceptions of Mormons and the American West.

Review Quotes

"Anyone who thinks that Buffalo Bill Cody's biography has been examined upside-down and sideways should pick up Brent M. Rogers' well-researched book to learn yet another side of the Wild West showman."--Sandra K. Sagala, Roundup Magazine

"Rogers . . . offers a valuable study by placing William F. Cody's relationship with the Mormons in the larger context of national and international events."--T. G. Alexander, Choice-- (9/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"[Rogers's] uniquely focused narrative of Cody's turnabout will attract fans of Old West life unfamiliar with this tale of show business and history."--Booklist-- (2/15/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"This book is a very readable account and will be useful to anyone interested in more of the history of Buffalo Bill, the Mormons, and the American West in general."--Steve Friesen, Denver Posse of Westerners

"In Buffalo Bill and the Mormons, Rogers has written a compelling and little-known story, vibrantly written, and thoroughly researched. . . . The closing of the American Frontier coincided with the opening of the nation to a more favorable view of Utah and its predominant religion. Buffalo Bill and the Mormons stands as an important addition to the literature of that transition."--Kevin Folkman, Association for Mormon Letters

"In this carefully researched book, Brent Rogers traces the surprisingly entangled and little-known stories of William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A remarkable history of how two western forces, famed showman and fabled church, mythologized each other."--Louis S. Warren, author of Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show

"By asking a seemingly simple question--what were Buffalo Bill's ties to the Latter-day Saints?--Rogers offers a fascinating new perspective on the life and career of William F. Cody. Situated within the political and religious angst about Mormon polygamy in post-Civil War America, Rogers's extensive research and sharp analysis bring to life Cody's complicated and evolving connection to the Latter-day Saints."--Renée M. Laegreid, professor of western history at the University of Wyoming

"The American West was a gathering place for all sorts. Through lyrical prose and impressive research Brent Rogers has excavated the revealing--and often surprising--intersections between two cultural forces: Buffalo Bill and the Mormons. But beyond separating fact from fiction, this book captures some of the central tensions of a culture enmeshed in the paradoxes of colonization."--Benjamin E. Park, author of American Zion: A New History of Mormonism

About the Author

Brent M. Rogers is a historian and the managing historian for the Joseph Smith Papers. He is the author of Unpopular Sovereignty: Mormons and the Federal Management of Early Utah Territory (Nebraska, 2017), winner of the 2018 Charles Redd Center-Phi Alpha Theta Book Award for the Best Book on the American West, and the coeditor of Contingent Citizens: Shifting Perceptions of Latter-day Saints in American Political Culture.