Playing Cowboys

Playing Cowboys PDF Author: Robert Murray Davis
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806126272
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
In Playing Cowboys, Robert Murray Davis examines the Western hero-a principal image of American manhood since publication of The Virginian-as portrayed by a variety of post-World War II novelists and filmmakers. Innovative artists have used the Western to discuss issues of ethics and aesthetics, but its greatest impact may have been on popular cultural values. Davis shows that the Western is not primarily about escape or violence, but, at its best, is about development. The would-be hero adopts the existing role only to find it inadequate, and, forced to "reimagine" himself, he defines the Western hero anew. At the core of this process is strength-not power over others, but courage to go beyond the established boundaries. Although women do appear in the Western (often as proponents of "civilization"), it is fundamentally a man's world, offering an important view of male identity. Focusing on The Virginian, chapter 1 explores the origin of the Western hero and the source of the genre's major plots and issues. Chapter 2 evaluates history, myth, and the relative reality of the two in the works of Oakley Hall. Citing the novels of Richard Brautigan, E.L. Doctorow, John Hawkes, and Michael Ondaatje, chapter 3 compares the Western and the gothic novel, focusing on the concept of space. These works portray the West as a wasteland devoid of any vitality, but chapter 4 takes up science fiction Westerns (including works by John Jakes, John Boyd, and Robert Sheckley) that use the Western frontier to ironic and liberating effect. Chapter 5, on the motion picture Blazing Saddles and the postmodern Western novels of Ishmael Reed and Alvin Greenberg, examines the role playing by which identity is created. And in his Preface, Introduction, and Epilogue, Davis frames these discussions with personal observations on the West and its relation to the American masculine mystique. For those interested in Western movies or novels, popular culture, gender studies, or literary criticism, Playing Cowboys is a unique and indispensable guide to the territory from here to the sunset.

Playing Cowboys

Playing Cowboys PDF Author: Robert Murray Davis
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806126272
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Playing Cowboys, Robert Murray Davis examines the Western hero-a principal image of American manhood since publication of The Virginian-as portrayed by a variety of post-World War II novelists and filmmakers. Innovative artists have used the Western to discuss issues of ethics and aesthetics, but its greatest impact may have been on popular cultural values. Davis shows that the Western is not primarily about escape or violence, but, at its best, is about development. The would-be hero adopts the existing role only to find it inadequate, and, forced to "reimagine" himself, he defines the Western hero anew. At the core of this process is strength-not power over others, but courage to go beyond the established boundaries. Although women do appear in the Western (often as proponents of "civilization"), it is fundamentally a man's world, offering an important view of male identity. Focusing on The Virginian, chapter 1 explores the origin of the Western hero and the source of the genre's major plots and issues. Chapter 2 evaluates history, myth, and the relative reality of the two in the works of Oakley Hall. Citing the novels of Richard Brautigan, E.L. Doctorow, John Hawkes, and Michael Ondaatje, chapter 3 compares the Western and the gothic novel, focusing on the concept of space. These works portray the West as a wasteland devoid of any vitality, but chapter 4 takes up science fiction Westerns (including works by John Jakes, John Boyd, and Robert Sheckley) that use the Western frontier to ironic and liberating effect. Chapter 5, on the motion picture Blazing Saddles and the postmodern Western novels of Ishmael Reed and Alvin Greenberg, examines the role playing by which identity is created. And in his Preface, Introduction, and Epilogue, Davis frames these discussions with personal observations on the West and its relation to the American masculine mystique. For those interested in Western movies or novels, popular culture, gender studies, or literary criticism, Playing Cowboys is a unique and indispensable guide to the territory from here to the sunset.

