Author: Megan Crane
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1946772283
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
Skylar Grey lost everything when her fiancé died. But her move back to her hometown, Billings, Montana is not the fresh start she seeks, as too many people know her tragic tale. But then she meets a bull riding cowboy who treats her like she's made of fire and everything changes. Cody Galen joined the American Extreme Bull Riders Tour to make money, not friends. He enjoys whiskey, winning, and women and he doesn’t care who he pisses off while he pursues the hell out of all three. He figures he only has a few years left before his body gives out and he might as well go down hard in a blaze of glory. He knows the pretty thing he meets his first night in Billings is no buckle bunny, but if she wants to play that role, who is he to argue? Neither one of them is looking for anything lasting. But there’s only one thing more dangerous than riding bulls—and that’s love. First Published as Cody
Most Dangerous Cowboy
Author: Megan Crane
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1946772283
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
Skylar Grey lost everything when her fiancé died. But her move back to her hometown, Billings, Montana is not the fresh start she seeks, as too many people know her tragic tale. But then she meets a bull riding cowboy who treats her like she's made of fire and everything changes. Cody Galen joined the American Extreme Bull Riders Tour to make money, not friends. He enjoys whiskey, winning, and women and he doesn’t care who he pisses off while he pursues the hell out of all three. He figures he only has a few years left before his body gives out and he might as well go down hard in a blaze of glory. He knows the pretty thing he meets his first night in Billings is no buckle bunny, but if she wants to play that role, who is he to argue? Neither one of them is looking for anything lasting. But there’s only one thing more dangerous than riding bulls—and that’s love. First Published as Cody
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1946772283
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
Skylar Grey lost everything when her fiancé died. But her move back to her hometown, Billings, Montana is not the fresh start she seeks, as too many people know her tragic tale. But then she meets a bull riding cowboy who treats her like she's made of fire and everything changes. Cody Galen joined the American Extreme Bull Riders Tour to make money, not friends. He enjoys whiskey, winning, and women and he doesn’t care who he pisses off while he pursues the hell out of all three. He figures he only has a few years left before his body gives out and he might as well go down hard in a blaze of glory. He knows the pretty thing he meets his first night in Billings is no buckle bunny, but if she wants to play that role, who is he to argue? Neither one of them is looking for anything lasting. But there’s only one thing more dangerous than riding bulls—and that’s love. First Published as Cody
Volcano Cowboys
Author: Dick Thompson
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312286682
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
In "one of the best science books of the year" ("Library Journal"), the author celebrates volcano "cowboys, " their hazardous lives, and the often harrowing decisions they must make while studying eruptions. 8-page photo insert.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312286682
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
In "one of the best science books of the year" ("Library Journal"), the author celebrates volcano "cowboys, " their hazardous lives, and the often harrowing decisions they must make while studying eruptions. 8-page photo insert.
Saddling Up Anyway
Author: Patrick Dearen
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publications
ISBN: 1589792238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
Every time a cowhand dug his boot into the stirrup, he knew that the ride could carry him to trail's end. With real stories told by men who were cowboys before the 1930s, this book captures the everyday perils of the flinty hoofs and devil horns of an outlaw steer, the crush of a half-ton of fury in the guise of a saddle horse, the snap of a rope pulled taut enough to sever digits. Whether destined to be remembered or forgotten, a cowhand clung to life with all the zeal with which he approached his trade.
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publications
ISBN: 1589792238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
Every time a cowhand dug his boot into the stirrup, he knew that the ride could carry him to trail's end. With real stories told by men who were cowboys before the 1930s, this book captures the everyday perils of the flinty hoofs and devil horns of an outlaw steer, the crush of a half-ton of fury in the guise of a saddle horse, the snap of a rope pulled taut enough to sever digits. Whether destined to be remembered or forgotten, a cowhand clung to life with all the zeal with which he approached his trade.
