The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (Paperback)

by Andy Adams (Author), Thomas McGuane (Introduction) "Just why my father moved, at the close of the civil war, from Georgia to Texas, is to this good hour a mystery to me..." (more)
Key Phrases: bogged cattle, trail cutters, lead cattle, The Rebel, Quince Forrest, Fox Quarternight (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Personal and often poignant...'The Log of a Cowboy' is indeed a classic." --Sybil Downing -- Review

Review

"If ever there were such a thing as an all-time 'best' western, THE LOG OF A COWBOY is it." The New York Times

“If all other books on trail-driving were destroyed, a reader could still get a just as authentic conception of trail men, trail work, range cattle, cow horses, and the cow country in general from The Log of a Cowboy.” -- J. Frank Dobie

"Personal and often poignant...'The Log of a Cowboy' is indeed a classic." --Sybil Downing The Denver Post

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Mariner Books (November 20, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 0618083480 ISBN-13: 978-0618083480 Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #553,388 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #10 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > McGuane, Thomas

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Just why my father moved, at the close of the civil war, from Georgia to Texas, is to this good hour a mystery to me. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bogged cattle, trail cutters, lead cattle, dry drive, saddle stock, forty islands, road brand, swing men, horse buyer, bed ground, horse wrangler, regular crossing, regular trail, mixed herd, wagon sheet, night horses, two herds, first herd, trail herds, farther bank

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Rebel, Quince Forrest, Fox Quarternight, Joe Stallings, John Officer, Rod Wheat, Bob Blades, North Platte, Nat Straw, Red River, Rio Grande, Frenchman's Ford, San Antonio, Bull Durham, Circle Dots, Fort Benton, Indian Lakes, Powder River, Don Lovell, Jim Flood, Nigger Boy, Salt Fork, Window Sash, Big Boggy, Moss Strayhorn

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 14 books:

• We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher by E. C. Abbott in Front Matter
• Life on the Mississippi (Signet Classics) by Mark Twain in Front Matter
• The Sporting Club by Thomas McGuane in Back Matter
• The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing by Thomas McGuane in Back Matter
• Wells Brothers by Andy Adams in Back Matter

See all 14 books this book cites

 

84 books cite this book:

• Perspectives on American English (Contributions to the Sociology of Language, 29) by Joey Lee Dillard on 8 pages
• The Cowboy: Six-Shooters, Songs, and Sex by Charles W. Harris on 8 pages
• Everyday Life in the 1800s: A Guide for Writers, Students & Historians (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life) by Marc McCutcheon on 5 pages
• And Die in the West: The Story of the O.K. Corral Gunfight by Paula Mitchell Marks on page 78, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History and Culture by William W. Savage on page 5, page 37, and Back Matter

See all 84 books citing this book

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Shortgrass Song by Mike Blakely

Discusses:

• wagon sheet
• two herds
• trail herds

These Thousand Hills by A. B. Guthrie Jr.

Discusses:

• bed ground
• night horses
• trail herds

Across the Great Divide by Matthew Basso

Discusses:

• bed ground
• horse wrangler
• trail herds

Moving 'Em by Burt Smith

Discusses:

• lead cattle
• saddle stock
• mixed herd

Riding for the Brand by Michael Pettit

Discusses:

• dry drive
• horse wrangler
• mixed herd

This Calder Range Stands a Calder M by Janet Dailey

Discusses:

• dry drive
• swing men
• mixed herd

Shortgrass Song by Mike Blakely Discusses: wagon sheet two herds trail herds These Thousand Hills by A. B. Guthrie Jr. Discusses: bed ground night horses trail herds Across the Great Divide by Matthew Basso Discusses: bed ground horse wrangler trail herds Moving 'Em by Burt Smith Discusses: lead cattle saddle stock mixed herd Loading...

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	81% buy the item featured on this page: The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days 4.2 out of 5 stars (16) $10.16
	7% buy We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher 4.3 out of 5 stars (12) $13.57
	4% buy The Cowboy: An Unconventional History of Civilization on the Old-Time Cattle Range 4.0 out of 5 stars (3) $13.57
	4% buy Dakota Cowboy My Life in the Old Days (Bison Book) 4.9 out of 5 stars (9) $12.71

