Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry

Book Description

The only performer to earn 5 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--for film, recordings, TV, radio, and live performance--Gene Autry was the singing cowboy king of American entertainment. Now, in Public Cowboy No.1, Holly George-Warren offers the first serious biography of this singular individual, in a fascinating narrative that traces Autry's climb from small-town farm boy to multimillionaire. Here for the first time Autry the legend becomes a flesh-and-blood man--with all the passions, triumphs, and tragedies of a flawed icon. George-Warren recounts stories never before told, including revelations about Autry's impoverished boyhood, his adventures as an up-and-coming singer, and the impact his unbelievable success had on his personal life. She describes Autry's loving but doomed mother, who died on the brink of her son's success, and his ne'er-do-well father, who married five times and wandered the west. Autry battled his own demons but emerges here in a positive light, an immensely personable man, one of America's most charitable benefactors, known for his boundless generosity, and a patriot who enlisted during World War II. The book provides equally colorful details of Autry's lengthy radio and recording career, which included such classics as "Back in the Saddle Again" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; his movie career, where he breathed new life into the Western genre; and his role in early television, being the first movie star to develop his own TV shows. And along the way, we see how he invested shrewdly in radio, real-estate, and television, becoming the owner of the California Angels and the only entertainer listed among 1990's Fortune 400. Based on exclusive access to Gene Autry's personal papers, as well as interviews with more than 100 relatives, employees, colleagues, and friends, this engaging biography brings to life a major Hollywood star--a man who, more than anyone else, put Western music and style on the American cultural map.

Customer Reviews:

All About Gene.......2007-09-25

This is a big book all about the career of Gene Autry, and not enough about his personal life, which is usually what I like to read. I don't need to know about every record he made and when and every performance, etc., etc., etc. And I don't need to know about all his business dealings. But I like to know about what stars did behind the scenes, etc., and surprisingly this seemed to involve a lot of drinking and womanizing which I didn't think Autry had done. Oh well. There just wasn't enough about him personally for my reading taste, but the guy had no children and had a solid marriage, so I guess there isn't much dirt on him.

Autry Fans - Buy It!.......2007-08-12

Anyone who was a fan of Gene Autry or who liked westerns during their golden years or who just enjoys good biography will find this a very compelling story. It tells the story of a very good, but a very complex man who grew up in poverty, endured a difficult childhood, and displayed very human flaws. This book is endorsed by the Gene Autry Corporation but doesn't coverup or sugarcoat the fact that, despite his image, Gene drank heavily after WW2, maybe to the point of alcholism, and was not always faithful to his wife. Yet he never failed to visit children's hospitals, give supergenerously to those in need, take care of family and non-family alike, and do much good for many people. This includes several generations of children to whom he was always the ideal role model.
Holly George-Warren did an admirable job and deserves to be congratulated. One criticism: I wish Ms George-Warren had gone into greater depth into the extraordinarily complicated relationship between Gene and his wife Ina.

Memories of one of my favorite cowboys.......2007-07-31

This book brought back many great memories of Saturday matinees at our
neighborhood theatre. Gene Autry was one of my favorite western movie
stars. My favorite western movie star was Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid.
Our local movie "show" was a Columbia theatre which showed Columbia
movies including Columbia serials, the Durango Kid and assorted Columbia
"B" movies susitable for the kids' matinees. I enjoyed the Gene Autry 30's
and early '40's westerns more then the later ones he made. This book will
certainly return one to the "days of yesteryear." Excellent book!

Gene Autry, An American Idol.......2007-05-31

Public Cowboy No.1: The Life And Times Of Gene Autry, by Holly George-Warren
A book review by Jerry Rojo, May, 2007

