Cowboys of the Wild West

by Russell Freedman

Introduces readers to the proud young men who inspired a legend -- the trail-driving cow herders of the late nineteenth century.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Westerns, American History, Picture Books

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Russell A. Freedman was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography.

He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. His nonfiction books ranged in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.

Freedman traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedman wrote this out of a childhood admiration of cowboys. He found out that a lot of the myth of cowboys was completely made up. Cowboys did sing....not rollicking songs your Mom wouldn’t want you to hear, but quiet lullabies that calmed the cattle. Cowboys did work independently but for very little money, most of which would get spent at the town at the end of the trail. Cowboys mostly chased off animals that would be after the cattle, not so much Native Americans (a lot of whom were cowboys themselves). Cowboys with 2 guns were totally fake. One gun was plenty to keep track of. Often cowboys didn’t own their horses but they always owned their own saddles.

This was a slightly melancholic book. However it was well put together, with interesting photos. Definitely recommended for the real cowboy who was actually more interesting than the mythical cowboy.

[onysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to understand, concise, and interesting. Looking through the bibliography, the book was shockingly small for all the research the author did.

I just learned that my idea of cowboy music was wrong. I always thought it was rowdy, foot-stomping, hand-clapping, banjo strumming music. Most cowboy music was slow and soft. They were mainly ballads and lullabies sung to calm down the cows.

Cows like slow music.

I did not know that.

[Cognatious Thunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book's brief form may be perfect for younger readers, as an adult I was left wanting more. However, plainspoken and concise nonfiction books with plentiful pictures are as rare as hen's teeth, so I can fully understand giving this one five stars.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The late American Writer Russell Freeman published Cowboys of the Wild West in 1985. Freedman’s Cowboy of the Wild West was written for young adults, but readers of any age can enjoy and learn from this book. The book features a superb layout, accompanied by black-and-white photographs. The book includes a bibliography and an index (Freedman 127-129). Each of the six chapters looks at the life of cowboys in the Wild West. Each chapter starts with the lyrics of cowboy songs. Russell Freedman wrote at the beginning of a book published in 1985, “A century ago, in the years following the Civil War, one million mustang ponies and ten million head of longhorn cattle were driven north of Texas. Bawling and bellowing, the lanky longhorns trampled along dusty trails in herds that numbered a thousand animals or more. Behind and beside each herd rode groups of men on horseback. Often, they sang to the cattle as they drove them on. Those old-time cow herders were mostly very young men, and in time they came to be known as cowboys” (Freedman 9). The last chapter covers cowboys in the imagination. Russell Freedman’s book, The Cowboys of the Wild West, is an excellent introduction to the Cowboys of the Wild West.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written, informative and interesting book about real cowboy life. I loved the photos of real cowboys.

This book was my main source of historical information for the cowboy section of the "Wild Wild West" theme homeschool curriculum I'm writing with my sisters for our young children.

[Danis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce children to cowboys and the Wild West. The photographs show how hard the life of a cowboy was. I would definitely have this book in my library.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may not be a real 5 star, but due to the subject and how it was done one of my personal favorites of all time. Right down MY alley!

[Dean Davison · Rating 3 out of 5]

At JC J978 Freedman 112 p.