Playing to Win

Playing to Win PDF Author: David Magee
Publisher: Triumph Books (IL)
ISBN: 9781600781247
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Parlaying unrestricted access into a compelling behind-the-scenes narrative, author David Magee reveals football vignettes and insightful management morsels from arguably the most colorful and influential owner in all of professional sports. Playing to Win is the true story of how an Arkansas oilman named Jerry Jones was able to turn the Dallas Cowboys franchise around and become arguably the most influential owner in all of professional sports winning three Super Bowls, landing record-setting television contracts, and overseeing every detail of a brand-new $1.2 billion stadium along the way. From revolutionizing the NFL's business model to helping transform the league into the nation's most popular sport, Jones is a sports icon, and this book showcases and brings clarity to the scope of his impact.

Game of My Life: Dallas Cowboys

Game of My Life: Dallas Cowboys PDF Author: Jean-Jacques Taylor
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 159670036X
Category : Football players
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Game of My Life: Dallas Cowboys takes you inside the most memorable game of 24 players and of head coach Jimmy Johnson that earned each of them a place in the history and lore of "America?s Team." Each chapter provides colorful detail on the player?s favorite game and its significance to the history of one of the world?s most recognized franchises.Learn how these men joined the Cowboys fraternity. Recount with them the mood of the team and of each player leading up to his memorable moment and his thoughts on the game?told in his own words?as well as how his career fared and what he is doing today. Listen to Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett describe how he almost missed the game in which he turned in the most prolific performance of his career, and learn how Emmitt Smith, the NFL?s all-time leading rusher, learned to play with pain and how that helped him lead Dallas to a division-clinching win over the New York Giants despite a dislocated shoulder. Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach talks about his frustration with coach Tom Landry shuffling him in and out of the lineup, and Hall of Fame defensive tackle Randy White remembers the transition out of college linebacker. Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman relives his most emotional moment on the football field, and receiver Drew Pearson talks about the infamous Hail Mary. Receiver Tony Hill relives a thrilling 31-30 comeback win over the rival Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. Safety James Washington talks about his heroic performance in Super Bowl XXVIII, and little-known running back Paul Palmer discusses his role in coach Jimmy Johnson?s first NFL victory. Other story standouts include those of cornerback Deion Sanders, Ring of Honor linebacker Chuck Howley, Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown, Ring of Honor running back Don Perkins, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly, and special teams star Bill Bates among others.

Legends of the Dallas Cowboys

Legends of the Dallas Cowboys PDF Author: Cody Monk
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781582617077
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Tom Landry -- Tex Schramm -- Don Meredith -- Bob Lilly -- Lee Roy Jordan -- Mel Renfro -- Bob Hayes -- Roger Staubach -- Cliff Harris & Charlie Waters -- Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson -- Ed "Too Tall" Jones -- Randy White -- Tony Dorsett -- Michael Irvin -- Troy Aikman -- Emmitt Smith.

Blacktop Cowboys

Blacktop Cowboys PDF Author: Ty Phillips
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1466859172
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
A fascinating account of the world of competitive steer wrestling and the talented, live-fast, bruise-hard rodeo cowboys who do it. Ty Phillips's Blacktop Cowboys chronicles the 2004 rodeo season through the eyes of several steer wrestlers trying to make it back to rodeo's version of the Super Bowl, the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas. Steer wrestling is an adventure that entails riding into an arena at 25 mph, sliding off a horse while taking hold of a 500-pound steer, and then throwing the animal to the ground. The best cowboys often accomplish all this in less than four seconds. The two main characters of Blacktop Cowboys are Luke Branquinho, a young carefree cowboy on a quest for his first title, and his best friend, Travis Cadwell, a veteran trying to make the NFR one last time. Much of Blacktop Cowboys unfolds in trucks, trailers, arenas, behind the chutes, casinos, beds and everywhere else cowboys spend their time. By taking the reader deep into the cowboys' lives, Blacktop Cowboys offers a true and intimate portrait of men having the time of their lives while living on the road in pursuit of the dream to be the best.

