Penn State Books

This well-written book has added facts to my fears about the impact of an exaggerated emphasis on football. At some institutions it has had a negative impact on education of college students. It is definitely worth reading if you are afraid it could be happening at your alma mater.

Dowling, a Rutgers English professor, argues that commercialized division 1a athletics negatively effect the intellectual rigor and atmosphere of the colleges and universities that are involved in them.

In the book, Dowling states that he has witnessed the following in his 20+ years at Rutgers:
1) much larger classes
2) an explosion in the cost of tuition
3) classrooms in an ever-increasing state of disrepair
4) decreasing morale among the faculty
5) the elimination of a number of non-revenue sports, including men's swimming and the crew teams
6) at least 100 million dollars spent on the football and basketball teams (scholarships, coaches, perks, facilities, etc...)

Dowling inspired a number of undergraduate students to create Rutgers1000 in the early 1990's. The goal of Rutgers1000 was to remove Rutgers from division 1a sports and to make Rutgers a non-athletic scholarship university. While the students, faculty and alumni all had branches of Rutgers1000, Dowling focuses on the student and alumni groups in his book.

Dowling details some of Rutgers1000's explanations that are listed on their website in his chapter "Warriors on the Web":
1)most Div 1a football teams lose money - the few programs that make money put the money right back into the football program
2)there is a big difference between exposure (Miami, Nebraska) and reputation (Berkeley, Harvard) - big-time athletics result in exposure, not reputation
3)if Freshmen go to a school because of a final four or bowl game appearance, these are not the kind of students that a college or university wants
4)Michigan is one of the few examples of a good academic school that also has a good Div 1a sports program - supporters of big time athletics often cite Michigan; this is false logic, as Michigan is an exception rather than the norm

Dowling details a number of scandals that have rocked colleges and universities over the last 30 years. He explains that there is a common pattern in the way they are usually handled:
1)college officials express shock
2)an investigative committee is established
3)there is a protest that the scandal does not truly represent the university
4)there is an announcement that "nothing like this will ever happen again"

This timely and riveting book beautifully describes what happens when big-time college sports, in this case football, take precedent over the quality of education at an Eastern university (Rutgers). The author, a professor of English at Rutgers, describes the valiant student-led effort to return college sports at Rutgers to the era when football players were indeed student athletes (emphasis on student) and the opponents were Princeton, and the rest of the Ivy League, Bucknell, Colgate and other private eastern schools with colonial roots. He describes how funds are stripped from non-revenue sports (crew, fencing) to build "professional" sports facilities for the football team at the expense of resources for the non-athetlic student body. The role of the New Jersey legislature, the Rutgers Admmissions office and the Rutger's Board in enabling the diminution of the intellectual quality of a great university for a few apearances on ESPN is especially sad

To put my cards on the table at the first opportunity: I have recently retired from Rutgers, New Brunswick after 37 years on the Math faculty. For several years, I worked with Bill Dowling and the Rutgers 1000 to try to find a way of diverting the university from the cesspool that is big-time Div 1-A football. I am mentioned in the book in one or two places.

That said, I have to say that I don't miss teaching very much and that the atmosphere created by the dominant jockocracy, especially now that the "program" is a "winner", is an important factor in my indifference. Div 1A football is pure poison when one longs for an atmosphere where serious students predominate and their genuine intllectual curiosity flourishes. I have had such students, of course, and met quite a few of them in the defunct Honors Program, which Dowling accurately describes. These days, they seem like remnants of a doomed race.

Note that it's not jocks, as such, who now flourish in New Brunswick? The best and brightest of them--those who participate in the "non-revenue" sports as free individuals motivated only by their enthusiasm--have, in most cases, been victims of a wholesale purge (unreported in Dowling's book, alas, though it is the saddest and most ironic aspect of the moral rot that concerns him). Fencing, Crew, and Men's Tennis and Swimming have vanished without a trace, despite intense lobbying from outraged parents and alumni and universal bewilderment among undergrads. Why? The pretext is that they are "too expensive". But this happens as more and more cash is poured into a bloated and self-indulgent football program, in the form of luxury accommodations to entice recruits and astronomical pay-scales for coaches and administrators. If you need further reasons, such wholesale aboliton of varsity teams is a cheap and cynical way of "satisfying" Title IX requirements, so that there is no legal obstacle to providing the football team with all the cannon fodder it claims to need.

