Discusses Annie's performances and encounters with legends like Buffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull, and Queen Victoria.

"Aim at the high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second time, and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting, for only practice will make you perfect. Finally you'll hit the bull's-eye of success." (Annie Oakley)

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

The Wild West made legends out of many men, who came to be identified with the unforgiving nature and spirit of the frontier. Men like Wyatt Earp have long been celebrated for their toughness, swagger, and fearless courage. So it's no surprise that the few women who could match the men in toughness and gunplay have also become legends of the West.

There was little about the childhood of Phoebe Ann Mosey that indicated that she would grow up to become Annie Oakley, one of the best sharpshooters the world has ever seen, and an icon of the West. Her parents, Jacob and Susan, were Quakers who migrated from Pennsylvania to Darke County, Ohio, after a fire destroyed their inn and their livelihood. Their daughter, who would become a national celebrity during her own life for "The Little Sure Shot of the West", learned her gun skills out of necessity, using them to hunt for food around the Cincinnati area, thousands of miles away from the dusty towns and saloons of the West.