Little Cowgirl Book Club: COWBOY

There's almost no need to review a DK Eyewitness book -- I have yet to see one I didn't think was fantastic and this one is no exception. Tons and tons of great photos showing every aspect of cowboy/cowgirl life, from historical to modern. The text  is actually more extensive than you'd think in a photo-heavy book -- it would be a good reference even without so many photos. Everything from the origins of cowboy techniques to 20th century cowboy culture. And the photos! Every bit and bob of gear is shown and labelled. I think the Little Cowgirl was partial to the horse descriptions; I loved the fully equipped antique chuck wagon. A must-read.

Check it out on Amazon; or find it at your local library!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Things are looking up! 2011 is over and gone, and we're slowly getting back up to speed. Hope to be back in the saddle soon! Happy Valentines Day!

Cowgirl Book Club: Cowgirls, Stories of Trick Riders, Sharp Shooters, and Untamed Women

This book contains a series of biographical essays by a group of writers, with no real context overall -- the women profiled are all just women who lived in the West, pretty much. The book has very few illustrations -- and when there are any, they're random and usually unrelated to either the chapter they're in or the caption next to them! And only a handful are even identified -- the book doesn't even tell you that the cover photo (above) is of Bonnie McCarroll getting thrown at a rodeo several years before she died during a contest -- an event that changed the direction of rodeo competition forever, so I'd say pretty significant and maybe worth a tiny caption? The chapters themselves are pretty dry and reads like an earnest juvenile non-fiction book until you hit descriptions of prostitutes and venereal disease (oops, stop peeking over my shoulder, little girl!) You can take a total pass on this book, there's not anything in here that isn't presented better in other books.