Likewise, the roster of listed courses continues to decline across the board, especially the small specialized courses that give undergrads access to serious scholarship and research as opposed to once-over-lightly survey courses. The physical plant is ill-maintained. Even the newest buildings, poorly designed to begin with, are allowed to decay in short order. The Banks of the Old Raritan are now tilted so that all the loose cash flows directly into the football program's coffers, with a bit diverted to basketball. The univeristy boasts of the academic success rates of its "student athletes"; funnny thing, though: I've never seen one in any of my classes and I strongly suspect that that if transcripts were on the public record, there would be little sign of anything that deserves to be called higher education.

Alas, the same is true of all too many ordinary students. The student culture has simply plunged into "party school" mode, which is why, as a previous evaluator notes, its a pretty rag-tag bunch, academically, despite the continued presence of a first class faculty. [By the way, to address another point brought up in the previous post, the reason Rutgers outranks such schools as Nebraska is purely a matter of faculty quality; there are still departments at the school that outshine anything in the Ivies. My own department has been consistently listed among the top 15 or so for decades (from a research point of view, of course).] But even the most loyal faculty get pretty disgusted at seeing some lunkhead of a football coach who is making ten times what they are (salary alone, excluding all the little side-deals that fill a coach's pockets when his minions do what they're supposed to and knock their brains out to get a bowl invitation without ever seeing serious money themselves). I know of a few cases where top scholars have gone on to other venues after long Rutgers careers, and I don't think the jockocracy can be let off the hook.

I think Dowling leaves some other factors in the decline of Rutgers (and universities in general) unvisited, since his focus is exclusively on the depradations of the Div 1A program. The snottiness, cynicism, and off-the-shelf nihilism of what may be called the postmodern turn in the humanities convinced many students that their teachers were self-indulgent and out of touch, blind to their own gullibility. So, too, the heavy emphasis on "identity politics" and all the machinery of mandatory righteousness (usually called "political correctness") that came with the package. Academic quirkiness of this kind drove off far more students than it recruited, so far as the life of the mind is concerned.

Equal blame goes to the ethos of pure utilitarianism that colonized much of the academic world utterly indifferent to the vapors of postmodernism. Too many programs and departments, along with their students, came to view their function as credentializing bureaucrats, technocrats, and corporate functionaries, without any concern for deeper cultural values unconcerned with the generation of high incomes and vocational perks.

But, still, there is something about the omniverous football culture that dwarfs everything else in determining the ethics and values that are commonly understood to characterize a campus. If you have a big-time program, you know damned well that sooner or later some high-ranking administrator is going to be caught cheating and lying on a grand scale, and that it will be the chief goal of the top dogs to paper the whole busines over and get back to business as usual. Meanwhile, the program will pass tons of meat on the hoof through the system every year, chewing most of it up past the point of usefulness, and sending the poor kids who signed up for football glory out into the world with no real education and a host of joint problems that will grow worse over the years.

As Dowling points out, the people responsible for this meltdown at Rutgers were for the most part local businessmen and politicians for whom access to a skybox at the stadium of a ranked team is the summum bonum of existence. President Bloustein, who might have known better, wasn't able to hold them off (I think Dowling treats Bloustein too generously, by the way). Presidents Lawrence and McCormick were in their pocket from the getgo. How a decent academic, like McCormick, decays into that forlorn state, I do not know. It's the American version of "Die Blaue Engel", I suppose.

In any case, Dowling has said what needed to be said. The jock-sniffers will howl, either because they are emotional cripples, or because they are cynical parasites who thrive on the crumbs that are dropped from the table of big-time NCAA sports. To hell with them.