Gene Autry, An American Idol
Holly George-Warrne's biographic tome is a definitive must-read, not only for the worldwide legions of the American cowboy moviegoing public, young and old, but also, anyone interested in a prototypical American dreamer on a lifelong trek, as defined by the arts and entertainment industry's dream factories from Hollywood to Madison Avenue. George-Warren's impeccably researched Gene Autry story, interestingly, is somewhat reminiscent of Doris Kerns-Goodwin's recent Abraham Lincoln book, Team Of Rivals, that chronicles the president's rags-to-riches life in the political arena. Both authors masterfully use the biographic form to convey their respective visions, yet provide the reader scholarly researched stories to ponder any number of themes and ideas about their subject. Like Lincoln, Autry was dirt poor, grassroots, self-made and ambitious; carefully grooming his career with a lifelong, unrelenting, innate ability to charm colleagues, friends and the public at large. Lincoln, too, was a performer. He cherished the spoken/written word, and the theatre, to the chagrin of his aristocratic, snobbish cabinet. Ironically, he was assassinated by a Shakespearean actor. The Autry book, like Lincoln's, defines his respective context/time in America. The political-rodeo arena is a metaphor for our country's so-called "culture", epitomized by the American Idol phenomena, with its demigod-like celebrities from respective realms of, popular entertainment, sports, politics. religion and, now a days, big corporations, all of which defines the current American ethos.

My can't-put-down read of George-Warren was fueled not only by her writing, but by my own childhood spent idolizing Gene Autry while growing up in Illinois, and, my subsequent professional interest in dramatic arts adds to the attraction. A compelling aspect of the book traces Autry's genealogy from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to pre-great depression Texas/Oklahoma, where Autry's story begins. During that period, one is amazed by his personal and professional character development, growing up in a family of six in abject poverty, with an on-and-off absentee, hard-drinking father, and by contrast, a deeply religious and nurturing mother. Everyone knows Autry's interest in the great American pastime, baseball, but a telling tidbit reveals that he was a pretty good sandlot player, and was offered a chance to play for a minor league team, but, declined because he was making more money working on the railroad and needed to support his family. That anecdote helps define this complex man. His devotion and generosity to family, friends and associates throughout his long life was always balanced by his knack for good judgment when it came to decisions about human welfare and the business of life.

It was during the seven odd years in the late 20s early 30s, while in the Chicago/Midwest, that young Autry began his "singing cowboy" career. But there was no overnight success here, instead, an astonishing story of how to succeed in show business--a methodology that paved the way for popular entertainers ever since. With a modicum of musical talent Autry used love of performing, hard work, determination, his WASPish good looks and savvy business acumen to mold a career that would lead to five-star recognition at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The book documents, in wonderful detail how he shrewdly evolved his signature persona-image, which, once established, never changed. At 91 he died with his boots on.

Before his Chicago days, Autry didn't start out as a cowboy singing around the campfire soothing a restless herd of cattle. He had his sights set on the popular music of the roaring 20s tin pan alley, which featured the likes of Gene Austin and Rudy Vallee (Autry's first name, Orvon, was substituted for Austin's). Ultimately, Gene Autry changed his musical style by literally imitating yodeling Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country/hillbilly music, who's great popularity appealed to blue-collar folks from the South and Midwest. After a brief trip to the Big Apple--before giving up his day job on the railroad--a failed audition with a record company sent Autry home to gain experience singing on local radio stations and other venues. He actually sang with a medicine show, a lesson learned, hawking products. Professional contacts and an established country-folk sound led him back to New York to make records. His recordings caught on, and with astute self-promotion Autry's popularity grew, garnering a spot on Chicago's popular WLS radio station's National Barn Dance program. There, his image was transformed to The Singing Cowboy.

With royalties from a national smash hit record, "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" in his hip pocket, a newly minted Martin guitar with his ivory signature on the frets, a new Hollywood-like-Tom Mix cowboy "look" and Buick automobile, he barnstormed the environs of Chicago, Illinois. There, he discovered a key player on the road to success, the highly talented musician, singer, song writer and naturally gifted comedic performer, Smiley Brunette. Autry always had a keen eye for talented associates, musical and otherwise. Back in Chicago on the airwaves, and on tour, they soon developed their signature hero/sidekick routine.
Unlike the multitude of American denizens, then and now, seeking instant success in golden California, Autry didn't go to Hollywood; Hollywood came to Autry. He was already a "star", self-made, and, at a time when the Great Depression was raging world wide. Now, only in his late 20s, part two of his odyssey begins at a B-Western studio factory that Autry would bale-out of near financial ruin, Republic Pictures. Here, Ms George-Warren really delivers the goods with a compendium of data-based facts of tinsel-town fiction that chronicles Autry's American idol success story.

It was 1934, but he didn't have an auspicious start in the movies. After an initial bit part in a Ken Maynard flick, studio executives had reservations--with good reason--about Autry's abilities. It seemed clear, he excelled at nothing cinematic: a marginal singer-guitarist, bad acting, awkward in the saddle and, most of all, he lacked gunslinger machismo, a staple at the time. But, no matter, the audience Autry already established, had a different opinion. He had something!! And it didn't take but a couple of years or so for the Studio and Autry, tinkering with the chemistry, to come up with THE original Gene Autry that would become a one-of-a-kind icon. By 1939 he was in the big leagues with Clark Gable/Gone With The Wind, if you consider audience appeal and box-office numbers. Now, cash-cow-boy Autry played to millions of adoring fans of, so called, sophisticated folks from the East, NYC to Boston, and, Great Britain, where he seduced hundreds of thousands from across the island empire, evidenced by massive turnouts on tour. It was 1942, a turning point in Gene Autry's fame if not fortune. Here again, he makes a watershed career decision. Much to the dismay of Republic Pictures/Hollywood, he joins the military to fight in World War II. George-Warren reveals insightful, detailed stories of the war years that further defines this remarkable man. For example, why, arguably, at the pinnacle of popularity and performance-form does he do it? Is he a consummate patriot, or as he says, protecting his image-based code of cowboy ethics? He survives air force missions, military boredom and keeps in tune doing a stint with the USO at the end of the war, meanwhile at home, movie reruns and other strategies kept him in the public mind's eye. After the war Autry picked up where he left off with his still adoring fans, donning his cowboy persona, producing and performing a mind-boggling schedule of entertainment engagements, including burgeoning TV (he was the first Hollywood star to do so); but, it WAS the beginning of the end and not the end of the beginning, as Churchill coined. Then, in the early to mid 60s the fame-flame goes out, but the fortune doesn't. Now, Gene Autry transitions to the business tycoon still wearing cowboy clothes, occasionally sporting an LA Angels baseball cap. Autry scrupulously designed and protected his public image that, except for in the military, never changed. As entertainer he performed the SELF and when he hung up the guitar in the early 60s he took on the role of CEO, Gene Autry Enterprises, but little else changed.

But what was at the heart of that masked man? It's all there in Holly George-Warren's biography that unearths the Man UNDER the persona, and as she perceives you don't need his purely business-life endgame story. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone, public or private that hated or disrespected Gene Autry, then or now. And he was no pushover while wheeling and dealing in either his business interests or performance career. That's evident by his tough, recalcitrant stance with the tightfisted studio honchos, which, by the way, help lead to Actors's Equity and the independent film makers of today. And yes, the book gets into the nitty-gritty of his postwar performing years of womanizing and binge drinking but that served to make him more human and strengthen his character. A shrink would have a field day, given young Autry's polarized parenting. As a 10y.o. boy I idolized that innovative kind of cowboy-man who was good and strong, and that seemed to portray the best of American values (My grandsons have his 10 Cowboy Commandments, framed.). Singing and playing the guitar as a real-life person his pictures were action-filled musical westerns, portraying the American mantra during that time: talk softly and carry a big stick; he toted a six shooter but never killing the bad guy. My growing up after the war, it was easy to see his weakness as an aging performer and ever more commercializing career strategy, but in the long run, that never led to diminishing the demigod I worshiped circa 1942.

Gene Autry represented as performer and citizen the "God and Country" ideology. The ancient Greek and Romans worshipped a pantheon of Gods who were half-God and half-Human. A recent book, The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins offers a view on the subject of the human need for God/demigods: it's in the genes, a kind of inner quest for survival. The American mystique seems particularly wedded to the phenomena of super hero, professing a particular moral/ethical/ism standard, albeit augmented by commercialism. Some Heroes are good and others not so, Abraham Lincoln/Adolph Hitler obvious opposites, others, Brittany Spears, Babe Ruth, Jerry Falwell, and Bill Gates fall somewhere in between. Gene Autry was clearly one of the good guys/entertainers, among American's pantheon of God/demigods, further identified in the Epilogue, that points to the multimillions he gave to charity in his lifetime, contributing to schools, hospitals and building a world-class western art museum and institute for western studies. Holly George-Warren's book gives us the arc of this complex quintessential American, who was Gene Autry.

A VERY PUBLIC COWBOY by John Paddy Browne.......2007-05-10

Whatever Holly George-Warren says in her new biography of Gene Autry; however much detail she covers; however many previously unpublished facts she unearths, she is never going to please everyone. Even a monumental biography such as this one, packed to bursting as it is with dates and names and stories, will never record everything that we, the readers, will want to see.

The problem is not Ms George-Warren's. When she says she could have written a book twice this size, I believe her.

No, the problem was created by Autry himself. He lived to a mighty age, and into that great expanse of time he packed enough life experiences to fuel any number of books and magazines and newspaper articles. One glance at George-Warren's footnotes and bibliography shows how the world has been flooded with Autry newsprint throughout a career - no, several careers - that spanned 70 years. And that doesn't take account of his austere childhood (a story in itself that George-Warren tells in remarkable detail), or the vast amount of Autry material that has appeared since his death in 1998: the DVDs, the CDs, the books, the websites - even the belated victory of his Angels team in the World Series. Look at any of the online auction sites any day of the week and you will get an idea of just how much stuff Autry left behind: the supply seems endless, and endlessly varied, and all of this is merely an illusion of the man's actual working life.

Autry was a workaholic, driven, it seems, to be always doing something. When his contemporaries Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy and Tyrone Power finished their day's work at the studio, they went home and put their feet up. Not Autry. As George-Warren records in breathless detail, even while shooting a movie, Autry would be called to the phone to deal with some other business in which he was involved elsewhere: or he would receive commercial partners for discussions on set. There simply weren't enough hours in the day for him.

This handsome biography could never hope to cover everything in such an industrious life, and some of the material that is missing has been judiciously excised for purely logistical, editorial reasons. Quite rightly, the author almost completely eschews Autry's involvement in baseball (a blessed relief for those of us not interested in sports), and instead concentrates a good deal of time to his early radio and recording work. A fascinating account of Autry's notorious shoot-out with Herb Yates at Republic Studios, usng the evidence of surviving documents, brings that painful episode to vivid life. George-Warren skirts around the hackneyed stories, veracious or otherwise, that Autry told so many times that he eventually believed them himself. She neither confirms them or denies them, but puts them into a sort of context from which the reader may draw his or her own conclusions about their probability.

Not that any of this matters, except insofar as how it paints a picture of a man who was as much a media creation as a real-life figure, and possibly more so since he carried the cowboy image into his private life by wearing his Western-styled clothes - his uniform - in public and at home, away from the working environment of the studios. He put on this uniform in the same way that Superman or Santa Claus put on their uniforms, and became a figment of our collective imagination. It was how he made money.

And money is the one constant in Gene Autry's life. Whatever he did, and he did an inordinate number of different things, money was at the heart of it. "Working with figures is what I do best," he allegedly said. "What I do less well is act, sing and play the guitar." There is no hint whatever in the 400-plus pages of Holly George-Warren's book that Autry ever did anything for the love of it. He frequently spoke about how "proud" he was of certain of his achievements, and he had every reason to be proud of them - but that's not the same as "love". No-one ever got him to say that he sang certain songs because he loved them, in the way that, say, folk singers might sing songs for the love of them. Autry sang stuff that would make him money, and that was the criterion for performing and recording it.

His pursuit of money, indeed, seems to have been the one true love-affair of his life - and he has said as much. No-one will begrudge the man becoming one of the richest people in America when he worked so diligently and tirelessly to attain that pleasant state. Nobody gave him his wealth: he went out and worked for it. Ms George-Warren could easily have published a page from any one of Autry's touring schedules (and I've seen them) that would have shown him to be working in a different town or city every single day for months at a stretch. None of your two-days-on and four-days-off for him.

Along the way he gave the illusion of being a happy, carefree cowboy, bestowing a bounty of delight on his fans - fans who would carry their affection for him and loyalty to him into their old age. Autry's trick, if this does not sound too cynical, is that he made them feel that they all mattered to him when, in fact, everything he did, be it hospital visits to chat with sick children, merchandising his name relentlessly, [...] or claiming writing credits for someone else's work - and even his enlistment into the armed forces in World War 2 - all of it had a "money handle" - and he saw it all as a means of furthering his career.

