2023 Will Rogers Medallion Award Silver Winner.
Beyond the Desert: Stories of the Dying Art of Cowboying features twenty stories from men and women who have experienced the dying art of cowboying in the Great Basin region. Stories range from days before the horse trailer, in the 1950's, to keeping the west alive in today's modern environment.
Many of the cowboys in this book recount stories full of good horses, bad wrecks and survival. Many of the big ranches in Nevada are mentioned, that either no longer exist, or have been bought out by the mining companies. In a way, they've recorded the history of days bygone.
98 pages.
The stories are accompanied by action photograph of cowboys and buckaroos in their natural environment, taken by author Victoria Jackson.
Review:
What makes this book so valuable is its authenticity. These aren't romantic Hollywood tales, they are a precious, and very rare, inside look at the incredibly resilient people who make their living on ranches across the outback American west. Too often Hollywood, and writers full of good intentions but little experience--get it flat wrong. Beyond the Desert gets it entirely right because the people featured in it are allowed to tell their own stories without an army of editors and producers trying to put words into their mouths. There is enormous value in preserving these first-hand experiences for future generations because the west is changing rapidly, much faster than most of us would like, and it is only through the telling and retelling of our stories that we can understand where we have been, who we are, and where we may be headed. Victoria has done that for us in this book. Part adventure, part biography, part history, Beyond the Desert reveals an honest and enduring passion for the land, for the horses, and for the cattle--by the people who call it home. This book—with its incredible stories and stunning photography--has earned a place of honor on your bookshelf.
Craig Rullman, author of The Bunkhouse Chronicles: Field Notes From the Figure 8 Ranch, and Writer, Director, and Producer of The Outside Circle: A Movie of the Modern West
