Calamity: The Many Lives of Calamity Jane

Whatever I've read in previous booklets on Calamity Jane has just been pretty much the same as this one. She roamed the west, dressed in men's clothing, swore like the proverbial trooper, and wanted to be buried next to James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. I thought this book would add something more but author Karen Jones simply adds more of the same of what little is known about Martha Canary. One author says one thing and another says another so we really don't know what is true about this woman. The book is the first full length book that I'm aware of of Calamity Jane and I thought it would add some new material. However, I struggled when I hit the halfway mark and finally had to give it up. The book contains twelve pages of photos. I believe I will donate this book to our local library.

I too am struggling with this book. I cannot believe the 5 star reviewer has read it. The book reads rather like a student trying to impress a tutor. Never use a single syllable word when an equivalent 3 or 4 syllable one will do. I eventually gave up after endless blather about why women want to dress in mens clothing. So what? If that's what they want fine. I did go through the rest of the book and found some interest in other characters but like many "western" biographies int is mostly based on hearsay, dubious newspaper reporting and faulty "old-timer" memories and exageration. It is too long and too divergent. Might as well read Calamity's autobiography.I don,t think the Western "Buff" will get much out of this.

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