Autry's publicity as high-flying business magnate, which so fascinated the Hollywood press, has done his artistic reputation no favors. Dismissed as "commercial" and superficial by many, it has been an uphill struggle for those of us trying to keep his memory alive, to justify his place at the top of so many lists of achievements in the arts. Indeed, the juxtaposition of the name "Autry" with the word "art" is almost an oxymoron - a contradiction. Yet the trail that Autry left behind him, that so many fledgling artists have followed to their benefit, speaks volumes for the influence he has had on the cultivation and development of the Country and popular music of America and other English-speaking countries. Academically, though, he was never recognised in his lifetime, nor was his work and contribution ever seriously analyzed or documented.

At the end of the day we, his fans, seem not to be troubled by any of this, and even Holly George-Warren's commendably open, impartial and well-written book, with its tales of risque songs, binge drinking, and amorous dalliances with his leading ladies (and some of his female Fan Club members) does nothing to lessen the man's stature. If anything, it reveals him to be more human than the singing cowboy of the screen ever was: the sort of man we are able to relate to: a flawed hero we can identify with.

And if this flies in the face of that famous remark made by the fictional editor of the Shinbone Star: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend!" what it may do is make the legendary figure of Gene Autry a more approachable figure to a new generation of admirers. And in our hero, the Singing Cowboy, they will find a great deal to admire. Holly George-Warren has seen to that. --JOHN PADDY BROWNE

Cowboy and Western Songs: A Comprehensive Anthology

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Cowboy and Western Songs: A Comprehensive Anthology

Manufacturer: Creative Concepts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1569220034

Book Description

This info-packed, 372-page collection features 200 American cowboy songs with complete lyrics, lead lines and guitar chords, plus an extensive introduction, notes on the songs, illustrations by J.K. Ralston throughout, a lexicon of cowboy terms, a general index and an index of titles and first lines, and more. Songs include: Billy the Kid * Blood on the Saddle * Buffalo Gals * Clementine * Dakota Land * The Girl I Left Behind Me * Going West * Jesse James * Johnny Cake * Old Paint * Punchin' Dough * Red River Valley * Red Wing * Shenandoah * Steamboat Bill * The Streets of Laredo * The Texas Cowboy * and many more.

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Yippee Yahoo
Cowboys and Cowgirls: Old West and Modern Day

Cowboys and Cowgirls: YippeeYay!
Gail Gibbons
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0316168599

Book Description

et's round 'em up and move 'em along! In words and pictures, Gail Gibbons captures all the excitement and adventure of the Wild West. Her colorful watercolors deftly recreate cowboys' clothing, equipment, and lifestyle, and the lively text includes descriptions of famous cowboys and cowgirls, as well as historical facts.

Customer Reviews:

Yippee Yahoo.......2006-02-26

This is an excellent book for the aspiring cowboy in your house. I have twin cowboys who are almost 4 and they love this book. Their daily attire are cowboy boots and hats, spurs and a side iron(plastic today). So this book helps with their imagination and curiosity. This book is a fun read for Daddy and Mommy also.

Cowboys and Cowgirls: Old West and Modern Day.......2005-09-28

The book is filled with information about cowboys and cowgirls. The majority of the book tells of their activities in the Old West. Their clothes, a roundup and a cattle drive is explained. On the cattle drive we meet the trail boss, wranglers, cookie and others. Their duties are explained. A map supplies the routes of the famous trails and names. The book is very imformative and will make a great supplemental tool in the classroom. Any litttle buckaroo will love the book.

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IT'S A JIMMY WORLD AND WE'D LIKE TO LIVE IN IT
OUTSTANDING!!!
Entertaining enough
Thank you Jimmy!
Disappointing

A Salty Piece of Land

Manufacturer: Hachette Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1586214012

Book Description

If Tully Mars had known what he was getting himself into when he agreed to help find the lost lens belonging to the lighthouse on Cayo Loco-well, he might never have agreed to help in the first place. Then again, maybe he simply would have taken a slightly longer nap before setting off on his wild adventure. And it isn't just Tully-whom Buffett fans will remember well from Jimmy's bestselling Tales from Margaritaville-on the madcap quest. There's Ix-Nay, an Indian shaman with a dislike of the media; Mr. Twain, Tully's loyal steed; Cleopatra Highbourne, the 102-year-old owner of Cayo Loco and Cuban baseball addict; Captain Kirk, fishing trip leader and boatman extraordinaire; former country music star Sean Spurl, aka Tex Sex; Bucky Norman, a Wyoming cowboy who has found his way to the ocean; and even a fellow named Jimmy Buffett, who decides he might as well join in on the party. Raucous, wise, and familiar with the world's wonderful strangeness, A SALTY PIECE OF LAND is the perfect summertime confection.

