Cactus Tracks & Cowboy Philosophy

by Baxter Black

Author of the comic rodeo novel Hey Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky? , irregular commentator on NPR, syndicated columnist, and the best-selling cowboy poet in the world now rounds up this hilarious collection of poetry and commentaries that have made him public radio's favorite left-handed former large animal veterinarian.

Veterinarian-turned-poet/columnist/raconteur Baxter Black has been making people laugh since his days of doctoring livestock. Now heard and read regularly around the country via his radio and television appearances and hailed by readers for his self-published poetry books, Baxter has left a trail of laughter in his wake.  

Cactus Tracks & Cowboy Philosophy is the complete illustrated collection of his commentaries that have aired on NPR's Morning Edition.  It is the latest dose of the best medicine from this former animal doctor with the wit and soul of a salty sagebrush Shakespeare.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Humor, Philosophy, Horses

275 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Baxter Black (January 10, 1945 – June 10, 2022) was an American cowboy poet and veterinarian. He wrote over 30 books of poetry, fiction—both novels and children's literature—and commentary, selling over two million books, CDs, and DVDs.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baxter Black, cowboy poet and former veterinarian. I remember seeing him on tv a few times and also reading a little of his work back in my star cowgirl days. But over the years I lost track of him.

So until he passed away on June 10 of this year, I never realized that he was a neighbor of mine. In my part of the world, still full of wide open spaces, anyone living within a two hour drive is a neighbor.

I was saddened by the news and decided to treat myself to a few of his books, to get a proper sample of his wit and wisdom. I ordered two collections of his NPR broadcasts and two novels. This is the first of the NPR broadcasts, published in 1997.

The page-length poems and essays here were just what I needed at a time when the country seems to be going to heck even faster than it did from 2016 to 2020.

Thanks for the desperately needed giggles, neighbor.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Garrison Keillor had been a cowboy and veterinarian, he wouldn't quite be Baxter Black, but I'm sure they'd be neighbors. Baxter Black is also a talented poet in the "cowboy poetry" style, and his slice-of-life essays about life in the west are a real treat.
He presents life on a ranch without some of the frilly fictional bits that turn up in even the best stories about the west. Instead, the material here ranges from the hilarious to the gruesome, from the poetic to the painful. You may not agree with everything he says or every viewpoint that he presents, but the stories that he tells are wonderful ones.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my Dad and even had it signed by the author at a Lawrence, Kansas bookstore. If you ever get a chance to hear his commentaries on NPR or meet him in person, you'll be very happy that you did. He's hilarious!

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one provided some levity while reading alongside two novels set in bleak futures. This mixed bag of short stories was mostly humorous, held some tender moments and even offered some tongue in cheek social commentary.

[John Winkelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like cows and consider myself a bit of a cowboy, so I had real hope for these stories. There are a few good phrase turns and some fun on the poetry, but for the most part I thought the book rarely reached 3/5 stars. If I didn’t need it to reach my annual goal, I probably would have given up.

[Jocelyn Doddridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baxter Black is highly entertaining. His poems and short stories are witty and fun to read.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just delightful. You can also watch some You Tube clips of him reciting his poetry live and they are hilarious

[Elizabeth Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great humor - really like his stories and poetry

[Harry Podschwit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a chore to get through. I suspect someone else might enjoy it, but the humor wasn’t for me.

[Ellen Behrens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle to this book is "Commentary by NPR's Cowboy Poet and Former Large-Animal Veterinarian." I'd heard of Baxter Black, cowboy poet, and maybe at some point heard him on NPR. When I spotted this book I flipped it open, as I usually do, read bits and pieces, getting a feel for the style and quality.

It looked inviting, so I bought it.

My husband and I read together every night -- it's a way of sharing books and learning about the many places we visit as full-time RVers. We spend most of our time West of the Mississippi these days. Maybe Baxter's book would give us some insight into cowboy country.

Oh boy, did it. We got a pretty close-up look at cowboy life -- often so close we didn't even know what was going on. Clearly Baxter writes for other cowboys, farmers, and ranchers. People who live the land, tend the cattle, and ride horseback. He includes a handy glossary in the back, but we didn't think to interrupt our reading to traipse back to those pages for explanations of things that mired us down (floats, for example, have an entirely different meaning to somebody on a ranch than they do to someone in a swimming pool).

We missed a lot of what's considered humor in this collection because we're such outsiders to this world. We'd finish a commentary, then look at each other and say, "Probably the cowboys get that."

Even so, we found a few pieces that resonated, that made us think or smile, including "White Oaks Rodeo," "The Reindeer Flu" (which might just become our own "The Night Before Christmas" reading ritual from now on), "Shoein' Pigeye," and "Just Words."

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baxter Black was a veterinarian for a large company until he was laid off. He fell into a career of commentator and speech maker after that. NPR picked up his commentaries for years and many of these were from that time.
All the items are short. Some are poems. Others are prose. They range from serious to ridiculous. Most are meant to be humorous.
I enjoyed most of the items. Some I skipped over after a sentence or two. Cowboys were a favorite target and the situations could get unbelievable. Many gave food for thought, the one best for that being second from last called "Words."
The book is easy reading. The majority of the items were well worth the time to peruse them. The shortness of each made it easy to stop for a minute or two, read one and go on to the next project.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baxter Black is a very good poet and storyteller. If you like cowboy poetry and philosophy, this is the book for you. He is a real character. He mixes comedy into politics and serious subjects in a way that nobody else can do. It isn't just the content of his stories, poems, or philosophy, it's the way he tells it. He can turn political issues into things you can really understand with his comedy. His poems are very well written.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cactus Tracks & Cowboy Philosophy by Baxter Black(Penguin Books 1998)(818). Baxter Black bills himself as a "cowboy poet and large animal vetenarian." He's also a regular commentator and contributor on NPR. This is a collection of Black's columns for NPR with hand-drawn illustrations. My rating: 7/10, finished 2004.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of down-home humor, than Baxter Black is for you. With observations, funny stories, and insightful poetry, Baxter takes you back to simpler times and places through the eyes of cowboys from the past. A mixture of humor, insights, and wit, the reader will travel out to the west and learn the simple ways of past and modern cowboys and their world.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Bathroom Reader!

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book for those who like to read in stops and starts.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. While I enjoyed reading some of these out loud, just not the same as Baxter Black doing it himself.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beloved to my childhood. These poems range from playful to mournful. I have cried and laughed with Baxter Black.