Cowboy: The Illustrated History

In the crowd of books about cowboys, this one stands out chiefly for the well-researched photography. Here you will see classic photos from the late 19th century ranging right up to the present. Among the older photos it's refreshing to find many that have rarely, if ever, been published before. Especially useful is the careful identification of each one, with the place, date, and name of the photographer. While some of them have circulated anonymously on the Internet for years, it's illuminating to have their subjects identified (especially the studio group-shot of XIT cowboys that you sometimes see hand tinted, on pp. 142-143). I also had not known that the wonderful bunkhouse shot of a cowboy with a guitar (pp. 154-155) is cowboy-song collector and poet Jack Rhodes. Richard Slatta's history of the cowboy supports the photo images well but breaks no new ground on his subject. Readers of other cowboy books will find the usual topics, from cowboy gear to trail drives and rodeos, and a repetition of what's generally known already (though for someone who's never researched the material, it's an excellent introduction). If there's an unusual angle, it's that Slatta goes out of his way to comment on the role of women in ranch culture. Altogether, this makes a fine gift book. It is handsomely designed, on nicely finished paper, and the photos are reproduced with satisfying clarity. The book includes recommendations for further reading and a listing of museums and events with their Internet addresses.

I like this book "Cowboy: The Illustrated History" by Richard W. Slatta, as the author presents an exciting and authentic account of cowboy life around the world. Cowboys of the old west is talking a lot about the life of how cowhand is an American term of how those people are Argentinia's gauchos, France's gardians, Australia's stockmen and Mexico's vaqueros and some of the best four-legged cowboy horses workers are the camargue ponies of France, the Australian stock horses, the criollos of Argentina, and the quarter horses and mustangs of the U.S. and Mexico, talking a lot about the trail with the cowboys of the old West and international figures of independence and bravado, from Argentina's gauchos to France's gardians. Whether it's the types of horses they rode or the clothes they wore, you'll come to understand what made cowboys from every country unique. In this book by the best author Richard W. Slatta, you'll be interested in today's rodeo cowboys, movie cowboys and the modern working cowboys of the American West. The best chapters to read and look at in this book for the times are On the Ranch, Cowboy Food & fun and The Cowboy Hero in popular culture. In the chapter of "On the Ranch", my favorite photo is a rodeo photo on page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935. It's the best rodeo photo of Chester Byers roping a calf as the calf has hit the end of the rope as the calf tricked the horse and rider at going a different direction and the horse is just starting to stop dead in order for the cowboy to dismount. On page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935, you'll want to know that for this photo, here's how this goes: Rodeos take place where the modern cowboy can compete against his fellow workers to show off his and his mount's skill in the arena. Roping calves and steers (calf roping and team roping), which forms a major part of his everyday work, is one of the many organized events together with cutting-out, saddle bronc riding, team penning and bull riding. Complete co-ordination between horse and rider is essential if a calf is to be roped successfully. As soon as the lasso has found its mark the horse will stop short and take the weight of the calf as the rope is firmly attached to saddle. The cowboy then leaps to the ground and ties the calf securely. Again for page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935, you'll want to know that for this photo, here's how this goes again the second time: Another rodeo event is calf roping where the cowhand gallops and speeds after a runaway calf and tries to lasso his rope around it. In the chapter of "Cowboy Food & Fun", got some of my favorite rodeo photos of team roping on page 170 and another rodeo photo on page 171 and over time, rodeo events were standardized to the best five events to include bareback riding,

So many titles have been written on cowboy history that one might wonder at the need for yet another, but here's an oversized photo tribute which stands out from the crowd, surveying both myths and realities of the cowboy on and off-screen, including assessments of cowboys around the world, ranching roots, cowboy film, and cowboy representation in literature. With such a wide-ranging survey in hand, any with an interest benefits from the lively research of 'cowboy professor' Richard W. Slatta, who has already earned numerous awards for his research. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch