Like most other serious students of American popular culture, William W. Savage, Jr., believes that by examining our heroes we learn about ourselves. In The Cowboy Hero he takes as his subject the cowboy of myth, dime novel, wild West show, legend, Hollywood, museum, and television.With an introductory discussion of the elusive historical cowboy and an occasional return to his real world to keep the reader in balance, Savage reviews the cowboy hero in his various guises-as a cowboy doing the work of cowboys (seldom), as ...
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Like most other serious students of American popular culture, William W. Savage, Jr., believes that by examining our heroes we learn about ourselves. In The Cowboy Hero he takes as his subject the cowboy of myth, dime novel, wild West show, legend, Hollywood, museum, and television.With an introductory discussion of the elusive historical cowboy and an occasional return to his real world to keep the reader in balance, Savage reviews the cowboy hero in his various guises-as a cowboy doing the work of cowboys (seldom), as musician, as performer on state and in wild West shows, and above all as a man's man, the object of whose affections is most generally his horse (other objects of the historical cowboy's affections are courageously alluded to). Then there is the cowboy the purveyor of macho cigarettes, sugarcoated cereal (""the historical cowboy was the very picture of malnutrition, but the cowboy hero might well hold a degree in home economics, so ardent is his praise of brand-name foodstuff""), coughdrops, painkillers, barbecue sauce, and laundry detergent. ""No matter how much the American people revere their heroes or tout their myths,"" says Savage, ""they will sell them all to any buyer and at nearly any price."" The approach is topical rather than media-oriented, though it is largely through the cowboy's media appearances that we come to know and love him. With the (no doubt temporary) absence of the cowboy from the television screen, the cowboy hero is today most revered as rodeo performer-participant in a sometimes brutal sport that has nothing to do with cowboying. The author's description of the young western boy's initiation into the sport turns little-league horror tales into bedtime stories. The inevitable result of all this is summed up in the title of the last chapter, ""A Bore at Last."" This book, often funny and expectable ironic but with a serious purpose, is bound to raise the hackles of the followers of the cowboy cult and others whose most lasting perceptions of the American West evolved from childhood cereal serials, B-movie horse operas, and latter-day television epics (did anyone ever actually see Hoss and Little Joe ride a fence line?). The fact is that, as Savage says, this book is, in the end, less about cowboys than it is about you and me.
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Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History and to cart. $2.83, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by University of Oklahoma Press.
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Fair. There is some writing through out the book. Cover/Case has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CD's, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included.
Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & to cart. $2.86, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by University of Oklahoma Press.
Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & to cart. $2.86, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by University of Oklahoma Press.
Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & to cart. $2.86, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by University of Oklahoma Press.
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Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History and to cart. $3.99, good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1985 by University of Oklahoma Press.
Add this copy of The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History and to cart. $12.00, very good condition, Sold by Adventures Underground, LLC rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Richland, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1986 by University of Oklahoma Press.
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Very Good Condition. Used very good, Text appears clean. Quantity Available: 1. ISBN: 0806119209. ISBN/EAN: 9780806119205. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: ABE427231392.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 179 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