Hot, Hard and Impossible Cowboys
Author: Megan Crane
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1964703387
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1089
Book Description
Do you like your cowboys hot, hard and ready to ride? There’s a code these cowboys live by, and they’re tough, uncompromising, taciturn and guarded. They’re also impossibly loyal, honorable, passionate, and their love—once bestowed—is everlasting. We wouldn’t have them any other way! Most Dangerous Cowboy by Megan Crane There’s only one thing more dangerous than riding bulls—and that’s love. And cowboy Cody’s too busy pursuing whiskey, winning, women, and glory to even consider it. Until pretty little Skylar Grey decides to impersonate a buckle bunny and lights a fire in his heart. What is love? All Cody knows is that he’s going down hard. A Doctor For The Cowboy by Amy Andrews Cocky Aussie bull rider Troy has been busted down to the pro-circuit. He needs wins to get him back into the big league, but an injury forces him off the circuit and into the arms of gorgeous doctor Joss. She patches him up, tells him it’s time to stop riding, and somehow he winds up playing father figure to her wayward teenage son. Will passion, purpose and love tempt this playboy cowboy to finally settle down? The Cowboy’s Redemption by Paula Altenberg She’s done with cowboys for good… Barrel racer Dana’s last romance with a rodeo cowboy ended in tragedy—and was definitely not the fairy tale love story rodeo fans chose to see. Dana needs a fresh start, a new horse, a few wins, and emphatically no steamy encounters with her late fiancé’s best friend! The Rebel and The Cowboy by Sarah Mayberry He’s got a lean, hard body and the heart of a poet… Sparks fly when born-and-bred cowboy Casey meets urban artist Eva, but he’ll never turn away from his responsibilities to his family and the ranch. There’ll be no chasing music-making dreams for him, even if Eva takes his heart with her when she leaves… Her Cowboy Baby Daddy by Jeannie Watt When cowboy Spence returns home to the Keller ranch to negotiate water rights with the neighboring rancher, gorgeous Hayley’s counteroffer leaves him speechless. Spence is definitely up for a no-strings affair with Hayley, but father a child and walk away? Never. The Cowboy Doctor by Leah Vale She lives for the thrill. He’s tasked with keeping her safe… Can rodeo doctor Drew keep daredevil bucking bronc rider Peyton safe? Or is it a case of opposites attract for the cowgirl and the rodeo doctor, and someone’s bound to get hurt?
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1964703387
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1089
Book Description
Do you like your cowboys hot, hard and ready to ride? There’s a code these cowboys live by, and they’re tough, uncompromising, taciturn and guarded. They’re also impossibly loyal, honorable, passionate, and their love—once bestowed—is everlasting. We wouldn’t have them any other way! Most Dangerous Cowboy by Megan Crane There’s only one thing more dangerous than riding bulls—and that’s love. And cowboy Cody’s too busy pursuing whiskey, winning, women, and glory to even consider it. Until pretty little Skylar Grey decides to impersonate a buckle bunny and lights a fire in his heart. What is love? All Cody knows is that he’s going down hard. A Doctor For The Cowboy by Amy Andrews Cocky Aussie bull rider Troy has been busted down to the pro-circuit. He needs wins to get him back into the big league, but an injury forces him off the circuit and into the arms of gorgeous doctor Joss. She patches him up, tells him it’s time to stop riding, and somehow he winds up playing father figure to her wayward teenage son. Will passion, purpose and love tempt this playboy cowboy to finally settle down? The Cowboy’s Redemption by Paula Altenberg She’s done with cowboys for good… Barrel racer Dana’s last romance with a rodeo cowboy ended in tragedy—and was definitely not the fairy tale love story rodeo fans chose to see. Dana needs a fresh start, a new horse, a few wins, and emphatically no steamy encounters with her late fiancé’s best friend! The Rebel and The Cowboy by Sarah Mayberry He’s got a lean, hard body and the heart of a poet… Sparks fly when born-and-bred cowboy Casey meets urban artist Eva, but he’ll never turn away from his responsibilities to his family and the ranch. There’ll be no chasing music-making dreams for him, even if Eva takes his heart with her when she leaves… Her Cowboy Baby Daddy by Jeannie Watt When cowboy Spence returns home to the Keller ranch to negotiate water rights with the neighboring rancher, gorgeous Hayley’s counteroffer leaves him speechless. Spence is definitely up for a no-strings affair with Hayley, but father a child and walk away? Never. The Cowboy Doctor by Leah Vale She lives for the thrill. He’s tasked with keeping her safe… Can rodeo doctor Drew keep daredevil bucking bronc rider Peyton safe? Or is it a case of opposites attract for the cowgirl and the rodeo doctor, and someone’s bound to get hurt?
