Andy Adams' The Log of a Cowboy has long been acknowledged a classic of western American literature. Hoffman Birney, in the New York Times Book Review, once declared, "If there is such a thing as an all-time 'best' Western, that is it." One of the most delightful features of the Log is the inclusion of tales told by the cowboys at night. Adams was a master of the campfire tale, and the fifty-one collected here, each told by an Andy Adams character, touch upon every aspect of range life. Readers will never forget characters like Bull Durham, Uncle Dave Hapfinger, and Aaron Scales, or the tale of the tubercular drifter whose death caused tough cowboys to cry, or the gruesome account of the hanging of the renegade Kansas lawman, or the humorous incident of the "big brindle muley ox" that decided to ride instead of walk.
Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography - Adams breathes life into the story of a Texas cowboy who becomes a wealthy and influential cattleman. Andy Adams (May 3, 1859 - September 26, 1935) was an American writer of western fiction. Andy Adams was born in Indiana. His parents were Andrew and Elizabeth (Elliott) Adams. As a boy he helped with the cattle and horses on the family farm. During the early 1880s he went to Texas, where he stayed for 10 years, spending much of that time driving cattle on the western trails. In 1890 he tried working as a businessman, but the venture failed, so he tried gold-mining in Colorado and Nevada. In 1894, he settled in Colorado Springs, where he lived until his death. He began writing at the age of 43, publishing his most successful book, The Log of a Cowboy, in 1903. His other works include A Texas Matchmaker (1904), The Outlet (1905), Cattle Brands (1906), Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography (1907), Wells Brothers (1911), and The Ranch on the Beaver (1927).The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana during 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is based on Adams's own experiences, and it is considered by many to be literature's best account of cowboy life. Adams was disgusted by the unrealistic cowboy fiction being published in his time; The Log of a Cowboy was his response. It is still in print, and even modern reviewers consider it compelling. The Chicago Herald said: "As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly the real thing. It carries its own certificate of authentic first-hand experience on every page."
Straightforwardly told, rich in detail, and laced with appealing campfire humor, Andy Adams's realistic The Log of a Cowboy is a classic portrayal of the western cattle country. Drawing on his own experiences as a cowboy working in cattle and horse drives, Adams presents a vivid portrait of the challenges of trail life on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana--the daily drudgery of cattle trailing, as well as the dramatic stampedes and other treacherous disruptions. Populated by a wide variety of well-drawn, lively characters, The Log of a Cowboy remains the landmark novel of the American West a century after its first appearance. This is the first edition of this work published as a Penguin Classic. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
