Zayda Was a Cowboy

Nislick's book tells of her grandfather when he immigrated to America as part of the "Galveston Plan", an effort to bring Jewish immigrants to the western United States in the early 20th century. Framed as a story within a story, Zayda's unusual immigration story is told to his grandchildren when he comes to live with them. Zayda describes his life with his family before he is forced to run away to avoid conscription into the Czar's army which, as a Jew, would have led to cruel treatment, even death. After leaving his small Russian town, Zayda made his way to Bremen, Germany where he worked to earn the fare for a ticket to America. Landing in Galveston, Texas, Zayda, whose name was changed to Mike Benson, is greeted by a representative of the Jewish Immigrants Information Bureau, who helps him nd a job as a ranch hand. As the story unfolds it describes Zayda's life on the ranch, learning to speak English (and Spanish, as many of the other ranch hands are Mexican), and working on a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas City where he settled and became part of the Jewish community.

ZAYDA WAS A COWBOY is one of the most charming, most touching books, that I've ever read. I'll admit, I bought it for my nephew--but I couldn't resist peeking inside. And, then, I couldn't put down this work of historic fiction. Author June Levitt Nislick does an excellent job of describing the immigrant experience, using a 15 year-old boy who is escaping conscription into the Czar's Russian army as her hero. Typical of that place (c. 1890) and time, this is a version of a real-life story repeated many thousands of times. The boy leaves behind his entire family and their home in a tiny Russian village, and he walks to a port in Germany to make his way to the U.S.A. Desperately poor, he takes any odd job he is offered to pay for his passage. And, on the very day that he arrives at the port of Galveston, Texas, he is offered a job as a cowboy. Implausible as this seems, it is even more unlikely than it may first appear when one realizes that, at that time, this brand-new cowboy spoke almost no English. Yet, in the impressive way that the U.S.A. welcomes immigrants, by the conclusion of his first cattle drive, he has evolved into a full-fledged American. Author Nislick is a wonderful writer, and a wonderful storyteller. Her research regarding both the Russian village and the American cattle ranch is detailed and faithful. Her plot is imaginative--albeit fact-based--and the voice that she uses for her hero rings loud and true. Quite deservedly, the manuscript of this novel won the prestigious "Sydney Taylor Manuscript Competition." Mrs. Taylor was, herself, the author of the much-loved "All of A Kind Family" series. And ZAYDA WAS A COWBOY is a marvelous book!