Lonesome Cowboy
Author: MM Grey
Publisher: Diana Persaud
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 159
Book Description
Shane Whitfield has only one regret—letting Margarita slip through his fingers. When Margarita shows up on his doorstep with an offer to buy his ranch, Shane makes one thing clear: He’s keeping his ranch and his woman. After a passionate, unforgettable night, Margarita Ramirez left New Mexico—and Shane—to focus on her career. Now she’s back at Whitfield Ranch and Shane is the only thing standing in her way of a big promotion. She thought it would be easy to convince Shane to sell. But he’s as stubborn as the bulls on his ranch. When Shane turns up the heat, she’s tempted to run—again. But her rugged cowboy has a few tricks up his sleeve and he’s not giving up until Margarita is his.
Publisher: Diana Persaud
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 159
Book Description
Shane Whitfield has only one regret—letting Margarita slip through his fingers. When Margarita shows up on his doorstep with an offer to buy his ranch, Shane makes one thing clear: He’s keeping his ranch and his woman. After a passionate, unforgettable night, Margarita Ramirez left New Mexico—and Shane—to focus on her career. Now she’s back at Whitfield Ranch and Shane is the only thing standing in her way of a big promotion. She thought it would be easy to convince Shane to sell. But he’s as stubborn as the bulls on his ranch. When Shane turns up the heat, she’s tempted to run—again. But her rugged cowboy has a few tricks up his sleeve and he’s not giving up until Margarita is his.
Black Cowboys in the American West
Author: Bruce A. Glasrud
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806156503
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263
Book Description
Who were the black cowboys? They were drovers, foremen, fiddlers, cowpunchers, cattle rustlers, cooks, and singers. They worked as wranglers, riders, ropers, bulldoggers, and bronc busters. They came from varied backgrounds—some grew up in slavery, while free blacks often got their start in Texas and Mexico. Most who joined the long trail drives were men, but black women also rode and worked on western ranches and farms. The first overview of the subject in more than fifty years, Black Cowboys in the American West surveys the life and work of these cattle drivers from the years before the Civil War through the turn of the twentieth century. Including both classic, previously published articles and exciting new research, this collection also features select accounts of twentieth-century rodeos, music, people, and films. Arranged in three sections—“Cowboys on the Range,” “Performing Cowboys,” and “Outriders of the Black Cowboys”—the thirteen chapters illuminate the great diversity of the black cowboy experience. Like all ranch hands and riders, African American cowboys lived hard, dangerous lives. But black drovers were expected to do the roughest, most dangerous work—and to do it without complaint. They faced discrimination out west, albeit less than in the South, which many had left in search of autonomy and freedom. As cowboys, they could escape the brutal violence visited on African Americans in many southern communities and northern cities. Black cowhands remain an integral part of life in the West, the descendants of African Americans who ventured west and helped settle and establish black communities. This long-overdue examination of nineteenth- and twentieth-century black cowboys ensures that they, and their many stories and experiences, will continue to be known and told.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806156503
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263
Book Description
Who were the black cowboys? They were drovers, foremen, fiddlers, cowpunchers, cattle rustlers, cooks, and singers. They worked as wranglers, riders, ropers, bulldoggers, and bronc busters. They came from varied backgrounds—some grew up in slavery, while free blacks often got their start in Texas and Mexico. Most who joined the long trail drives were men, but black women also rode and worked on western ranches and farms. The first overview of the subject in more than fifty years, Black Cowboys in the American West surveys the life and work of these cattle drivers from the years before the Civil War through the turn of the twentieth century. Including both classic, previously published articles and exciting new research, this collection also features select accounts of twentieth-century rodeos, music, people, and films. Arranged in three sections—“Cowboys on the Range,” “Performing Cowboys,” and “Outriders of the Black Cowboys”—the thirteen chapters illuminate the great diversity of the black cowboy experience. Like all ranch hands and riders, African American cowboys lived hard, dangerous lives. But black drovers were expected to do the roughest, most dangerous work—and to do it without complaint. They faced discrimination out west, albeit less than in the South, which many had left in search of autonomy and freedom. As cowboys, they could escape the brutal violence visited on African Americans in many southern communities and northern cities. Black cowhands remain an integral part of life in the West, the descendants of African Americans who ventured west and helped settle and establish black communities. This long-overdue examination of nineteenth- and twentieth-century black cowboys ensures that they, and their many stories and experiences, will continue to be known and told.
