Aces and Eights: The Legend of Wild Bill Hickok

"Bartholomew, seated at the prosecution table, had cursed when the people's star witness unbuttoned his coat to sit and exhibited the gaudiest belt buckle the attorney had ever seen, fashioned from silver with a diamond-studded buffalo head in the center, the entire thing the size of a hotel ashtray. But he had to smile when Cody caught his eye and favored him with a very solemn wink. He was a hard man to stay mad at. --from Aces & Eights

Buffalo Bill Cody sat before a beaming jury, weaving his tales with the natural finesse of a master storyteller. A character witness for his dead friend Wild Bill Hickok--Cody's homespun anecdotes brought Wild Bill so vividly to life, that everyone present in the courtroom that day could have sworn he was right there with them, slapping his thighs gleefully, like a large and jesting ghost.
In this suspenseful courtroom drama--guaranteed enjoyment for Western and non-Western readers alike--author Loren Estleman recreates a place and time where justice was often meted out somewhat less than blindly. The events Estleman dramatizes are based upon the actual historical trial of Jack McCall, who shot James Butler Kickok from that most dishonorable angle--from behind.