Buffalo Bill's Wild West: The First Reality Show in Essex

Buffalo Bill was one of the most famous men in the world. For nearly twenty years he toured America, Britain and Europe with his own Wild West show. This was no circus - the cowboys were real cowboys, the Indians real Indians and the soldiers real soldiers. It was the world's first reality show, fulfilling Buffalo Bill's dream of bringing the excitement of the American frontier to mass audiences. It was a huge undertaking - three special trains were needed to transport it and the portable arena could seat more than 12,000 people. This book tells the extraordinary story of Buffalo Bill, his Wild West show and what happened when theyvisited several Essex towns in the early 1900s.

Table of Contents:
Page 9 Introduction Page 11 1. The Making of a Legend Page 19 2. Treading the Boards Page 27 3. The Wild West Show is Born Page 33 4. The Early Years - Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull Page 43 5. The Wild West Arrives in Essex Page 49 6. The American Exhibition Page 61 7. Across the Atlantic Again Page 67 8. On the Road Page 71 9. Three Days in September - Leyton, Southend and Colchester Page 87 10. The Final Tour - Chelmsford and Ilford Page 97 11. The End of the Trail Page 106 Selected Bibliography Page 108 About the Author

About the Author :
David Dunford attended the University of Essex, graduating with a degree in Government. He joined Essex County Newspapers in Colchester as a reporter and later became an assistant editor. He later moved to the BBC in London where he wrote and edited news bulletins for all BBC Radio outlets. He later became Editor of the BBC General News Service, responsible for providing news and current affairs for stations around the country. In 2003 he was Editor of all BBC local radio and regional television coverage of the second Gulf War. After taking early retirement he became a visiting lecturer in radio journalism at the University of the Arts in London. In 2014 he returned to Essex University to study for an MA in History which he was awarded with distinction. In addition to this book, he has also chronicled the history of horse racing in Chelmsford as well as writing numerous newspaper and magazine articles.

Review :
5* Andy M Two years ago, David Dunford chronicled the history of horse racing in Chelmsford in his book, 'Full Circle'. Now he's delved into the archives again to give a colourful account of the appearances in Essex of the extravaganza that was Buffalo Bill's Wild West. The spectacular show was summed up by the Illustrated London News: 'It is not a circus, nor indeed is it acti ng at all, in a theatrical sense, but an exact reproduction of daily scenes in frontier life.'Audiences around the world were awed by exhibitions of horse-riding, sharp-shooting and rope tricks and re-enactments of battles. Those taking part were the real deal: the cowboys had actually ridden the range, the cavalry men were veterans and the Indians were real native Americans (at least one had fought in the Battle of the Little Big Horn). The whole caboodle was led by the intrepid Buffalo Bill, Colonel William Cody: guide, scout, hunter, trapper and canny businessman. Dunford's narrative takes a while to reach Essex, but the build-up information is fascinating, fleshing out characters who'd hitherto just been exotic names from our childhoods: Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickock etc. It's interspersed with excellent illustrations. The show had Royal patronage when it was in London, and crowds flocked to see it when it moved down to Essex in 1903/4 - the evening performance in Chelmsford attracted an audience of about 11,000. This is a really entertaining and well-written little book that casts a light on what Dunford calls 'the first reality show in Essex. 5* Clive Stewart. This is a brilliant book, it covers so much of Buffalo Bill from his early life too.