Graham Barnett
Author: James L. Coffey
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574416677
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
Graham Barnett was killed in Rankin, Texas, on December 6, 1931. His death brought an end to a storied career, but not an end to the legends that claimed he was a gunman, a hired pistolero on both sides of the border, a Texas Ranger known for questionable shootings in Company B under Captain Fox, a deputy sheriff, a bootlegger, and a possible “fixer” for both law enforcement and outlaw organizations. In real life he was a good cowboy, who provided for his family the best way he could, and who did so by slipping seamlessly between the law enforcement community and the world of illegal liquor traffickers. Stories say he killed unnumbered men on the border, but he stood trial only twice and was acquitted both times. Barnett lived in the twentieth century but carried with him many of the attitudes of old frontier Texas. Among those beliefs was that if there were problems, a man dealt with them directly and forcefully—with a gun. His penchant to settle a score with gunplay brought him into confrontation with Sheriff W. C. Fowler, a former friend, who shot Barnett with the latter’s own submachine gun on loan. One contemporary summed it up best: “Officers in West Texas got the best sleep they had had in twenty years that Sunday night after Fowler killed Graham.”
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574416677
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
Graham Barnett was killed in Rankin, Texas, on December 6, 1931. His death brought an end to a storied career, but not an end to the legends that claimed he was a gunman, a hired pistolero on both sides of the border, a Texas Ranger known for questionable shootings in Company B under Captain Fox, a deputy sheriff, a bootlegger, and a possible “fixer” for both law enforcement and outlaw organizations. In real life he was a good cowboy, who provided for his family the best way he could, and who did so by slipping seamlessly between the law enforcement community and the world of illegal liquor traffickers. Stories say he killed unnumbered men on the border, but he stood trial only twice and was acquitted both times. Barnett lived in the twentieth century but carried with him many of the attitudes of old frontier Texas. Among those beliefs was that if there were problems, a man dealt with them directly and forcefully—with a gun. His penchant to settle a score with gunplay brought him into confrontation with Sheriff W. C. Fowler, a former friend, who shot Barnett with the latter’s own submachine gun on loan. One contemporary summed it up best: “Officers in West Texas got the best sleep they had had in twenty years that Sunday night after Fowler killed Graham.”
The Cowboy’s Forbidden Bride
Author: Megan Crane
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1962707652
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
Wilder Carey has always enjoyed living up to his name. When he spots pretty Cat Lisle in the seediest bar around, he ignores the bad blood between their families to step in. But his uncharacteristic good intentions scatter when she kisses him—and this unrepentant heartbreaker faces three uncomfortable truths: He’s been nursing an attraction to an innocent. He’s not a man built to resist temptation. And Cat is not only not the little girl he’s been pretending she is, she might be the one woman worth the trouble. Cat’s over being well-behaved, but thanks to her grumpy and overprotective older brothers, she’s had no choice. Now that she’s ready to ruin her reputation, she lucks into an encounter with the cowboy of her hottest fantasies. Cat knows she’s supposed to avoid the Carey family, but Wilder is everything deliciously naughty and if she doesn’t take her shot, she’ll regret it forever… Soon Wilder is secretly teaching her every sexy trick he knows, and Cat is falling in love… but what happens when sworn enemies want to go public?
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ISBN: 1962707652
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
Wilder Carey has always enjoyed living up to his name. When he spots pretty Cat Lisle in the seediest bar around, he ignores the bad blood between their families to step in. But his uncharacteristic good intentions scatter when she kisses him—and this unrepentant heartbreaker faces three uncomfortable truths: He’s been nursing an attraction to an innocent. He’s not a man built to resist temptation. And Cat is not only not the little girl he’s been pretending she is, she might be the one woman worth the trouble. Cat’s over being well-behaved, but thanks to her grumpy and overprotective older brothers, she’s had no choice. Now that she’s ready to ruin her reputation, she lucks into an encounter with the cowboy of her hottest fantasies. Cat knows she’s supposed to avoid the Carey family, but Wilder is everything deliciously naughty and if she doesn’t take her shot, she’ll regret it forever… Soon Wilder is secretly teaching her every sexy trick he knows, and Cat is falling in love… but what happens when sworn enemies want to go public?
