The Log of a Cowboy - Softcover

Adams, Andy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804902011 ISBN 13: 9780804902014

Publisher: Airmont Pub Co, 1969

Synopsis

The most authentic account of cowboy life ever written, this compelling narrative traces the events of an 1882 cattle drive, during which 3,000 longhorns traversed the Great Western Cattle Trail from Brownsville, Texas, to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana. The author, real-life cowboy Andy Adams (1859–1935), worked as a prospector as well as a cattle driver on the Western trails. Although The Log of a Cowboy crackles with the energy and excitement of fiction, it is based on Adams' own experiences. The Chicago Herald noted, "As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly the real thing. It carries its own certificate of authentic firsthand experience on every page."Fascinating details of day-to-day life on the trail emerge as a team of a dozen cowhands — accompanied by a cook, horse wrangler, and foreman — set out on the long trek. Days are marked by dangerous river crossings and buffalo stampedes as well as encounters with Indians and cattle thieves. Evenings find the crew exchanging tall tales around the campfire and occasionally hunkered down at cowtown saloons. Originally published in 1903 to refute popular but unrealistic tales of the Old West, this classic adventure story remains a remarkable historical resource and portrait of American frontier life.

About this title

About the Author

Andy Adams (1859–1935) was an American writer of western fiction. Andy Adams was born in Indiana. His parents, Andrew and Elizabeth (Elliott) Adams, were pioneers. As a boy he helped with the cattle and horses on the family farm. In the early 1880s he went to Texas, where he stayed for 10 years, spending much of that time driving cattle on the western trail. In 1890 he left the trail to try his hand at business, but the venture failed, so he turned his hand to gold-mining in Colorado and Nevada. In 1894, he settled in Colorado Springs, where he lived until his death. He began writing at the age of 43, publishing his most successful book, The Log of a Cowboy, in 1903. His other works include A Texas Matchmaker (1904), The Outlet (1905), Cattle Brands (1906), Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography (1907), Wells Brothers (1911), and The Ranch on the Beaver (1927). The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana in 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is firmly based on Adams's own experiences on the trail, and it is considered by many to be the best account of cowboy life in literature. Adams was disgusted by the unrealistic cowboy fiction being published in his day; The Log of a Cowboy was his response. It is still in print, and even modern reviewers consider it a compelling classic. The Chicago Herald said: "As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly the real thing. It carries its own certificate of authentic first-hand experience on every page."

From AudioFile

This story of a real cowboy's life in the late nineteenth century includes long, dusty cattle drives, stampedes, river crossings and Indian attacks. The characters who people the "Wild West" are interesting and vividly described. However, Murphey is not an inspired reader. He has a pleasant voice but fails to add drama or intensity with pacing or even changing volume. This work is not very suitable for audio as it is not action packed nor is there much dialogue. The abridgment is also short and not engrossing. Though billed as a "classic Western," this presentation will only appeal to real Western aficionados. S.C.A. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Airmont Pub Co
• Publication date: 1969
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804902011
• ISBN 13: 9780804902014
• Binding: Paperback