Ever since it joined the Big East football conference under former president Francis Lawrence, Rutgers' rankings and admission standards have moved downwards. William Dowling here describes the battles of the Rutgers 1000 group (to which he belonged) against the corruption and cynicism of 'big time' athletics at Rutgers, and details the harm done by 'booster culture' to the intellectual and academic tradititons of America's 8th-oldest university.

For those who believe that universities exist primarily for the transmission of knowledge and free intellectual enquiry, this is not a pretty story. It details how, under a weak president chosen by a board of govenors concerned foremost with 'making it big' in sports, Rutgers withdrew from over a century of competition with schools like Princeton and Cornell and modelled its sports program on institutions like Virginia Tech and Miami. The consequences - including the flight of many of the brightest students, and a run down, crowded, shabby campus offset against the first-class athletic facilities provided for 'student athletes' are well documented in the book.

As a Rutgers student, it angers me that my university has thrown away at least $150 million over the past 15 years on football alone - money that could otherwise have gone into scholarships, new buildings, and facilities for ALL students. In these days of hype and hooplah over a 'winning' football program at Rutgers, it is worth remembering the price Rutgers has paid and continues to pay for such 'success'. I salute Professor Dowling for detailing the numerous reasons why many of us at Rutgers view div 1A football as an expensive sham that does far more harm than good to this great university.

Dr. Nadieszda Kizenko has truly mastered defining and illustrating the life of "A Prodigal Saint" It is written in a solid and cohesive manner that makes it a pleasure to read. I too, have had the pleasure and honor to have been one of Dr. Kizenko's students I would unequivically recommend this book to any individual interested in Russian History.
I look forward to her next literary work!

I have the immense pleasure to have Dr. Nadieszda Kizenko as my professor of Russian History at the University at Albany. This book is a must read, it clearly illuminates the life of "A Prodigal Saint" during a time period of religious revival in Russia. Wonderfully written, easy to read, and follow.

I find myself reading this book since I had to do a 10-page book review for my Russian history class and I have to say it's a very good book. It's not a hagiography, just as the author states at the beginning of the book, which means the reader won't find any phrase like: "The most holy, most righteous, Father John of Kronstadt."

It's a well-researched book. Kizenko employs primary sources such as Father John's diaries as well as popular press representations of him. She also uses the thousands of letters sent to him by people asking for his prayers. These are also good sources when trying to find how others perceived him. Many of these letters were from women and Kizenko makes a good argument about the importance of women in religion.

One interesting point that Kizenko makes is the conflict between a saint's or a priest's two bodies - body public and body private - and how Father John dealt with this conflict.

The only weak point of the book is Kizenko's attempt to condemn the Ioannites, a cultic sect of the Orthodox Church who believed that Father John was kind of a savior. Kizenko does not entirely succeed in arguing that the Ioannites were a blemish in Father John's reputation.

An well researched, insightful and VERY WELL BALANCED look at the life of St. John of Krostadt. A must read for any Russian Orthodox Christian.

The book chronicles the life of Father John of Kronstadt, a controversial and highly profiled religious figure during the pre-revolutionary period. Details of his life and his world are fascinating. Seeing how he is approached for help and his actions indirectly reveals much about those living in Russia during that time. the book was also very helpful in dispelling some of the myths that commonly surround this man.

I think this is an excellent read for Orthodox Christians and ALSO anyone interested in Russia during that time period.

I enjoyed each and every chapter of "At Work in Penn's Woods." The author did a tremendous amount of research and it was very thorough. He covers the CCC from its inception until its death. Despite the fact that it is an historical book, it is very readable and not at all boring.

He does an excellent job of describing what the purpose of the CCC was; the politics involved in administering it; the role African-Americans took (had to take) in the CCC; the role of the CCC during the Depression, when the Corps began, through to the buildup to, and beginning of, World War II, when the program was finally shut down; tasks that the CCC men (boys) performed; as well as other topics.