Origin
Author: William Bahl
Publisher: Bahl & Nash Audio Solutions
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
Carly navigates the sadistic machinations of her sociopathic captor while decay and turmoil tear away the last vestiges of civility. Colonel Sebridge relies on his hybrid pet Ramirez to sow unease amongst the small group of prisoners. Marik's disgust of Ramirez goes too far as he finds himself made an example of when Ramirez feeds on him to show the consequences of disobeying the Colonel's rules of conduct. As the infected grow more resilient and intelligent, Sebridge must abandon his stronghold when advanced mutants lay waste to the military base under his command. He secures the artifact in his flight from danger, dragging Carly and Ramirez along for the ride. Sebridge makes himself, and those around him targets for another devastating attack when he brings the artifact and the pseudo-artifact together in one location. The artifact calls to all infected beings, promising its limitless power to any creature able to reach it. The pseudo-artifact, a quantum computer infused with knowledge gained by analyzing data from the artifact, becomes a nexus of chaotic potency yet to mature. Both objects will shift the course of reality for all time. Cowboy faces an opponent he can't defeat. With no memory of the battle afterward, Cowboy finds himself alive thanks to his physiological enhancements. Cormac, an old friend from Cowboy's distant past, shows up in his life to teach Cowboy how to hunt and kill the Wyrtevore. Together they track the one that stole Cowboy's memory, finding themselves outside the gates of a veritable fortress holding the artifact and the pseudo-artifact. Luke and Gavin fall prey to a sadistic gang of vigilantes who force them to fight scramblers to the death for sport. Taking a desperate gamble to escape with only their lives, Luke and his best friend encounter Jacob. Jacob leads a crew of glorified bandits, fancying themselves protectors of justice in a lawless world. Working their way out of Jacob's debt, the two hapless wanderers find refuge in the well-protected township of Hampton Flats. Things are going well for Luke and Gavin in their new home. They live content and find their purpose in joining the Search & Clear team. Tragedy strikes hard when on a routine S&C shift, their old captor shows up out of the blue. Luke suffers yet another devastating loss, wounding him to the core. Genevieve and Chloe arrive at The Mountain. To her surprise, she finds an old colleague occupying her fortress of solitude with his daughter. An uneasy truce comes out of their initial conflict. When Conrad and his brother show up to claim The Mountain for themselves, Genevieve and Sal Bernardi's precarious agreement goes awry. Read the tumultuous prologue to End Game in this fourth installment of Disrupted Equilibrium.
Publisher: Bahl & Nash Audio Solutions
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
Carly navigates the sadistic machinations of her sociopathic captor while decay and turmoil tear away the last vestiges of civility. Colonel Sebridge relies on his hybrid pet Ramirez to sow unease amongst the small group of prisoners. Marik's disgust of Ramirez goes too far as he finds himself made an example of when Ramirez feeds on him to show the consequences of disobeying the Colonel's rules of conduct. As the infected grow more resilient and intelligent, Sebridge must abandon his stronghold when advanced mutants lay waste to the military base under his command. He secures the artifact in his flight from danger, dragging Carly and Ramirez along for the ride. Sebridge makes himself, and those around him targets for another devastating attack when he brings the artifact and the pseudo-artifact together in one location. The artifact calls to all infected beings, promising its limitless power to any creature able to reach it. The pseudo-artifact, a quantum computer infused with knowledge gained by analyzing data from the artifact, becomes a nexus of chaotic potency yet to mature. Both objects will shift the course of reality for all time. Cowboy faces an opponent he can't defeat. With no memory of the battle afterward, Cowboy finds himself alive thanks to his physiological enhancements. Cormac, an old friend from Cowboy's distant past, shows up in his life to teach Cowboy how to hunt and kill the Wyrtevore. Together they track the one that stole Cowboy's memory, finding themselves outside the gates of a veritable fortress holding the artifact and the pseudo-artifact. Luke and Gavin fall prey to a sadistic gang of vigilantes who force them to fight scramblers to the death for sport. Taking a desperate gamble to escape with only their lives, Luke and his best friend encounter Jacob. Jacob leads a crew of glorified bandits, fancying themselves protectors of justice in a lawless world. Working their way out of Jacob's debt, the two hapless wanderers find refuge in the well-protected township of Hampton Flats. Things are going well for Luke and Gavin in their new home. They live content and find their purpose in joining the Search & Clear team. Tragedy strikes hard when on a routine S&C shift, their old captor shows up out of the blue. Luke suffers yet another devastating loss, wounding him to the core. Genevieve and Chloe arrive at The Mountain. To her surprise, she finds an old colleague occupying her fortress of solitude with his daughter. An uneasy truce comes out of their initial conflict. When Conrad and his brother show up to claim The Mountain for themselves, Genevieve and Sal Bernardi's precarious agreement goes awry. Read the tumultuous prologue to End Game in this fourth installment of Disrupted Equilibrium.
