Customer Reviews

Texas Cowboy; or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony

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The most authentic book ever written about the Texas cowboy. J. Frank Dobie said that "no record of cowboy life has supplanted this rollicky, reckless, realistic chronicle" and that it is "the most-real, non-fiction book on cowboy life." Siringo worked as a cowboy for Shanghai Pearce, rode with a posse of Texas cowboys to New Mexico to track down Billy the Kid and took part in numerous cattle drives. A Texas history classic.

Ok. At this point in your life you're pretty far away from watching Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc. with your family on that old black & white Zenith. You no longer have the toy six-shooter and cowboy hat that were the joy of a long ago Christmas or birthday. You've forgotten whether you preferred to play the sheriff or the outlaw, but you probably remember the name of your imaginary horse. Read this book. Not because it's great literature (the writing is merely serviceable) but because it reminds you why the image of the cowboy era is so powerful and enduring. And it's all true. Wonderful read

I really enjoyed this book. Charlie Siringo sure seems like a typical irresponsible cowboy that you read about. One is struck as the scrapes he gets into, how he gets out, how he survives, and his absolute innocence. He lays it out up front: "I wrote this book to make a lot of money". I don't know about the money but he sure wrote a great book. I love the window into the people of the late 1800's, yes even Billy the Kid, and how the world worked then.

He was not a professional writer at that time, and his writing is fresher because of it. He is especially not a "modern" writer with all the psychobable, self interest, and narcissim.

You will live a bit of the real old west with Charlie. I highy recommend this book. I plan to read his Pinkerton Detective years, and others.