The Longhorns (Paperback)

by J. Frank Dobie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Texas Longhorn made more history than any other breed of cattle the world has known. These wiry, intractable beasts were themselves pioneers in a harsh land, moving elementally with drouth, grass, Arctic blizzards, and burning winds. Their story is the bedrock on which the history of the cow country of America is founded. J. Frank Dobie was a tale spinner who appreciated the proper place of legend and folklore in history. In The Longhorns, he tells of the Spanish conquistadors, who brought their cattle with them; of ranching in the turbulent colonial times; of the cowboy, whose abandon, energy, insolence, and pride epitomized the booming West. He writes of terrifying stampedes, titantic bull fights on the range, ghost steers, and encounters with Indians.

From the Publisher
The Texas Longhorn made more history than any other breed of cattle the world has ever known. Dobie's book, originally published in 1941, tells their story. The Longhorns were more than a breed--they were a race. Gaunt, wiry, intractable, they were themselves pioneers in a hard, strange land. Dobie writes of the Spanish conquistadors who brought the cattle, the progenitor of the Longhorn. He writes of Texas cowboys, rustlers and catches the terrible excitement of the stampede, the poetry of lighting on a sea of seething horns. No historian or naturalist has ever so related an animal to the land, to men, and to history. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029274627X
• ISBN-13: 978-0292746275
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #264,474 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Cattle was King, October 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Longhorns (Hardcover)

This book is classic Dobie in style and is "the" book on Texas Longhorns. Dobie takes us through the history of the breed, through the animal, through the men and women that loved, used and abused them, and through the many tales that surround them, both fiction and fact. The animal stands large in this work, but the flavor of the old days, of the hardships, of the ranch life, of the love for the land of the people who lived and died there is a part of it too. For anyone with an interest in this breed, this book is a must read. For anyone else with a feel for the Southwestern United States, Texas, cowboys, or the land, it's time well spent.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tales of Texas, November 2, 1999

By	Andrew Czernek (Mukilteo, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Longhorns (Hardcover)

Frank Dobie, a University of Texas professor, spent years collecting stories of the old southwest. Many are tales that he wrote down of 19th Century life. Several are collected into volumes about important parts of life at the time, including "Longhorns" and "The Mustangs".

They provide great insight into the origin of those animals and their importance to people who lived in those times.

Another excellent Dobie book is "I'll Tell You a Tale," with excerpts from these two books and others. The anthology includes tales of gold, stories of irony, Old West characters, and saddle stories.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A History of Longhorn Cattle at the Grass Roots, January 10, 2001

By	Howard L. Dixon (Hopewell, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Longhorns (Hardcover)

J. Frank Dobie spent his life documenting the grassroots history of Texas and this book is probably his finest examples. I've read all of his books and found this one to be the most informative. There's also a wonderful collection of photographs of many of the different variations of horn and hide at the rear of this book. You'll learn how the cattle came north from Mexico in the beginning and how early settlers rooted them out of the thickets of East Texas to start their herds. You'll learn about many of the principal cattlemen of early Texas including their drives north to the Kansas railhead.

If you enjoy Texas history you'll really enjoy this book.