Although there are some statistics and charts in the book, they are interesting and needed, and most are contained in an appendix.

As mentioned in other reviews, Dr. Speakman's inspiration for the book came from the fact that his father was in the Pennsylvania CCC. My father was also in the Corps, hence my interest. Unfortunately, my father's time and work in the CCC was a topic that we didn't really talk about, so I have no oral history from him about his experiences. On the bright side, my sister does have the documentation of my father's service in the Corps, so at least I know the Camp, Company, and time that he served. That's a start.

To those who have had a relative in the Pennsylvania CCC, this book is a must read. To those who did not, or don't realize that they did, it is still very highly recommended for the fact that you will be amazed at how many projects these men worked on throughout the Commonwealth. I'd be willing to bet that there's one close to where you live - most likely still in existence.

Very informative information about Pennsylvania and its history. Would like to see more of the same type of books. Would recommend this to any one who enjoys the State Parks in Pa.

This well-researched and authoritative book will be of great interest to anyone with an interest in Pennsylvania's history, and a love for the state's outdoor resources. The Civilian Conservation Corps program during Roosevelt's New Deal was especially successful in Pennsylvania, due to the presence of tens of thousands of unemployed young men during the leanest years of the Great Depression, plus the need for statewide conservation work to repair forests and natural lands after the logging era. Visitors to any number of Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests will make use of facilities built by the CCC, and backpackers will not have to hike far to find remnants of the widespread tree farms that CCC workers planted in previously denuded or clear-cut areas. Speakman untangles the confusing administrative history of the CCC, as the program was set up during an economic emergency and had conflicting goals and priorities. We learn that the CCC truly benefited thousands of young men during hard economic times and vastly improved Pennsylvania's natural environment, but also that the program was marred by political infighting in Washington, poorly-planned administration and logistics, and creeping militarization during the war years. Speakman also digs deeper into some unexpected aspects of the CCC program, as some companies worked on private farms or in city parks, and there is an outstanding chapter on the inequality faced by African American CCC workers. While the CCC ultimately proved to be a temporary outgrowth of the New Deal, the evidence of the program's usefulness can be seen all over Pennsylvania. [~doomsdayer520~]

A great look into the history of our state. The CCC not only provided work but also hope in our countries darkest times. Why can't we have programs like this for todays youth? One of Roosevelt's great legacies.

Wow! What a delightful book! I never had the pleasure of hearing the Penn Glee Club, or seeing them perform, but reading this wonderful memoir/autobiography by its 50-year director certainly makes me wish I had. Bruce Montgomery is a true Renaissance man...conductor, arranger, composer, artist, choreographer, diplomat and mentor to hundreds of students over the years. This captivating narrative covers a lifetime of passion for excellence and love of occupation expressed with warmth and humor. Fortunate are the students touched by his genius, and fortunate are those of us who have read his story!

After a less than sterling performance as Santa Claus in a first grade pageant, I decided that others were better suited for the limelight than I. On later occasions, I had the opportunity to use my visual skills 'backstage' through set design and construction. In this manner I found much satisfaction in collaborating with talented folks who could sing, dance and remember lyrics and scores far better than I. Mr. Mongomery's book, "Brothers, Sing On!" brings back many memories of marvelous experiences, great friendships, and yes, the hard work that goes into the making of exhilarating performances.

I can only wish that I had first hand experiences with Mr. Mongomery's music. Seeing his group via TV in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was of interest. The recounting in his book of his half-century of performances and creations seems to demonstrate rather convincingly his outstanding musical and directing skills. To be able to compose - invent - new music as well as arrange the work of others; to write transitional or counterpoint melodies and lyrics, surely are gifts that few people have. For performers, collaborators, or those interested in stories of success, Mr. Mongomery's book is a true delight to read.

Having heard the University of Pennsylvania perform at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and also with the Philadelphia Orchestra, I picked this book up out of curiosity. Then I couldn't put it down and had to purchase two more for friends as gifts. Bruce Montgomery's memoir of nearly 50 years working with talented college students and transforming them into a finely honed professional singing troupe is nothing short of breathtaking. This will make a great holiday gift for everyone on my list!

