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Sumo
Book by Adams, Andy
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1989
44 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Andy Adams
223 books22 followersAndy Adams (1859–1935) was born to pioneer parents in Indiana, worked in Texas for ten years driving cattle, and settled in Colorado Springs, where he began writing his "real" stories of cowboys in the West.
While still in his teens, Adams ran away from home. He eventually made his way to Texas, where he found work as a cowboy. From 1882 to 1893, Adams witnessed firsthand the golden era of the Texas cattle industry, a time when the cowboys ran cattle on vast open ranges still relatively unrestricted by barbed wire fences. In 1883, he made the first of many cattle drives along the famous cattle trails running north from Texas to the cow towns of Kansas. As farmers began to challenge the ranchers for control of the land, Adams witnessed the gradual fencing-in of the cattle country that would eventually end the short age of the open range. He made his last cattle drive in 1889.
In 1893, Adams left Texas for Colorado, attracted by rumors of gold at Cripple Creek. Like most would-be miners, he failed to make a fortune in the business. He eventually settled in Colorado Springs, where he remained for most of his life. While doing on a variety of jobs, Adams began to write stories based on his experiences as a Texas cowboy. In 1903, he found a publisher for his novel The Log of a Cowboy, a thinly disguised autobiography of his life on the plains. A fascinated public welcomed tales from the former cowboy, and Adams wrote and published four similar volumes in less than four years.
Adams distinguished himself from the majority of other western authors of the day with his meticulous accuracy and fidelity to the truth. As its name implied, The Log of a Cowboy was a day-by-day account of a cattle drive Adams had made from Texas to Montana. The book had little plot beyond the progress of the cattle herd toward Montana, and had none of the romantic excitement offered by less literal chroniclers of the West. Adams' self-avowed goal was to make his fiction indistinguishable from fact, and as one commentator has noted, "in this he succeeds only too well."
While a reader searching for a good story might find Adams' books somewhat dull today, historians and writers looking for an accurate depiction of the cowboy life have found them invaluable. Beyond his five best-known books, Adams also wrote two popular novels for juveniles later in his career. When he died in Colorado Springs in 1935, he left a number of unpublished manuscripts of novels, stories, and plays that historians of the Old West have also found useful.
While still in his teens, Adams ran away from home. He eventually made his way to Texas, where he found work as a cowboy. From 1882 to 1893, Adams witnessed firsthand the golden era of the Texas cattle industry, a time when the cowboys ran cattle on vast open ranges still relatively unrestricted by barbed wire fences. In 1883, he made the first of many cattle drives along the famous cattle trails running north from Texas to the cow towns of Kansas. As farmers began to challenge the ranchers for control of the land, Adams witnessed the gradual fencing-in of the cattle country that would eventually end the short age of the open range. He made his last cattle drive in 1889.
In 1893, Adams left Texas for Colorado, attracted by rumors of gold at Cripple Creek. Like most would-be miners, he failed to make a fortune in the business. He eventually settled in Colorado Springs, where he remained for most of his life. While doing on a variety of jobs, Adams began to write stories based on his experiences as a Texas cowboy. In 1903, he found a publisher for his novel The Log of a Cowboy, a thinly disguised autobiography of his life on the plains. A fascinated public welcomed tales from the former cowboy, and Adams wrote and published four similar volumes in less than four years.
Adams distinguished himself from the majority of other western authors of the day with his meticulous accuracy and fidelity to the truth. As its name implied, The Log of a Cowboy was a day-by-day account of a cattle drive Adams had made from Texas to Montana. The book had little plot beyond the progress of the cattle herd toward Montana, and had none of the romantic excitement offered by less literal chroniclers of the West. Adams' self-avowed goal was to make his fiction indistinguishable from fact, and as one commentator has noted, "in this he succeeds only too well."
While a reader searching for a good story might find Adams' books somewhat dull today, historians and writers looking for an accurate depiction of the cowboy life have found them invaluable. Beyond his five best-known books, Adams also wrote two popular novels for juveniles later in his career. When he died in Colorado Springs in 1935, he left a number of unpublished manuscripts of novels, stories, and plays that historians of the Old West have also found useful.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 2, 2024
Nov 1, 230pm ~~ Like the last sumo book I read, The Giants Of Sumo, this 1989 book was published during the boom in international interest in sumo at that time. Unlike GOS, this book was written by people who knew what they were talking about. Andy Adams and Clyde Newton worked for Sumo World Magazine (of Tokyo) the only English language sumo magazine at the time. As far as I can tell, the magazine is no longer being issued. Darn.
Before I go any further, as of the date I am posting this review (Nov 1, 2024) clicking on the name of author Andy Adams does send you to the author page of an Andy Adams, but the Andy Adams who wrote books about cowboy life and died in 1935, not THIS Andy Adams. Just saying.
