"The CowBoy Handbook has something for everyone who values our CowBoy Heritage." Gene Autry. Bruce Dillman's The CowBoy Handbook is a beguiling, good-natured and extremely useful guide to all things pertaining to both the historical and romanticized cowboy. His well-written account of the heyday of the American cowboy, from the close of the Civil War until the advent of barbed wire, is filled with intriguing historical facts and humorous anecdotes. His explanation of the gradual canonization of the cowboy via dime novels, pulps, motion pictures and popular songs is helpful and well-constructed. 
The book includes a cowboy chronology and biographical sketches of prominent cowboy typesboth sections highly subjective, of necessity. Each of us would develop our own list of important facts, figures, and heroes, as Dillman has done quite well. His selections provide a solid base upon which both the teacher and the enthusiast may freely expand. In the last portion of The CowBoy Handbook, we are treated to some thoroughly delightful recommendations as to how
to live the cowboy life and where to go to see cowboy memorabilia and related performances. A glossary of colorful cowboy terms serves as a perfect accompaniment to the cleverly conceived text. When I was teaching college courses in the 1980s and covering many of the subjects Dillman has covered so well, I would have welcomed The CowBoy Handbook as a required text. Others will find it a valuable tool and a highly readable, breezy account of a deeply loved aspect of American history and popular culture. 
Jon Guyot Smith, Folklore Professor

The CowBoy Handbook

Dillman, Bruce

Lone Prairie Publishing

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Books by Lone Prairie Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Lone Prairie Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The CowBoy Handbook