Before buffalo bill became buffalo bill and the famous star of his wild west show he was billy cody a boy growing up in kansas the codys moved to kansas and settled near leavenworth in 1853 just as the tensions between kansas and missouri were heating up isaac cody billys father was a free stater and the family became embroiled in the conflict almost immediately. Written in a compelling style often times using direct quotes from billy himself as well as his sister julia and other witnesses the boy who became buffalo bill focuses on billys youth the years leading up to bleeding kansas and the events surrounding billys life there while the author does get into his adult life a bit at the end the focus here is on his teenage years his involvement in outlaw raids during the civil war and his service in the union army its clear that warren . The boy who became buffalo bill growing up billy cody in bleeding kansas chronicles the childhood of william f cody known to everyone by his nickname buffalo bill called billy as a child he was fearless brave and always protective of his family this kept him busy for the family had emigrated from iowa where billy was born in 1846 to kansas territory when it was opened to settlement in 1854 congress had decided via the kansas nebraska act that settlers in these two territories . Written in a compelling style often times using direct quotes from billy himself as well as his sister julia and other witnesses the boy who became buffalo bill focuses on billys youth the years leading up to bleeding kansas and the events surrounding billys life there while the author does get into his adult life a bit at the end the focus here is on his teenage years his involvement in outlaw raids during the civil war and his service in the union army its clear that warren