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews 5 star:  (9) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 30 of 30 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of this genre, April 8, 1998 By  [e-mail] (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (Bison Book) (Paperback) This book is a lot of fun to read, taking the reader back in time to a late-1800s cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The book is written well with spare prose, wit and exceptional details about a cowboy's often difficult and sometimes boring life on the trail. There's refreshingly little of the syrup found in so many western stories. It's written simply enough for pre-teens interested in the west, yet it will yield a lot of enjoyment for the seasoned reader. 18 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars One for the "Lonesome Dove" bookshelf, August 20, 2003 By  Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Andy Adams was a prolific writer, and thanks to the University of Nebraska Press, some of this former cowboy's output is still in print. This true-to-life story of an 1882 cattle drive is his best known, and its retelling 100 years later in Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" is evidence of its importance among early works of Western fiction. Here the protagonist is a young cowboy much like the author, who trailed beef from Texas to Montana at a time just after the buffalo herds were being extinguished from the short grass prairies and homesteading had not yet fenced in the high plains. Oklahoma was still "Indian Territory," Little Big Horn was a recent memory, and Native Americans were in the last shameful stages of being forced off the open rangeland. The railroads were snaking across the land making frontier boom towns where law and order either prevailed (Dodge) or more often did not (Ogallala), and the vast cattle herds of Texas and Mexico finally had a market and access to it. Adams was born into this world and as a young man cowboyed during the height of the cattle drive era. His book is an account of one trek, delivering 3,000 head of cattle to the Blackfoot Agency in northern Montana. For the protagonist, the initial excitement wears off once the daily routine is established, and besides the occasional stampede and wet weather, the highlights of the journey are brief visits to the cowtowns they pass along the way and the many river crossings, some of which pose enormous difficulties. We get to know all the men in the outfit by name, and a few stand out, including Flood the foreman, McCann the cook, and the protagonist's trail mate The Rebel, who is older and wiser and something of a mentor. Other personalities emerge, primarily around the campfire on nights when the men get to swapping stories. And Adams passes on a lot of first-hand knowledge about trailing cattle, riding horses, and the day-to-day operation of a drive. Days and nights of the routine are punctuated by episodes of another kind: a rigged horse race, in which the cowboys lose several hundred dollars in wagers, two saloon shootings, the breakdown of the chuck wagon, pulling cattle out of a boggy river, meeting potentially hostile Indians, an encounter with cattle thieves, and a long drive across a waterless expanse of Wyoming. Reproduced from the original edition published in 1903, the text has an old fashioned look and feel that suit the subject matter and the prose style well. There are also five illustrations. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed "Lonesome Dove." Adams captures the excitement and the reality of the old West before it was romanticized and mythologized by the movies and popular fiction. As companion volumes, I would recommend Ramon Adams' "Cowboy Lingo" and "Come an' Get It," which provide much informative background on open range cowboying. With a good road atlas at hand, you're also able to follow the track of the drive across six western states, from Brownsville to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. 9 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Truer than Lonsesome Dove and just as good!, December 30, 2003 By  Travis C. Ward "C. William Anderson" (Silverton, OR United States) - See all my reviews    I have found this to be one of the best western books ever written. Written 100 years ago it has the feel of life in the late 1800s not glossed or romanticized. If you're interested in this book take a look also at the website westwardho dot us. Although they don't intend to print fiction, they are thinking about making an exception for this terrific title. Why? The folks at westwardho say, "Log of a cowboy is so near to truth that it is hard to call it fiction. It certainly is more true to life than some of the news articles written in the recent past!" I appreciate much of the modern miracles we take for granted - internet, mobile (cellular) phones, satellite TV and the ability to produce tremendous, special-effects driven movies. Still, I wonder if we are missing something in all our instant self-gratification lifestyle... Don't get me wrong, I am not one to call the old days the good days. We not only have more luxury today, we also have more opportunity and greater political and intellectual freedom. I am merely trying to point out that many of us fail to seize opportunity and fail to recognize the value of our more primitive instincts. Read THE LOG OF A COWBOY and see if you don't also wonder. Then also try finding a copy of Africa's equal, MEMORIES OF A GAME RANGER. If you also will peruse my ABOUT Me profile at Amazon's book reviews and you'll find a few more gems you probably never heard of but that you will thoroughly enjoy - Bill Anderson.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Every Boy's Dream, once "Log of a Cowboy" is as advertised, a simply written narrative of a trail drive, as straight-forward as its cowboy hero. While not great literature (or is it? Read more Published 14 months ago by N. Miller 3.0 out of 5 stars The Log of a Cowboy I was expecting a little more excitement in this book than what I read. I was a little disappointed, to the point that I almost didn't bother to finish it. Read more Published 14 months ago by D. Dean 1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, poor edition quality I'd give The Log of a Cowboy 5 stars as an excellent story of life on the cattle drive trails. It's a great read... Read more Published 16 months ago by Al Camp 3.0 out of 5 stars Too Familiar I have completely lost track of the number of editions and printings I have seen of this book, over the years, and a quick search with Google will produce a number of different... Read more Published 21 months ago by Rory Coker 5.0 out of 5 stars Stampedes, Dance Hall Girls, Shootouts... It's All Here - a review of "The Log of a Cowboy" "The Log of a Cowboy" was published in 1903 and tells the story of a five month long trail drive that took the circle-dot long horns from just a little south of Brownsville up... Read more Published on July 10, 2007 by Pam Tee 5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome book! My only comment is the author glossed over some of the hardships. There is a section of the drive where they have to round up the cattle after a stampede and go some time without... Read more Published on April 17, 2007 by JM 4.0 out of 5 stars The log of a Cowboy Very well done. The naritive is "Old Elnglish style" and was somewhat hard to get used to reading. After a while I realised that the cross section of people on cattle drives added... Read more Published on January 11, 2007 by Robert A. Heavirland 5.0 out of 5 stars Written by a cowboy who was there. Andy Adams is one of the rare authentic 1800's trail riding cowboys who had the ability and desire to put his experiences in writing for us to read in future generations. Read more Published on August 14, 2006 by Mesquite Pete 4.0 out of 5 stars Living History This is an excellent book about the life of a cowboy. It is told by a man who tells the story of a cattle drive he was on in the early 1880's. Read more Published on April 5, 2005 by Randy Keehn 5.0 out of 5 stars A great cattle drive story Kind of an American epic, getting the herd from the Rio Grande to Montana. Before I read it, I knew it was fiction, but after I read it I was very surprised to be reminded of... Read more Published on March 12, 2005 by Bill Staley Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (November 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618083480
• ISBN-13: 978-0618083480
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #553,388 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #10 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > McGuane, Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of this genre, April 8, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days (Bison Book) (Paperback)

