The American West: Cowboys

by Grayson Wyatt

Forged in dime novels, Wild West shows, and Hollywood films, the image of the American cowboy is largely a myth. But behind it were real men whose hard work and hard play, stoic toughness, and code of honor helped tame the American West. The epic cattle drives that were so much a part of the cowboys' heyday lasted only an astonishingly brief two decades. But the cowboy is still a basic part of the American character. Here, from historian Grayson Wyatt, is their surprising and little-told story.

Genres: History

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 14, 2016

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well written

This is a concise and clear book that uses many firsthand sources to bring the era of the cowboys to light. It traces the development of the cattle trade from its beginnings right after the Civil War through its heyday to its gradual demise. The addition of the first hand stories nicely illustrates the points it makes and helps bring the era to life.

[John E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The REAL cowboy story

If you are interested in the Wild West and the cowboys that moved beef in Texas to railheads in Kansas and pastures in Montana, then this is a must read. Cowpokes endured their hard lives stoically, but they enjoyed the adventure. Wyatt convinced me that it’s better to read about the life than it would be to live the life.

[R.A.Howle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book helped understand the cowboy generation. The only image we have had of cowboys was what we saw when the the movies we saw during our you. We had to use our imagination during that time to feed our fancies about cowboys we often immulated curing our "make believe" playtimes. Seventy years later I have seen what the cowboy image was which cannot be immulated.

[Uakinci · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched book for those interested in the history of Wild West. Dozens of fascinating facts about cowboys, not the Hollywood myth but the real working-class cowboys. A tough life lived for pennies, facing multiple hazards every day. An easy pleasant read.

[Tom Sells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cowboys work

The cattle trails and towns have faded into history. What a great history it is, rock hard cowboys moving herds of beef to railheads and wild towns, with wild men and women. The stories are great!

[Rachel Cacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful overview.

Great to read a realistic history of our old west. It was a wild, dangerous territory for those cattlemen. Usually, the stories are movie-type versions.

[Mark Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative book

A good read about the American cowboy. I found it to be accurate and well written. Could have been fleshed out a bit more, though.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short cowboy story

A short but interesting story about cowboys. Not sure what I expected but this wasn't it. I had hope for more detail.

[Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and, to no surprise, much different than what Hollywood and years of fictional fabrications have portrayed as historical.

[R. Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history of the raise and fall of the American cowboy from his rise in Texas through his hay day up to his turning into the modern day cowboy.

[Gary Thomas]

Good book, covered the 20 years of the cattle drives very good Well worth the time to read.

[Kimberly Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very informative and I loved the details.

[LeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting, easy to read book. Born and raised in Texas, grew up on a horse. The adjusting to the early days of the wild west of America is a time we will never see again.