Vaqueros: America's First Cowmen - Hardcover

Sandler, Martin W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805060197 ISBN 13: 9780805060195

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2001

Synopsis

The untold story of the Hispanic riders and ropers who created the cowboy.

"The men who rode the mustangs, tended the cattle, and invented all the techniques of cattle raising in America were called vaqueros and they were the world's first cowboys."

Did you know that vaqueros invented ...

the rodeo?
the cowboy hat?
chaps?
and many lasso tosses?

Almost everything we associate with cowboys-how they rode, roped, dressed, and lived--began with vaqueros. These Spanish-speaking cowmen developed their skills on missions and ranches throughout Mexico and the Southwest, even in Hawaii, but they have disappeared from history.

Martin Sandler, author of the popular book Cowboys, extends to vaqueros his lively, informed, heavily illustrated treatment. He highlights vaquero clothing and vocabulary and shows in words and pictures vaqueros on horseback, leading roundups, branding, lassoing and tying. The book retells legends of the vaqueros and recounts true stories of vaquero valor, loyalty, heroism and courage. Readers meet Ramon Amuhada, who is in the Cowboy Hall of Fame; great ropers such as Pablo Romero and Jose Berrara; valiant riders, including Antonio Jose Esquival; and other true American heros. Vaqueros will appeal to cowboy fans across the country, and should be shelved in every library and bookstore next to books on African-American and white cowmen.

About this title

About the Author

Martin W. Sandler is the author of more than twenty books, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor-winning The Story of American Photography. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize twice, and as a highly repected television producer, has won five Emmy Awards. He has also played second base for a Cincinnati Reds farm team. Mr. Sandler and his wife live in Cotuit, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Gr 3-8-Sandler's thesis is simple: the role of the vaquero-the Hispanic cowboy-in U.S. ranching history has been overlooked and misrepresented, particularly in popular culture. With this book, he intends to rectify that wrong and does so quite successfully. Sandler notes the role that Spanish explorers such as Cort‚s and Coronado played in the introduction of ranching to the continent, as well as the importance of the Spanish mission system. The systematically arranged chapters also follow a fairly direct chronological progression and present the tools and skills of the vaquero, later adapted by Anglo cowboys, and aspects of daily life. The chapter on the tales the vaqueros told to amuse themselves in the evenings will be especially interesting to students who relish ghost and scary stories. The author also addresses the "silencing," as it were, of the vaqueros-the deliberate denigration by Anglo writers and their removal from the accounts of the "Wild West." The book closes with a chapter on ranch life today and an annotated bibliography. Excellent-quality, black-and-white photos and reproductions appear throughout. Certain to be popular in the West, Vaqueros is also likely to appeal to any readers who still dream of the lost/last frontier.-Coop Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6-9. A familiar nonfiction author looks at the history of vaqueros, beginning with the arrival of horses and cattle in the New World. In taming horses and driving herds, vaqueros developed the skills needed for their challenging work and created a subculture of folklore, traditions, and legendary horsemanship that was bequeathed to the American cowboys, who, in turn, took over the American imagination. Sandler details the vaqueros' responsibilities and retells some of the stories they told. He also discusses the beginning of cowboy lore. A final chapter covers cowboy and ranch life today, focusing on Hispanics. A lively narrative, fascinating information, solid research, and black-and-white historic prints and contemporary photographs combine to make this both enjoyable reading and a good source of fact. Source notes, an annotated bibliography, and a glossary. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805060197
• ISBN 13: 9780805060195
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128