Ranching Traditions: Legacy of the American West

The untamed spirit of the Wild West is still clearly seen in the dramatic landscape of today’s American West. Pioneer ranchers who aimed to make a living raising livestock but failed to adapt to that spirit inevitably foundered or even perished. The hardship of those men and women struggling to raise the stock that fed and clothed a nation became the stuff of romance and fired the imagination of generations. And the tradition continues today. ranching may be a big business now, but it is also a legacy of the American Wild West. Ranching embodies certain values Americans hold dear - character, courage, family, and natural harmony with the land. This volume celebrates these values from an insider’s point of view. Illustrated with 300 photographs, the book includes essays by some of the West’s most distinguished writers on the history and folklore, legendary ranchers of yesterday and today, the life of the working cowboy, as well as the precarious business of ranching and the role modern technology plays in it. On the lighter side, we learn about cowboy clothing, art, literature, music and dance, and the sport to which ranching gave birth - the rodeo.