Having sung in the 1960's Penn Glee Club, when we didn't dance and didn't travel far from West Philadelphia, this book is an explanation of how the "Club" survived and thrived in subsequent years. The World travel and successes are thrilling;
but how "Monty" and his men put together their annual shows and built on them is even more enthralling.
Surely anyone who had anything to do with the University of Pennsylvania for the past 50 plus years has been touched by the
talent of Bruce Montgomery and should find this a good read!

slavery in Brazil! This book is very good! It backs everything up with documentation and it shows how cruel of an institution slavery was in Brazil. It also gives the reader a good idea on the scope of slavery in Brazil. 40% of the Africans transported to the new world went to Brazil. This was a country that was totally dependent on African slave labor.

Composed of myriad primary sources, Conrad prefaces each document with a description, date and summary of the following text. Organized topically and then chronologically within each section, the format perfectly suits the researcher. Interestingly, (for my purposes) the text contains numerous accounts of quilombos in Palmares, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and others. The documents date from 1550 (approx.) through the final proclamation ending slavery in Brazil in 1888. Outstanding research tool, as well as an interesting read for those wishing to learn, first hand, about slavery in Brazil.

This book is a giant collection of primary sources collected and edited by Robert Conrad pertaining to black slavery in Brazil. We used this book in my Slaves Societies of the Americas history course and it was an invaluable asset to my research. I had learned almost nothing about slavery in Brazil prior to reading this book and it has truly showed me the horrors of the institution of slavery. Having been mostly educated on slavery in the US South, I was shocked to discover that there were vastly more slaves in Brazil and that the Brazilian slavery system lasted practically until 1890. This is a must read for those who wish to gain a better understanding of what slavery in the Americas was truly like.

this is a highly technical book with excellent historical references and obvious good research. Very educational and informative. It is very readable. A word of caution: some of the commentaries reflect US or English mindset bias, i.e. a hint of a moral superiority, unwarranted, most probably unintentional and unconsciously done, but frequently encountered in books written in the English language about other cultures, which may offend other native language speakers.

A mostly black-and-white print book, excellent background material and high-quality photos. Superlative portrait of the greatest failed railroad's fleet of wheezing, failing locomotives and the few new ones that arrived too late to make a difference.

Though no longer in print, it can often be found at less than $100, which is reasonable. Above that price, it's not such a good bargain.

This is an awesome book about a long despised but now (surprize, surprize) missed railroad. This book covers in detail through many excellant photos the total roster of Penn Central Locomotives. I feel a better book has not been written about the Penn Central. This book is hard to come by and if you can find it at a reasonable price I would recommend you bye it.

This is an excellent book if you're looking for a comprehensive summary of Penn Central Motive power. Great photos, and good details on the origins of the different locomotives. Photography books on the Penn Central are hard to come by, so if you find this one, get it!

Great book if you like this road as much as me. Photos and text are good. Best thing since Reid's PC Bi-annual in 1970

I can't believe people are selling these used for more than the cost of it new. Penn State University Press has it for less than any of these used books and it is brand new. What's going on here?

The translations in this compendium are a vast storehouse of Mahayana literature. It is hard enough to find singularly gathered amounts of Mahayana scriptues in one place and this title puts them in one book readily accessable in practice and study. Mahayana has had a problem in the past of their scriptures being accessable in one place and/or translated in English. Chang grants an easily open translations which can appeal to any level of Mahayanist and Buddhist in general.

The sectioning of the scriptures into topcis such as emptiness, consciousness, pure land, etc. is an incredibly friendly and helpful approach to systemizing the scriptures by their inner topics of teaching focus. None have done this yet in translations of Mahayana.

