The Cowboy Way

I love books that help me travel to worlds unknown to me. And, as I live in New York City, ranching is something I know absolutely nothing about. That's why this book by David McCumber, in which he chronicles a year spent as a ranch hand, intrigued me. As he was a 44-year old journalist with no experience ranching, I could easily relate to his trials as tribulations as he learned what it takes to be a cowboy today. He's a straightforward clear writer and he uses his words well to describe even the most mundane tasks that are the daily routines for the people who live and work on ranches. Basically, it's all about the care and feeding of cows and this includes the baling of hay, an essential job which has its own set of challenges. There's the birthing of the calves and the cleaning of the pens. There's setting up and irrigation system, and fixing miles of fencing. Often the weather is brutal and virtually all the work is outside. There's some horseback riding, of course, but nowadays most of the work is done with various trucks and motorcycles and vans which always need mechanical work, also done by the ranch hands. Mistakes are made often and result in a tongue lashing from the owner who knows everything there is to know about ranching and wants no other way of life.These are real people that the author meets and he writes about them all with a sense of admiration and I'm glad he also included the history of the White Sulphur Springs area, which he researched as background. The magnificent scenery comes alive, as do his aching muscles. He enjoys it all completely and made it quite real for me. I must admit though, that in spite of his detailed explanations, I didn't understand it all, especially when he described the mechanical aspects of the baling machines or the irrigation system or the fixing of the motor in a truck. However, I had no trouble at all understanding the birthing, branding and castrating process. And I was right there with him as he fixed fences and chased straggling cattle for miles. I thank Mr. McCumber for writing this book. I learned a lot from it. Now, whenever I hear the word "cowboy", I'll think about the real work that that is his daily grind. I'll think of the harsh and beautiful country. And the simple joy of a job well done. Recommended.

I read this book in less than two days and when it was over I found myself wishing that it would go on for another 200 pages. McCumber discribes the everyday joys and perils of ranch life perfectly without ever droneing on or loseing your interest. If anyone has ever wondered about the real west or ranch life this books for you.

I grew up in cattle country and even married a rancher's daughter. This book hits the nail right on the head in describing both the joys, hardships, and overwhelming physical labor involved in raising cattle. It is written in a very entertaining way, with enough detail so that you really understand the life of a Montana rancher, without ever getting boring. I have read hundreds of books and this one is, by far, my favorite.

If you want to retain the cosy illusion of the cowboy as a gun-toting, chain-smoking, horse-riding champion of open ranges, you will find little of it reinforced in David McCumber's excellent first book. But as he says, I have always been a Westerner, which means I have always thought about being a cowboy. Thinking and doing are different."McCumber is former assistant managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner and founding editor and publisher of Big Sky Journal, who, at 44, decided to spend a year slaving as a cowboy on a huge cattle ranch in the high mountains of Montana. It turned out to be a labour of love for this award-winning journalist who at the time was facing a mid-life crisis and gives the reasons for his sabbatical as: "journalistic curiosity about a lifestyle glorified to the point of religion in our culture. It was the final step of letting go, signing on as a gray-headed greenhorn, proposing to make my living out-of-doors, with my body as well as my brain."His detailed description of the Montana cowboy's unenviable daily grind is thoroughly engrossing. In fact this book would be the perfect manual for the ignorant Dude who fancies working on a ranch: there's everything here from rousting renegade steers to the right way to build and repair fences in a snow-drift halfway up a mountain, learning new mechanical skills in the ranch's machine shop and garage, assisting with veterinary operations, and fighting brush fires.McCumber's Montana is a harsh world where cowboys from disparate backgrounds bond while working against extremes of weather. Sadly, the cowpoke's four-legged friend - the horse - has been largely replaced by the more cost-effective small all-terrain vehicle (one driven by petrol not grass), occasional sorties in the Boss's helicopter, and Shank's Pony. By the end of the book, I felt as worn out and exhilarated as the author, whose every moment and enthusiasm for hard work I felt I'd shared. "Many Montanans see their homeland turning from a great place to live and work," he says, "into a virtual theme park full of designer-dressed Westerners who don't understand what it really takes to make a living on the land." Who would blame them for there must be an easier way of making a living than the one vividly described in McCumber's book. After reading it I no longer dream about being a real cowboy but at last I now understand why some people still do.But a cowboy without the comfort of a cigarette still seems a contradiction in terms.

David McCumber has provided an highly informative insider's look to Montana ranching in "The Cowboy Way: The Seasons of a Montana Ranch." After I graduated from college in North Carolina, I dropped everything to move to the same area Mr. McCumber moved to. He has done an extraordinary job on gathering the history of Montana and its people. I was amazed to read about the Wertheimers', Rogers', and Mikelsons', my neighbors in Utica. My one complaint would be that he used terms refering to ranching and cattle that many people would not be familiar with if they have never lived around such an operation. Regardless, I would reccommend this book to anyone who longs to go back to a way of life where everyone knows their neighbor, and you spend your days surviving the elements, not your cubical.