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Kill the Cowboy: A Battle of Mythology in the New West
Rising larger than life against the Western horizon, the cowboy sits astride his horse right in the middle of American mythology, husbanding our ideals of freedom, independence, and valor. And grazing his cattle on the wide-open land, he leaves a dusty weeds spring up, scrub brush flourishes, wildlife declines, ground compacts, soil erodes, streambeds turn into dry gullies. Treading a fine line between the idyllic myth and the harsh facts of real-life ranching, this book offers a measured look at the struggle over the future of the American West, where visions of the land sharply divide between those who want to use it, those who want to save it from abuse, and those who see a middle way.
Fairly—though envisioning a revamping of the current grazing system—Sharman Apt Russell describes the present battles that pit ranchers against environmentalists, new Westerners against old, private concerns against government policies. The story she tells is dramatic, animated with the distinctive personalities and contentious episodes that have shaped current debates. It is also scrupulously attentive to the details of history, politics, and economics in the region. Grounded in a deep respect for land, this elegantly written, well-reasoned book begins the work of reevaluating our heroic myths and immediate needs in a way that will prove sustainable for all the West's inhabitants.
Fairly—though envisioning a revamping of the current grazing system—Sharman Apt Russell describes the present battles that pit ranchers against environmentalists, new Westerners against old, private concerns against government policies. The story she tells is dramatic, animated with the distinctive personalities and contentious episodes that have shaped current debates. It is also scrupulously attentive to the details of history, politics, and economics in the region. Grounded in a deep respect for land, this elegantly written, well-reasoned book begins the work of reevaluating our heroic myths and immediate needs in a way that will prove sustainable for all the West's inhabitants.
217 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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43 people want to read
About the author
Sharman Apt Russell
27 books265 followersI am pleased to be considered a nature and science writer and excited that my Diary of a Citizen Scientist was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Nature Writing. The John Burroughs Medal was first given in 1926, and recipients include Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Barry Lopez, John McPhee, and many others. To be in such a list.
My most recent nonfiction is What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs (Columbia University Press, 2024)--part memoir of my tracking experiences, part introduction to the basics of identifying mammal tracks, and part call to reform how we manage wildlife in North America.
My previous Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It (Pantheon Books, April, 2021) combines my longtime interest in the environment with my longtime interest in hunger. I began writing about this subject some twenty years ago, believing firmly that the goals of the environmentalist and the humanitarian are aligned. Healthy children require a healthy Earth. A healthy Earth requires healthy children.
Essentially I write about whatever interests me and seems important--living in place, grazing on public land, archaeology, flowers, butterflies, hunger, Cabeza de Vaca, citizen science, global warming, and pantheism.
I like this range of subject matter. I believe, too, in this braid of myth and science, celebration and apocalypse.
A little bit of bio:
Raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, in 1981 I settled in southern New Mexico as a "back to the lander" and have stayed there ever since. I am a professor emeritus in the Humanities Department at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, as well as a mentoring faculty at Antioch University in Los Angeles. I received my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana and my B.S. in Conservation and Natural Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.
My work has been translated into Korean, Chinese, Swedish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, and Italian. That is really a unique thrill: to see your words in Chinese ideograms.
My most recent nonfiction is What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs (Columbia University Press, 2024)--part memoir of my tracking experiences, part introduction to the basics of identifying mammal tracks, and part call to reform how we manage wildlife in North America.
My previous Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It (Pantheon Books, April, 2021) combines my longtime interest in the environment with my longtime interest in hunger. I began writing about this subject some twenty years ago, believing firmly that the goals of the environmentalist and the humanitarian are aligned. Healthy children require a healthy Earth. A healthy Earth requires healthy children.
Essentially I write about whatever interests me and seems important--living in place, grazing on public land, archaeology, flowers, butterflies, hunger, Cabeza de Vaca, citizen science, global warming, and pantheism.
I like this range of subject matter. I believe, too, in this braid of myth and science, celebration and apocalypse.
A little bit of bio:
Raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, in 1981 I settled in southern New Mexico as a "back to the lander" and have stayed there ever since. I am a professor emeritus in the Humanities Department at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, as well as a mentoring faculty at Antioch University in Los Angeles. I received my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana and my B.S. in Conservation and Natural Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.
My work has been translated into Korean, Chinese, Swedish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, and Italian. That is really a unique thrill: to see your words in Chinese ideograms.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 27, 2017
I moved to Idaho over 10 years ago after being born and raised a New England Yankee. Things like water rights and open range laws were alien to me. I still don't understand completely and I probably never will. They don't impact my subdivision lifestyle in any way. So please remember, the following review is coming from someone who really doesn't know jack about the west.
I started reading news stories about the Bundy family and the BLM. It was confusing. Why were they angry? Who was the bad guy, the rancher or the BLM? Then some Bundy boys and other ranchers took over a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Oregon. What the heck? Why? What is their problem? Were they the good guys or the bad guys?
This book helped me understand the problem a little better. It wasn't just the Bundys. All over the west, for hundreds of years, ranchers have been able to graze their herds on public lands. Now that wilderness areas are getting more scarce the environmental side is trying to protect wilderness more and more. Apparently domestic herds really do a number on rivers and wilderness areas are being turned into giant stockyards. That's how the author came across to me, anyway, and I have no reason to doubt her. To make things worse, the smaller ranches owned by generations of the same family are being phased out by gigantic corporate operations. From page 139:
The writer was easy to follow which was an accomplishment IMO because there are so many twists and turns and viewpoints in this issue. Her sympathies lie mainly on the side of the conservationists but since she comes from generations of ranchers and hunters she can see both sides. Recommended for anyone who is as confused as I was about the state of the west.
Cowboys are still cool in my book.
I started reading news stories about the Bundy family and the BLM. It was confusing. Why were they angry? Who was the bad guy, the rancher or the BLM? Then some Bundy boys and other ranchers took over a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Oregon. What the heck? Why? What is their problem? Were they the good guys or the bad guys?
This book helped me understand the problem a little better. It wasn't just the Bundys. All over the west, for hundreds of years, ranchers have been able to graze their herds on public lands. Now that wilderness areas are getting more scarce the environmental side is trying to protect wilderness more and more. Apparently domestic herds really do a number on rivers and wilderness areas are being turned into giant stockyards. That's how the author came across to me, anyway, and I have no reason to doubt her. To make things worse, the smaller ranches owned by generations of the same family are being phased out by gigantic corporate operations. From page 139:
The heart of wilderness was a tangle of politics.There are no good guys or bad guys and there are so many paths to possible solutions they may never find a way to peace.
"Environmental groups may sue us if we don't reduce cow numbers on this allotment," said one (Forest Service) official. "But other groups-the permittees and people who are trying to protect the ranchers' interests-will sue us if we do."
The writer was easy to follow which was an accomplishment IMO because there are so many twists and turns and viewpoints in this issue. Her sympathies lie mainly on the side of the conservationists but since she comes from generations of ranchers and hunters she can see both sides. Recommended for anyone who is as confused as I was about the state of the west.
Cowboys are still cool in my book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review