Annie Oakley

by Shirl Kasper

“Nothing more simple, I assure you….But I’ll tell you what. You must have your mind, your never, and everything in harmony. Don’t look at your gun, simply follow the object with end of it, as if the tip of the barrel was the point of your finger.” –Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley is a legend? America’s greatest female sharpshooter, a woman who triumphed in the masculine world of road shows and firearms. Despite her great fame, the popular image of Annie Oakley is far from true. She was neither a swaggering western gal nor a sweet “little girl.” Annie Oakley was a competitive and resolute woman who wanted to be the best and succeeded. In this comprehensive biography Shirl Kasper sets the record straight, giving us an accurate, honest, and compelling portrait of the woman known as “Little Sure Shot.”

Born Phoebe Ann Moses in Ohio in 1860. Annie took her first shot at age eight?“one of the best shots I ever made,” Annie later said. It was the start of her lifelong fascination with shooting. Early local acclaim led to a contest with Frank Butler, a professional sharpshooter. Annie won and Frank fell in love with her. Annie and Frank (who eventually gave up his own act to be Annie’s manager) were wed not long after and remained married for forty-two years, until their deaths in 1926 just day apart.

Annie’s sharpshooting career began while on the road with Frank’s show, but she rose to fame in her seventeen years with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. Her speed, agility, uncanny precision, and charm soon made Annie world famous. Shooting was her passion; apart from her career with the Wild West, Annie hunted, shot trap, entered many shooting contests, performed for World War I troops, and, in her retirement years, taught thousands of women how to shoot.

Annie Oakley provides a vivid and unforgettable portrait of this American original: a prim and proper woman, conservative in her views, hand-working and frugal, whose greatest source of pride was to be accepted as “a lady.” Significant events are documented here for the first time: Annie’s decision to join the struggling Wild West show; her meeting with Sitting Bull; the nature of her feud with Lillian Smith, another Wild West markswoman; and the real reason that Annie’s hair suddenly turned white when she was only forty-one. Thoroughly researched, fully annotated, and entirely unsentimental, this volume is the most complete and record of Annie Oakley’s life and achievements.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Marita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this biography, especially as a resident of Cincinnati. This book dispels some of the stories I knew of her (it is not true that she derived her name from Oakley, a neighborhood in Cincinnati, or that she lived there, or that the sharp shooting contest that made her famous was held in the streets of Cincinnati). Her life was really amazing.
Coincidentally, I was reading So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo at the same time, which had quite a bit of information on Buffalo Bill. Annie Oakley's employee. The two renditions could not have been more different, and it was great having the additional perspective. I enjoyed this book, but it definitely glosses over the worst aspects of her life.

[Laura Urban · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Oakley was a woman worth getting to know. Will Rogers said of her, "She will be a lesson to you. She is a greater character than she was a rifle shot. Annie Oakley's name her loveable traits, her thoughtful consideration of others will live as a mark for any woman to shoot at".
She competed in a sport that was dominated by men but was always first and foremost a lady, and though the author calls her a symbol of the liberated woman I doubt that she would have refered to herself in that way.
Since she loved dogs I'm sure she would be pleased to know ours is named after her.

[John Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book about one of America's iconic figures. This book is packed with details about how this 5' tall petite woman competed against all comers and won most of the time. Annie Oakley paved the way for women to succeed in whatever they chose.

[Tim Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many have credited Ms. Kasper as the best biographer of Annie Oakley. Certainly, the myths surrounding Oakley are dispelled here, and insight is provided into what made Oakley great: incredible competitive desire and focus, plus the collaboration of the selfless, sensitive Frank Butler.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't quite realized what a world traveler and celebrity she was in her day. This book has some great photos. I also liked learning about a woman who beat all the men at their game - sharpshooting - in a man's world and came out of it adored instead of reviled.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this book and learning more about Annie Oakley.