America's Last Wild Horses (Paperback)

by Hope Ryden (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Fewer than 17,000 wild horses remain in the U.S., down from 2,000,000 in 1900; Ryden's narrative tells what has happened to them and why. In a 1970 review, PW called this "a richly researched and well-written book with an unusual appeal." Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A richly researched and well written book with an unusual appeal."--Publishers Weekly

"Remarkably well researched, this is the best history of the wild horse ever written."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"This book is a treat for everyone who knows or cares about horses."--Cleveland Amory

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558219765
• ISBN-13: 978-1558219762
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,556,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Information!, April 7, 2000

By	Nicole McGovern (USA) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in wild horses and mustangs. The author does a great job of providing historical knowledge and facts about the early relationship between wild horses and men, and about how horses roamed America before they were reintroduced by Europeans. The author also discusses current issues involving mustangs and their future in the American West. This book is so good I definately needed it for my personal collection.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable book. Conveys meaning, insight, understanding, and sensitivity., February 15, 2006

By	appaloosa (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Last Wild Horses: The Classic Study of the Mustangs--Their Pivotal Role in the History of the West, Their Return to the Wild, and the Ongoing Efforts to Preserve Them (Paperback)

This book first came to my attention when I saw a review of it in Time Magazine, 1970(!), and then again in a National Geographic issue 1977.

My first copy (Ballantine Books, Inc. May 1973) became so dog-eared and worn, that I bought the revised edition (Lyons Press) as a gift to myself in Dec 2000.

Quite a remarkable book in it's history, coverage and research. The mustang has been much maligned by ranchers and the U.S. government as a nuisance and classified as "domestic strays," thus various methods have been used to round up these poor beasts (remember the film "The Misfits"?)and subject them to every kind of mistreatment imagineable, including death.

Thankfully, through the efforts of Ms Ryden and her book, and various animal protection agencies, we now recognize the important contribution and legacy that these horses have played in the history and settlement of the American west. They are the only living heritage and symbol of the history of the west, and as such, should be granted protection as an endangered species from all levels of government in the U.S.

A truly wonderful book. A must have for every horselover. Belongs with Ms Ryden's companion book "Wild Horses I Have Known" which features full colour, full page, never before published photographs not seen in her first book.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but written with a distinct pro-Canada bias, January 13, 2005

By	Margaret Love "Bird Lover" (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I learned a lot about how the West was formed from this book. Hope has done some wonderful research on this topic. I agree with Hope about the US government's mistreatment of wild animals. They're disgusting and they're still spewing their false propaganda to get the naive American public to believe their falsehoods. However, Hope makes several extremely pro-Canada opinions which I disagree about. First of all, the Canadian government has allowed wild horse hunting to be legal, even today. There are only 200 wild horses left in Canada, compared to about 37,000 (BLM estimates - who knows how truthful they are) in the American wild. Canada treats its wild animals dastardly. Each year, hundreds of thousands of baby seals are slaughtered for their fur. Their bloody carcasses are strewn on the virgin white snow, a sad and tragic reminder of the callousness of the Canadian government to its wild animals. They're no better than the US government when it comes to wild animals and I think in some ways, the US government is better than their northern counterparts, especially over the last thirty odd years. Canada also has an ancient and very archaic domestic animal protection law. Last year, animal protection agencies worked to have a new, tougher law passed but it was defeated in Parliament.