Anyone interested in the detailed and well expounded Mahayana scriptures should have this title as their key source for you wil not find such a gathering in any current publications but this one. Another key point, many Buddhist find it difficult to find/join a local sangha but this title grants any level of Buddhist an entrance into the mystery and wonder of Buddhism when locality doesn't permit. These translations cover many of the diffcult and yet foundational philosophies, so all levels of practitioners can use this title as a key practice manual on learning about the Buddhist Path.

I highly recommend this to every level of Buddhist practitioner. I myself am a Buddhist priest of the Order of the Red Lotus and this title is one of our key practice manuals because of its depths and width of English sutras.

The 9 sutras under section II titled as Emptiness are really good. It is a "must read" for anyone interested in Mahayana. The sutras clearly indicate the pathless path. It is a valuable guide for the Mahayana meditation. Mr.Chang has done a neat translation keeping the flavour of the original theme intact. Those who are already familiar with the Mahayana "viewless view" are sure to immensly benefit from these sutras.

This is a collection of valuable Mahayana Sutras translated from the Chinese edited by Garma Chang. It is topically arranged in the contents such as Pure Land, Emptiness, On Maya, etc. There is also a helpful index and glossary that make referring to Chinese-Sanskrit words easy.

Anyone studying the field of Chinese Buddhism and Mahayanist scriptures will appreciate this book!

Garma Chang's translation of the Thousand Songs of milarepa is also a spectacular product .

- Art Gregory

Great book well written arrived on time in new condition

I bought the book for my boyfriend, he is a Penn State alum. So far he has really enjoyed the book. It was a great purchase.

There has perhaps never been a college football coach more associated with a single university than Joe Paterno is with Penn State. Of course, it only makes sense since JoePa has been coaching at the University for over 50 years including 40 years as the team's head coach. "What it Means to be a Nittany Lion" is a player's and coach's retrospective on playing and coaching at the school. It traces Penn State's rich history of national championships and All-American players, decade-by-decade, sharing fond recollections and stories by some of their greatest players ever.

As a Michigan fan, I have always had tremendous respect for Paterno and Penn State. They do things the right way with class and integrity, just like Michigan. You never hear about scandals there like you do at so many other universities where winning is placed above everything else. Each decade presents some of its most notable players such as Rosey Grier, sharing their stories in their own words. Grier, perhaps best known as a member of the Los Angeles Rams "Fearsome Foursome" actually went to Penn State to compete in Track and Field and was an All-American Shot-putter in 1954.

It was in the 190's when Penn State started to develop its reputation as Linebacker U with players like Jack Ham, Greg Buttle, and Matt Millen but they also produced great offensive talent such as RB Lydell Mitchell. While we all see the loveable, affable, old gentlemen, it's quite evident in reading these players stories that playing for Paterno was no picnic. Former receiver O.J. McDuffie even relates going home in tears once as a freshman because the coaches had been so tough on him. McDuffie persevered and became only the second Penn State receiver to earn first team All-American status in 1992.

I especially enjoyed reading all the players talking about how they were recruited and ended up at Penn State. So many of them talk about the values and integrity that Paterno had and how academics were stressed as much, if not more than athletics. One of the most uplifting stories is that of Adam Taliaferro. Taliaferro, a defensive back, broke a vertebrae in his neck making a tackle in 2000. Doctors gave him slim chance of ever walking again, yet a year later, Adam was cheered by over a 100,000 fans as he jogged onto the field.

Whether you are a Penn State fan or not, after reading this book, you will definitely know what it means to be a Nittany Lion.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This is great book on Penn State's greatest players. Each player tells a story of what means to be a Nittany Lion. I love this book! It is for die-hard Nittany Lions fans or any college football fans! We Are...Penn State!

I find most contemporary poetic practice notable only for its miserly concern for the difficulties attendant upon the small, the domestic, the momentary--huge acreages felled only to tell us that someone built a fence in their backyard once, and their husband helped them and the bindweed grew up around it and that was symbolic of relationships enduring and such. I'm therefore ensanguined by Burt's new collection (definitive enough, I should think, to silence the shrieks of Robert Penn Warren harpies), which teaches us that bindweed can't "hold candle to chokeweed," that fences tend "to grow thick with unfencing menses," and that husbands are meaningful only inasmuch as they "lung persevering into the guts of Cromwell." As a result, this collection--under Burt's sprightly editorship --provides a needed corrective; Warren takes an uncompromising view of the suffering subject splayed upon the rack of history, and the results are cheerful and life-affirming. This book made me realize that there's a reason for everything; I will recommend it to my co-workers.