This book is a lot of fun to read, taking the reader back in time to a late-1800s cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The book is written well with spare prose, wit and exceptional details about a cowboy's often difficult and sometimes boring life on the trail. There's refreshingly little of the syrup found in so many western stories. It's written simply enough for pre-teens interested in the west, yet it will yield a lot of enjoyment for the seasoned reader.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the "Lonesome Dove" bookshelf, August 20, 2003

By	Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Andy Adams was a prolific writer, and thanks to the University of Nebraska Press, some of this former cowboy's output is still in print. This true-to-life story of an 1882 cattle drive is his best known, and its retelling 100 years later in Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" is evidence of its importance among early works of Western fiction.

Here the protagonist is a young cowboy much like the author, who trailed beef from Texas to Montana at a time just after the buffalo herds were being extinguished from the short grass prairies and homesteading had not yet fenced in the high plains. Oklahoma was still "Indian Territory," Little Big Horn was a recent memory, and Native Americans were in the last shameful stages of being forced off the open rangeland. The railroads were snaking across the land making frontier boom towns where law and order either prevailed (Dodge) or more often did not (Ogallala), and the vast cattle herds of Texas and Mexico finally had a market and access to it.

Adams was born into this world and as a young man cowboyed during the height of the cattle drive era. His book is an account of one trek, delivering 3,000 head of cattle to the Blackfoot Agency in northern Montana. For the protagonist, the initial excitement wears off once the daily routine is established, and besides the occasional stampede and wet weather, the highlights of the journey are brief visits to the cowtowns they pass along the way and the many river crossings, some of which pose enormous difficulties.

We get to know all the men in the outfit by name, and a few stand out, including Flood the foreman, McCann the cook, and the protagonist's trail mate The Rebel, who is older and wiser and something of a mentor. Other personalities emerge, primarily around the campfire on nights when the men get to swapping stories. And Adams passes on a lot of first-hand knowledge about trailing cattle, riding horses, and the day-to-day operation of a drive. Days and nights of the routine are punctuated by episodes of another kind: a rigged horse race, in which the cowboys lose several hundred dollars in wagers, two saloon shootings, the breakdown of the chuck wagon, pulling cattle out of a boggy river, meeting potentially hostile Indians, an encounter with cattle thieves, and a long drive across a waterless expanse of Wyoming.

Reproduced from the original edition published in 1903, the text has an old fashioned look and feel that suit the subject matter and the prose style well. There are also five illustrations. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed "Lonesome Dove." Adams captures the excitement and the reality of the old West before it was romanticized and mythologized by the movies and popular fiction. As companion volumes, I would recommend Ramon Adams' "Cowboy Lingo" and "Come an' Get It," which provide much informative background on open range cowboying. With a good road atlas at hand, you're also able to follow the track of the drive across six western states, from Brownsville to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truer than Lonsesome Dove and just as good!, December 30, 2003

By	Travis C. Ward "C. William Anderson" (Silverton, OR United States) - See all my reviews

I have found this to be one of the best western books ever written. Written 100 years ago it has the feel of life in the late 1800s not glossed or romanticized.

If you're interested in this book take a look also at the website westwardho dot us. Although they don't intend to print fiction, they are thinking about making an exception for this terrific title. Why?

The folks at westwardho say, "Log of a cowboy is so near to truth that it is hard to call it fiction. It certainly is more true to life than some of the news articles written in the recent past!"

I appreciate much of the modern miracles we take for granted - internet, mobile (cellular) phones, satellite TV and the ability to produce tremendous, special-effects driven movies. Still, I wonder if we are missing something in all our instant self-gratification lifestyle...

Don't get me wrong, I am not one to call the old days the good days. We not only have more luxury today, we also have more opportunity and greater political and intellectual freedom. I am merely trying to point out that many of us fail to seize opportunity and fail to recognize the value of our more primitive instincts.

Read THE LOG OF A COWBOY and see if you don't also wonder. Then also try finding a copy of Africa's equal, MEMORIES OF A GAME RANGER. If you also will peruse my ABOUT Me profile at Amazon's book reviews and you'll find a few more gems you probably never heard of but that you will thoroughly enjoy - Bill Anderson.