Greatest Cowboy Stories Ever Told

The cowboy, one of the greatest fictional characters in American literary history, is more than a man or a myth; he is an identity, the soul of a country that started out as the wild and unruly and has risen to the civilized and respected. The cowboy represents how Americans defined themselves at one of the most pivotal periods in the country's history. Decades later, this persona remains a representation of strength and strong character. The cowboy is the law and the outlaw, the problem and the solution. The stories in this book will take you to the unsettled West to show you how it was won. The Golden Age of the Cowboy, or what has been called the Kingdom of Cattle, lasted from the close of the Civil War to the turn of the century. Barbed wire and the iron horse put paid to the free range and the long trail drive just as the coming of the law obviated the need for the rough chivalry of the code of the West. Though the days of dueling-every individual was for himself and men were expected to settle their own scores-are over, it is memories of these drastic times and extreme measures and the people who lived them that remain our defining characteristics. Though the cowboy's problems-and solutions-may now be in our past, they will never be forgotten. This book is filled with some of the most action-filled and exciting stories ever to come out of the American landscape.Brennan, Stephen is the author of 'Greatest Cowboy Stories Ever Told', published 2004 under ISBN 9781592285563 and ISBN 1592285562.