Cowboys, Gamblers and Hustlers

Cowboys, Gamblers and Hustlers PDF Author: Bryon Wolford
Publisher: Cardoza Publishing
ISBN: 1580424724
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This inside looks at the early glory days of hold'em, playing in smoky backrooms with legends such as Titanic Thompson and Doyle Brunson. Get a look at vintage Las Vegas when Cowboy's friend, Benny Binion ruled Glitter Gulch and ride along with the road gamblers as they faded the white line from Dallas to Shreveport to Houston in the 1960s in search of games. Read fascinating yarns about life on the rough and tumble, and colorful adventures as a road gambler; feel the fear and frustration of being hijacked, getting arrested for playing poker, and having to outwit card sharps and scam artists. Wolford survived it all to win a gold bracelet at the World Series playing with poker greats Amarillo Slim Preston, Johnny Moss and 1978 World Champion, Bobby Baldwin. Wolford also won 30 rodeo belt buckles. Baldwin says, Cowboy is probably the best gambling story teller in the world.

The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry

The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry PDF Author: Mark Ribowsky
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871407485
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 621

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Book Description
“An eloquent, honest tribute to a sports genius.” —Publishers Weekly, Best 100 Books of 2013 As the coach during professional football’s most storied era, Tom Landry transformed the gridiron from a no-holds-barred battlefield to the highly-technical chess match it is today. With his trademark fedora and stoic facade, he was a man of faith and few words, for twenty-nine years guiding “America’s Team” from laughingstock to well-oiled machine, with an unprecedented twenty consecutive winning seasons and two Super Bowl titles. Now, more than a decade after Landry’s death, acclaimed biographer Mark Ribowsky takes a fresh look at this misunderstood legend, telling us as much about our country’s obsession with football as about Landry himself, the likes of whom we’ll never see again.

The Secret Life of Cowboys

The Secret Life of Cowboys PDF Author: Tom Groneberg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416593241
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
"One of the stories I tell myself when I am trying to fall asleep is that I have tried. I've tagged along after myself in the pages of my own modern Western, and every few years is another chapter to the story. The myth of the cowboy. I chased a dream and it kicked me in the teeth. Yet I find myself falling for it again and again." Across the rugged and beautiful landscape of the contemporary American West, Tom Groneberg paints an unsparing portrait of his flawed, funny, and sometimes triumphant efforts to become a cowboy. It is a classic tale: a young man, facing a future he doesn't want to claim, has an inspiration -- Go West. Leaving behind his friends and family, Groneberg follows his heart and heads to a resort town in the Colorado Rockies, where he earns his spurs as a wrangler leading tourists on horseback. Like an old saddle blanket, the tale unfolds, revealing the clean threads of a new story. Groneberg moves to Montana, working for wages at a number of ranches before getting a chance to become the owner of a sprawling ranch, fifteen square miles of grass and sky. In lean but passionate prose, Groneberg demystifies the image of cowboy as celluloid hero and introduces us to the tough and kindhearted men who teach him how to be a real cowboy, the woman who teaches him how to love, and their son, who teaches him how to be a man. The Secret Life of Cowboys is both a coming-of-age story as stunning as the land itself and a revealing look at America's last frontier.

The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and His Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club

The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and His Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club PDF Author: DJ Stout
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292723342
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Photographs and text chronicle the history of the Alpine Cowboys, the semipro baseball team from Texas's Big Bend region, describing owner Herbert L. Kokernot Jr., the team's players, stadium, and fans, and related topics.

When Indians Became Cowboys

When Indians Became Cowboys PDF Author: Peter Iverson
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806128849
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Focusing on the northern plains and the Southwest, Iverson traces the rise and fall of individual and tribal cattle industries against the backdrop of changing federal Indian policies. He describes the Indian Bureau's inability to recognize that most nineteenth-century reservations were better suited to ranching than farming. Even though allotment and leasing stifled ranching, livestock became symbols and ranching a new means of resisting, adapting, and living - for remaining Native.