It Ain't Easy Being A Cowboy – 5 Western Ranchmen Classics in One Volume (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. What it Means to be A Real Cowboy in the American Wild West - Including The Outlet, Reed Anthony Cowman & The Wells BrothersBy Andy Adams
Length48h 5m
About this audiobook
Gathering five of Andy Adams's Western ranchmen classics, It Ain't Easy Being A Cowboy offers a bracing corrective to romanticized frontier myth. These narratives chronicle cattle drives, ranch labor, horse trading, range politics, and the moral codes of working men whose lives depended on endurance and practical judgment. Adams's prose is plainspoken yet artful, shaped by anecdote, dialogue, and documentary precision; within the literary context of early twentieth-century Western writing, it stands nearer to social realism than dime-novel melodrama. Adams was unusually qualified to write such books. Born in Indiana in 1859, he spent years in Texas and on the cattle trails, absorbing the speech, habits, dangers, and economies of ranch life before turning to fiction. His firsthand experience enabled him to resist theatrical gunfighter conventions and instead portray the cowboy as laborer, witness, and participant in a transforming American West. This volume is recommended for readers seeking the Western at its most authentic: not merely adventure, but a historically grounded literature of work, memory, and regional identity. Scholars, enthusiasts of frontier history, and lovers of understated narrative craft will find Adams indispensable.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (11)
Includes Goodreads
GenreAction and Adventure, Literary Classics
Length48 hrs 5 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 11, 2017
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1It Ain't Easy Being A Cowboy – 5 Western Ranchmen Classics in One Volume (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5It Ain’t Easy Being A Cowboy – 5 Western Ranchmen Classics in One Volume
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6The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days
7CHAPTER I UP THE TRAIL
8CHAPTER II RECEIVING
9CHAPTER III THE START
10CHAPTER IV THE ATASCOSA
11CHAPTER V A DRY DRIVE
12CHAPTER VI A REMINISCENT NIGHT
13CHAPTER VII THE COLORADO
14CHAPTER VIII ON THE BRAZOS AND WICHITA
15CHAPTER IX DOAN'S CROSSING
16CHAPTER X "NO MAN'S LAND"
17CHAPTER XI A BOGGY FORD
18CHAPTER XII THE NORTH FORK
19CHAPTER XIII DODGE
20CHAPTER XIV SLAUGHTER'S BRIDGE
21CHAPTER XV THE BEAVER
22CHAPTER XVI THE REPUBLICAN
23CHAPTER XVII OGALALLA
24CHAPTER XVIII THE NORTH PLATTE
25CHAPTER XIX FORTY ISLANDS FORD
26CHAPTER XX A MOONLIGHT DRIVE
27CHAPTER XXI THE YELLOWSTONE
28CHAPTER XXII OUR LAST CAMP-FIRE
29CHAPTER XXIII DELIVERY
30CHAPTER XXIV BACK TO TEXAS
31Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography
32CHAPTER I IN RETROSPECT
33CHAPTER II MY APPRENTICESHIP
34CHAPTER III A SECOND TRIP TO FORT SUMNER
35CHAPTER IV A FATAL TRIP
36CHAPTER V SUMMER OF '68
37CHAPTER VI SOWING WILD OATS
38CHAPTER VII "THE ANGEL"
39CHAPTER VIII THE "LAZY L"
40CHAPTER IX THE SCHOOL OF EXPERIENCE
41CHAPTER X THE PANIC OF '73
42CHAPTER XI A PROSPEROUS YEAR
43CHAPTER XII CLEAR FORK AND SHENANDOAH
44CHAPTER XIII THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
45CHAPTER XIV ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH
46CHAPTER XV HARVEST HOME
47CHAPTER XVI AN ACTIVE SUMMER
48CHAPTER XVII FORESHADOWS
49CHAPTER XVIII THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM
50CHAPTER XIX THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOE CATTLE COMPANY
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