“The Story of Will Rogers” was written by Jerome Beatty and published by Saalfield Publishing Company in 1935. The first and last page state: “The true story of the rise of Will Rogers, the Cherokee Indian cowhand from Oologah, Indian Territory, is perhaps the most amazing tale that could be written by about any living American. Equipped with only a minor grade school education, still unable to spell, lacking the ability to turn out a paragraph that would pass the English teachers, he is one of America’s highest paid authors. In speaking of his plans to fly with Wiley Post, who was going to Alaska and on to Siberia, Will Rogers grinned in the friendly manner that endeared him to millions and said: ‘Alaska will be the end of the journey for me.’ A few days later (August 15, 1935) he had indeed reached the end of his journey – the news flashed that Wiley Post and Will Rogers had crashed at Point Barrow.'