John Burt has provided an extraordinary service to students, teachers, scholars, and readers of Robert Penn Warren's poetry. Among the 554 poems included in this volume are previously uncollected poems and an unpublished poem, "With or Without Compass?" (in the textual notes)--all neatly organized chronologically in versions that are explained logically and thoroughly in the section on emendations and in the textual notes. The Explanatory Notes section adds glosses to words and references that might otherwise be obscure to a younger audience. Well formatted, well thoughtout, well articulated. "The" volume of Warren's poetry to own, to read, and to re-read.

I will leave it to others more qualified to sing the praises of Warren's poetry, and will merely add some vital information that is inexplicably left out of the books description above: this volume contains every poem published and unpublished that Warren ever wrote with the exception of his book-length poem "Brother to Dragons." It includes his earliest poems from the "Fugative" at Vanderbilt, the long and wonderful "Audubon: A Vision" and all subsequent books of poetry he published. Further, Warren was an constantly revising his poems, and the editor here includes Warren's final revised versions of the poems. Finally, Harold Bloom's introductory essay is a fabulous overview. In short, if you own this book and "Brother to Dragons" then you have ever word of Warren's poetry and you are set for a lifetime of enjoyment. Buy it.

In the crowd of books about cowboys, this one stands out chiefly for the well-researched photography. Here you will see classic photos from the late 19th century ranging right up to the present. Among the older photos it's refreshing to find many that have rarely, if ever, been published before. Especially useful is the careful identification of each one, with the place, date, and name of the photographer. While some of them have circulated anonymously on the Internet for years, it's illuminating to have their subjects identified (especially the studio group-shot of XIT cowboys that you sometimes see hand tinted, on pp. 142-143). I also had not known that the wonderful bunkhouse shot of a cowboy with a guitar (pp. 154-155) is cowboy-song collector and poet Jack Rhodes.

Richard Slatta's history of the cowboy supports the photo images well but breaks no new ground on his subject. Readers of other cowboy books will find the usual topics, from cowboy gear to trail drives and rodeos, and a repetition of what's generally known already (though for someone who's never researched the material, it's an excellent introduction). If there's an unusual angle, it's that Slatta goes out of his way to comment on the role of women in ranch culture. Altogether, this makes a fine gift book. It is handsomely designed, on nicely finished paper, and the photos are reproduced with satisfying clarity. The book includes recommendations for further reading and a listing of museums and events with their Internet addresses.

I like this book "Cowboy: The Illustrated History" by Richard W. Slatta, as the author presents an exciting and authentic account of cowboy life around the world.

Cowboys of the old west is talking a lot about the life of how cowhand is an American term of how those people are Argentinia's gauchos, France's gardians, Australia's stockmen and Mexico's vaqueros and some of the best four-legged cowboy horses workers are the camargue ponies of France, the Australian stock horses, the criollos of Argentina, and the quarter horses and mustangs of the U.S. and Mexico, talking a lot about the trail with the cowboys of the old West and international figures of independence and bravado, from Argentina's gauchos to France's gardians. Whether it's the types of horses they rode or the clothes they wore, you'll come to understand what made cowboys from every country unique.

In this book by the best author Richard W. Slatta, you'll be interested in today's rodeo cowboys, movie cowboys and the modern working cowboys of the American West.

The best chapters to read and look at in this book for the times are On the Ranch, Cowboy Food & fun and The Cowboy Hero in popular culture.