Okay, complaint over, how about the book? I was so disappointed in The Giants Of Sumo, I was a little bit concerned about what I might find in the 80 pages of Sumo, because to tell the truth I had not known until today about Andy and Clyde working for SW magazine. I had seen Clyde Newton's name on sumo books at my favorite online bookseller but that was as far as my information went about him.
Anyway, I was certainly not disappointed in this book, it was wonderful. Here is more from the back cover:
This informative guide gets right in behind the action and the culture. It captures -- in words and images -- the essence of both aspects, and explains both the past and the present of this quintessentially Japanese sport.
That sounds like a lot to cover in just 80 pages, but the authors did a remarkable job here, and I am very happy to have this book in my sumo library.
There are 19 chapters, usually just a couple of pages each (because there are plenty of great photos!) but offering all the basic information a new fan is most interested in: rules, techniques, awards, life in the sumo stable, details of training.
I also found a few gems that I had not seen anywhere else, and one item that answered a question I have been wondering about for quite some time. In the September tournament I noticed that the clay ring had cracks showing in various places around the sides and corners. I knew that for each tournament the 18-foot-square ring is rebuilt from bottom to top so I wondered why a brand new ring would show cracks. According to Andy and Clyde, it is from the air conditioning inside the arena drying out the hard-packed clay. One more "why?" crossed off my list, always a good thing!
Since I am slowly getting to know not just individual wrestlers but their home stables as well, I was very interested in the Organization And History pages in the chapter on stable life. I have mentioned a YouTube channel that I watch featuring daily life of the wrestlers who live there. There are fifteen young men in this stable, and at times the rooms on camera seem quite crowded, as does the practice ring area in morning sessions. So I can barely imagine life in even a slightly bigger stable, let alone one with 150 wrestlers, like Dewanoumi once had. That stable was established in the 1890s, was 'much smaller' when this book was written, and as of today has 18 wrestlers, including one of my favorites, Mitakeumi.
The final chapter of the book is called Clash Of The Giants. It explains and shows pictures of the epic bout between Chiyonofuji and Onokuni, both yokozunas (grand champions) at the time. Chiyonofuji came onto the ring with a 53-match winning streak. Would he leave with 54? The pictures are incredible and the text almost as exciting as being there in person. It was the perfect way to end this book!
Before I go any further, as of the date I am posting this review (Nov 1, 2024) clicking on the name of author Andy Adams does send you to the author page of an Andy Adams, but the Andy Adams who wrote books about cowboy life and died in 1935, not THIS Andy Adams. Just saying.
Okay, complaint over, how about the book? I was so disappointed in The Giants Of Sumo, I was a little bit concerned about what I might find in the 80 pages of Sumo, because to tell the truth I had not known until today about Andy and Clyde working for SW magazine. I had seen Clyde Newton's name on sumo books at my favorite online bookseller but that was as far as my information went about him.
Anyway, I was certainly not disappointed in this book, it was wonderful. Here is more from the back cover:
This informative guide gets right in behind the action and the culture. It captures -- in words and images -- the essence of both aspects, and explains both the past and the present of this quintessentially Japanese sport.
That sounds like a lot to cover in just 80 pages, but the authors did a remarkable job here, and I am very happy to have this book in my sumo library.
There are 19 chapters, usually just a couple of pages each (because there are plenty of great photos!) but offering all the basic information a new fan is most interested in: rules, techniques, awards, life in the sumo stable, details of training.
I also found a few gems that I had not seen anywhere else, and one item that answered a question I have been wondering about for quite some time. In the September tournament I noticed that the clay ring had cracks showing in various places around the sides and corners. I knew that for each tournament the 18-foot-square ring is rebuilt from bottom to top so I wondered why a brand new ring would show cracks. According to Andy and Clyde, it is from the air conditioning inside the arena drying out the hard-packed clay. One more "why?" crossed off my list, always a good thing!
Since I am slowly getting to know not just individual wrestlers but their home stables as well, I was very interested in the Organization And History pages in the chapter on stable life. I have mentioned a YouTube channel that I watch featuring daily life of the wrestlers who live there. There are fifteen young men in this stable, and at times the rooms on camera seem quite crowded, as does the practice ring area in morning sessions. So I can barely imagine life in even a slightly bigger stable, let alone one with 150 wrestlers, like Dewanoumi once had. That stable was established in the 1890s, was 'much smaller' when this book was written, and as of today has 18 wrestlers, including one of my favorites, Mitakeumi.
The final chapter of the book is called Clash Of The Giants. It explains and shows pictures of the epic bout between Chiyonofuji and Onokuni, both yokozunas (grand champions) at the time. Chiyonofuji came onto the ring with a 53-match winning streak. Would he leave with 54? The pictures are incredible and the text almost as exciting as being there in person. It was the perfect way to end this book!
December 28, 2013
Great for its time - but published in 1988. Now 25 years out of date.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews