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Bill Markley

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

https://www.billmarkley.com

Genre

Nonfiction, Historical Fiction, History

Member Since

May 2012

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A long-time member of Western Writers of America, Bill Markley's latest book, Billy the Kid and Jesse James: Outlaws of the Legendary West (October 2019) is the second in the Legendary West series. Which outlaw was the best at what he did, Jesse James or Billy the Kid? The first in the series, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson: Lawmen of the Legendary West (May 2019) compares the lives of these two great lawmen of the Old West. Which lawman did the most to tame the frontier, Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp? This joint biography reveals the intersection of their legacies and attempts to answer the questions about their place in the story of the West. Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West (October 2018) was se A long-time member of Western Writers of America, Bill Markley's latest book, Billy the Kid and Jesse James: Outlaws of the Legendary West (October 2019) is the second in the Legendary West series. Which outlaw was the best at what he did, Jesse James or Billy the Kid? The first in the series, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson: Lawmen of the Legendary West (May 2019) compares the lives of these two great lawmen of the Old West. Which lawman did the most to tame the frontier, Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp? This joint biography reveals the intersection of their legacies and attempts to answer the questions about their place in the story of the West. Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West (October 2018) was selected as a 2019 Will Rogers Medallion Award finalist. In this book, Bill and coauthor Kellen Cutsforth explore ten old west controversial events and characters fully realizing they will be stirring up multiple hornets' nests. Kellen takes one side of each story and Bill takes the other side--point/counterpoint. How did the gunfight near the O.K. Corral actually happen? Why did the James Younger gang try to rob the bank in Northfield, Minnesota? What really happened at Wild Bill Hickok's first gunfight? Were he and Calamity Jane lovers? Did Custer make bad decisions at the Little Bighorn or did his officers let him down? Did Buffalo Bill really ride for the Pony Express and do all the things he claimed? Did the army have Crazy Horse killed to get him out of the way? Did Pat Garrett really kill Billy the Kid? Geronimo-hero or terrorist? Wyoming's Johnson County War--were the small ranchers really rustlers? Bill's book, Deadwood Dead Men (September 2013) is a historical novel of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in August 1876 during the time of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and others. Western Fictioneers selected Deadwood Dead Men as a finalist for its 2014 Peacemaker Award in the category Best First Western Novel. History, especially American history, and travel have fascinated Bill Markley since he was a boy growing up on the family farm in Pennsylvania. Moving to Pierre, South Dakota in 1976, to work for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources was a natural fit for Markley, where he immersed himself in local history and participated in Civil War and Western frontier reenacting. Markley has been in films such as Dances With Wolves, Son of the Morning Star, Far and Away, Gettysburg, and Crazy Horse. He worked in Antarctica, traveled the South Pacific, kayaked and backpacked in Alaska, chaperoned a Boy Scout troop to Japan, and has camped, hiked, and rode horseback through the West. Markley has written three additional books, Dakota Epic, Experiences of a Reenactor during the filming of Dances With Wolves, and Up the Missouri River with Lewis and Clark and American Pilgrim, A Post September 11 Bus Trip and Other Tales of the Road. He writes for South Dakota Magazine, Roundup, True West, and Wild West. Markley's story "Kenneth McKenzie, King of the Upper Missouri" appears in WWA's anthology, Roundup! Markley and his wife Liz, live in Pierre where they raised two children. ...more

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Average rating: 4.08 · 177 ratings · 26 reviews · 20 distinct works • Similar authors

	Deadwood Dead Men 3.43 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2013 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson: Lawmen of the Legendary West 4.20 avg rating — 20 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Billy the Kid and Jesse James: Outlaws of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Jim Hatzell (Illustrator) 4.25 avg rating — 16 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Kellen Cutsforth (Goodreads Author) 4.19 avg rating — 16 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dakota Epic: Experiences of a Reenactor During the Filming of Dances With Wolves by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Jim Hatzell (Illustrator), Cindy Northup (Foreword by) 4.14 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2001 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Standoff at High Noon: Another Battle over the Truth in the Mythic Wild West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Kellen Cutsforth (Goodreads Author) 4.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody: Plainsmen of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Jim Hatzell (Illustrator) 4.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Life and Times of Jim Bridger 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Up the Missouri River with Lewis and Clark: From Camp Dubois to the Bad River 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2005 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Geronimo and Sitting Bull: Leaders of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author), Jim Hatzell (Contributor) 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 22, 2026 06:28PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Old West Showdown by Bill Markley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Old West Showdown by Bill Markley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing Dakota Epic: Experiences of a Reenactor During the Filming of <I>Dances with Wolves</I> by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing Stand Off at High Noon: Another Battle Over the Truth in the Mythic Wild West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 22, 2026 06:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stand Off at High Noon by Bill Markley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stand Off at High Noon by Bill Markley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing The Life and Times of Jim Bridger by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing The Life and Times of Jim Bridger by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody: Plainsmen of the Legendary West by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Bill Markley rated a book it was amazing Why Cows Need Cowboys: and Other Seldom-Told Tales from the American West by Nancy Plain	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 22, 2026 06:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Why Cows Need Cowboys by Nancy Plain. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Why Cows Need Cowboys by Nancy Plain <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bill Markley has read Dakota Epic: Experiences of a Reenactor During the Filming of <I>Dances with Wolves</I> by Bill Markley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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message 3: by Bill

Jun 06, 2012 05:28AM

Rocky Mountain wrote: "Hi Bill! Thanks for approving us as friends.

I’m Gusto Dave Jackson Publicist for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and I wouldn’t be worth my salt if I didn’t tout our blog and organizatio..."

Thanks Gusto Dave, I'm a little slow on this site so far.

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message 2: by Bill

Jun 06, 2012 05:27AM

Beth wrote: "Hi Bill,
Thanks for befriending this mystery author on Goodreads! I hope you will put my books, A Real Basket Case, To Hell in a Handbasket, Deadly Currents, and my new May release, Wicked Eddies, ..."

Thanks Beth, I'm a little slow on this site so far!

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message 1: by Gusto

May 22, 2012 06:44PM

Hi Bill! Thanks for approving us as friends.

I’m Gusto Dave Jackson Publicist for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and I wouldn’t be worth my salt if I didn’t tout our blog and organization. Chiseled in Rock http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com features side-splitting satire and some flash fiction for intellectual readers.

Today on the Rock: Literary Agent NICOLE RESCINITI, writer of erotic romances E.C. STACY offers up another hilarious cartoon, and insider info on making book trailers.

RMFW has several bestselling authors such as NYT Bestseller JEANNE STEIN and J.A. KAZIMER. You have an open invitation to the Rock for contests, entertainment, and an insight to the world of writing! Let’s follow each others’ blogs!

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