In the chapter of "On the Ranch", my favorite photo is a rodeo photo on page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935. It's the best rodeo photo of Chester Byers roping a calf as the calf has hit the end of the rope as the calf tricked the horse and rider at going a different direction and the horse is just starting to stop dead in order for the cowboy to dismount. On page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935, you'll want to know that for this photo, here's how this goes:

Rodeos take place where the modern cowboy can compete against his fellow workers to show off his and his mount's skill in the arena. Roping calves and steers (calf roping and team roping), which forms a major part of his everyday work, is one of the many organized events together with cutting-out, saddle bronc riding, team penning and bull riding. Complete co-ordination between horse and rider is essential if a calf is to be roped successfully. As soon as the lasso has found its mark the horse will stop short and take the weight of the calf as the rope is firmly attached to saddle. The cowboy then leaps to the ground and ties the calf securely.

Again for page 90 of "Chester Byers roping, Pendleton, Oregon." Photographed by Ralph R. Doubleday, circa 1935, you'll want to know that for this photo, here's how this goes again the second time:

Another rodeo event is calf roping where the cowhand gallops and speeds after a runaway calf and tries to lasso his rope around it.

In the chapter of "Cowboy Food & Fun", got some of my favorite rodeo photos of team roping on page 170 and another rodeo photo on page 171 and over time, rodeo events were standardized to the best five events to include bareback riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling (bulldogging), and bull riding are the best five standard rodeo events as the second best of the other six events in which as if fifteen cowboys and teams for the Miami, Florida's new rodeo called the "King's International Rodeo" (which will be real someday) compete in the six best events that fifteen of the best cowboys are in six events and they try to be called the best all-around king and represent a combination of the tasks a modern mounted cowboy might perform every day and the events are: saddle bronc riding, cutting competitions, team roping, calf roping, team penning, and most dangerous of all bull riding.

In the chapter of "The Cowboy Hero in Popular Culture", got some of my favorite photos from Western TV shows of Gunsmoke and Bonanza and my real favorite photo is 193 is of the cast of Bonanza on horseback. Lorne Greene (center) played Ben Cartwright, father of three grown sons. Michael Landon (left) and Dan Blocker (right) played Little Joe and Hoss, respectively, two of the Cartwright boys. Photographed between 1962 and 1970. Bonanza was filmed at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California and Warner Brothers Studios and Bonanza is by Paramount and Warner Brothers Pictures and Paramount is a viacom company for Bonanza. Here's a little Bonanza episode as if for this book that you might be interested in and the episode is:

BREED OF VIOLENCE

In this episode Breed of Violence:

Sheriff Kincaid (Val Avery) is strict with his daughter, Joe's friend Dolly (Myrna Fahey). To escape his tryanny she leaves town with Vince Dagen (John Ericson), unaware that he has robbed a bank.
She learns the truth when he and his companions kill a guide while trying to kidnap the Cartwrights.

Guest Stars: John Ericson, Myrna Fahey, Val Avery

Written by: David Lang

Directed by: Johnny Florea

If the real book just called "Bonanza" was written by authors John Challis and David Lang, this would have been the best talking about some of the American west, Dolly Kincaid learns the truth when he and his companions kill a guide while trying to kidnap the Cartwrights, wrestling, roping and tying up cattle for branding or doctoring, the leprechauns, etc. That would be the best book of Bonanza by authors John Challis and David Lang as if it contained 380 pages and that would be the best book of Bonanza, ever.

This is one of the best cowboy books I ever read because this book sure gives my lots of information and learn a lot about cowboy stuff and I really loved and liked this book!

This book is a GEM, forever and ever and years to come:)

YEEHAA, YAHOO, Happy trails.

So many titles have been written on cowboy history that one might wonder at the need for yet another, but here's an oversized photo tribute which stands out from the crowd, surveying both myths and realities of the cowboy on and off-screen, including assessments of cowboys around the world, ranching roots, cowboy film, and cowboy representation in literature. With such a wide-ranging survey in hand, any with an interest benefits from the lively research of 'cowboy professor' Richard W. Slatta, who has already earned numerous awards for his research.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch