Cowboy: The Legend and the Legacy

W.J.C. Cherwinski is a professor of history and co-ordinator of Canadian
Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the co-author of
Lectures in Canadian Labour and Working-Class History.

Cowboy is a fond tribute to a subculture of agricultural labor that is
fast disappearing—those symbols of an open-range environment and a
lifestyle characterized by freedom of word and action. It is also a
nostalgic rendering of the North American cowboy as portrayed in popular
culture for the post–World War II baby boomer society to which the
three creators probably belonged—a world dominated by squeaky-clean,
closely shaven heroes on horseback, such as Roy Rogers and Hopalong
Cassidy of silver-screen and/or comic-book fame.

Organized around the paraphernalia associated with the cowboy (saddles,
horses, guns, hats, and other clothing past and present), this glossy,
affectionately illustrated and beautifully designed book is a must-have
for anyone nostalgic about the “old days” on the North American
plains, black-and-white horse operas, or Waylon Jennings and Willie
Nelson.