Short description
The editor of "Big Sky" magazine offers an enthralling and intensely personal account of a year-long sojourn at a Montana ranch and the reality of cowboy life.
Long description
In February of his forty-fourth year, journalist David McCumber signed on as a hand on rancher Bill Galt's expansive Birch Creek spread in Montana. The Cowboy Way is an enthralling and intensely personal account of his year spent in open country—a book that expertly weaves together past and present into a vibrant and colorful tapestry of a vanishing way of life. At once a celebration of a breathtaking land both dangerous and nourishing, and a clear-eyed appreciation of the men—and women—who work it, David McCumber's remarkable story forever alters our long-held perceptions of the Roy Rogers cowboy with real-life experiences and hard economic truths.
In February of his forty-fourth year, journalist David McCumber signed on as a hand on rancher Bill Galt's expansive Birch Creek spread in Montana. The Cowboy Way is an enthralling and intensely personal account of his year spent in open country—a book that expertly weaves together past and present into a vibrant and colorful tapestry of a vanishing way of life. At once a celebration of a breathtaking land both dangerous and nourishing, and a clear-eyed appreciation of the men—and women—who work it, David McCumber's remarkable story forever alters our long-held perceptions of the Roy Rogers cowboy with real-life experiences and hard economic truths.
Review
McCumber's clear, fine writing conveys the push of season, the intensity and danger of ranch work...There are hundreds, thousands of books about cowboys and their gear, the old West, the new West, cattlemen, and ranchers. But of the real and gritty ground-level work of the contemporary ranch, there is only one and this is it. -- Annie Proulx, author of The Shipping News A splendid book that should permanently blow the lid off nearly everyone's absurd preconception of how a cowboy actually spends his seasons. -- Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall A remarkable book, restrained and gritty, droll and lyrical...It belongs with the best from the West. -- USA Today This is one walk-a-mile-in-my-shoes book that really works. -- San Francisco Examiner Fascinating. -- Kansas City Star With uncluttered prose and a laid-back sense of humor, he underscores the nobility in hard work, personal responsibility, and love of the land. -- The Wall Street Journal