Cowboy Presidents
Author: David A. Smith
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806169907
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
For an element so firmly fixed in American culture, the frontier myth is surprisingly flexible. How else to explain its having taken two such different guises in the twentieth century—the progressive, forward-looking politics of Rough Rider president Teddy Roosevelt and the conservative, old-fashioned character and Cold War politics of Ronald Reagan? This is the conundrum at the heart of Cowboy Presidents, which explores the deployment and consequent transformation of the frontier myth by four U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. Behind the shape-shifting of this myth, historian David A. Smith finds major events in American and world history that have made various aspects of the “Old West” frontier more relevant, and more useful, for promoting radically different political ideologies and agendas. And these divergent adaptations of frontier symbolism have altered the frontier myth. Theodore Roosevelt, with his vigorous pursuit of an activist federal government, helped establish a version of the frontier myth that today would be considered liberal. But then, Smith shows, a series of events from the Lyndon Johnson through Jimmy Carter presidencies—including Vietnam, race riots, and stagflation—seemed to give the lie to the progressive frontier myth. In the wake of these crises, Smith’s analysis reveals, the entire structure and popular representation of frontier symbols and images in American politics shifted dramatically from left to right, and from liberal to conservative, with profound implications for the history of American thought and presidential politics. The now popular idea that “frontier American” leaders and politicians are naturally Republicans with conservative ideals flows directly from the Reagan era. Cowboy Presidents gives us a new, clarifying perspective on how Americans shape and understand their national identity and sense of purpose; at the same time, reflecting on the essential mutability of a quintessentially national myth, the book suggests that the next iteration of the frontier myth may well be on the horizon.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806169907
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
For an element so firmly fixed in American culture, the frontier myth is surprisingly flexible. How else to explain its having taken two such different guises in the twentieth century—the progressive, forward-looking politics of Rough Rider president Teddy Roosevelt and the conservative, old-fashioned character and Cold War politics of Ronald Reagan? This is the conundrum at the heart of Cowboy Presidents, which explores the deployment and consequent transformation of the frontier myth by four U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. Behind the shape-shifting of this myth, historian David A. Smith finds major events in American and world history that have made various aspects of the “Old West” frontier more relevant, and more useful, for promoting radically different political ideologies and agendas. And these divergent adaptations of frontier symbolism have altered the frontier myth. Theodore Roosevelt, with his vigorous pursuit of an activist federal government, helped establish a version of the frontier myth that today would be considered liberal. But then, Smith shows, a series of events from the Lyndon Johnson through Jimmy Carter presidencies—including Vietnam, race riots, and stagflation—seemed to give the lie to the progressive frontier myth. In the wake of these crises, Smith’s analysis reveals, the entire structure and popular representation of frontier symbols and images in American politics shifted dramatically from left to right, and from liberal to conservative, with profound implications for the history of American thought and presidential politics. The now popular idea that “frontier American” leaders and politicians are naturally Republicans with conservative ideals flows directly from the Reagan era. Cowboy Presidents gives us a new, clarifying perspective on how Americans shape and understand their national identity and sense of purpose; at the same time, reflecting on the essential mutability of a quintessentially national myth, the book suggests that the next iteration of the frontier myth may well be on the horizon.