Customer Reviews:

IT'S A JIMMY WORLD AND WE'D LIKE TO LIVE IN IT.......2007-10-16

I'm new to Jimmy Buffett. During the summer I just began collecting his music because I thought I could bear the heat more easily that way. Then, I borrowed A Pirate Looks at Fifty, Where's Joe Merchant? and A Salty Piece of Land from the library and read them in that order. I had them all on reserve and they just all showed up on the same day, so I really had little choice in the matter. I figured I'd get to know Jimmy better if I read them in this order.
As it stands, A Salty Piece of Land seemed more over the top then the other two. Even Jimmy's life didn't seem this exciting anymore at fifty. I appreciate most of the characters, the abrupt transistions, the vivid descriptions of the locales, and food,fishing,planes and vessels. Since I read this over roughly three weeks, I got a little confused at times and also wondered if every character was absolutely necessary.
In some ways all three of the books sort of merged in my head in a way that the music hasn't quite yet. I am starting to wonder roughly how many different melodies Jimmy has put lyrics to. Sometimes, I think maybe three.
By the end of the tale, everyone seems to get their just desserts. It's all very New Age and yet classic. What's old is what's new and eternal, Jimmy's telling us. He has the gumbo recipe for the new millenium.
He's saying you can save the environment, provide economic opportunity, preserve what's worthy about the past, teach the young, honor the dead, and still make a good buck yourself. And who would know better than Jimmy?

OUTSTANDING!!!.......2007-08-17

A SALTY PIECE OF LAND is an inspiring and moving escape to paradise. It was a beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat at the end. Unlike the disappointment I felt while reading WHERE IS JOE MERCHANT? I was enchanted by A SALTY PIECE OF LAND. I didn't want the book to end and was desperately trying to keep the wonderful feeling going. A SALTY PIECE OF LAND takes you to paradise and makes you never want to leave. I'll get there one day...

Entertaining enough.......2007-06-25

I like Jimmy Buffet's music pretty well, though I'm no Parrothead (but I like him enough to know that his fans are called Parrotheads...). I hoped this book would reflect the attitude and humor in his songs, and for the most part, it did.

To sum up briefly: we follow the adventures of one Tully Mars as he flees his former life as a cowboy when the ranch he works on changes hands and is turned into a poodle-breeding facility and spa. He throws a massage table through a window, which kind of seals his fate with his new boss. What follows is a wild journey to the tropics, with Tully just sort of riding along on a current of karma, kindness from strangers, and interconnectedness. He keeps running into people who are connected to other people he has run into before. He seems open to every opportunity offered him (deck hand on the ship he rode to the tropics on, guide on a new fishing-tour resort, lighthouse restorer), and this openness brings him fantastic experiences and not a little bit of trouble.

What I liked: the way Tully shows how connected we all are, the almost magical realism of some of the adventures, the wry humor, and the sly references to Buffet song lyrics.

What I wasn't so crazy about: some of the sermonizing. It seems every opportunity to get on a soapbox about the evils of European exploration and organized religion was taken. Not that I disagree or anything, but even to a sympathetic soul, it got a little old. Also, some of the situations, while I recognize that they were supposed to be abusrd, just seemed too over-the-top even for a fantasy novel.

Still, it was light reading and entertaining enough to finish the whole thing. If you like JB, you should probably like this book. It's ideal for summer reading (especially beach reading).

Thank you Jimmy!.......2007-02-19

After reading this book I wanted to write Jimmy Buffett a letter about my life, and let him know how much his book meant to me. A great book for anyone who loves to travel, sail, fish, and fly. It also touched on heavier topics such as love, death and how to deal with grief. I loved the metaphors on loss and ways to think and deal with it.
Thanks Jimmy, your book meant a lot to me.
JT

Disappointing.......2007-02-10

A rambling tale that fails to hold one's interest. It's seems highly improbable that our hero is on the run for throwing a piece of furniture through his employer's window.
And unfortunately, the "adventures" that follow evoke little excitement. The characterization is lighter than puff pastry, the humour forced and bland.
Stick to the music and pina coladas, Mr Buffet. Your place in the Hall of Fame is already assured!

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Singing Cowboys
An outstanding, colorful history
Singing Cowboys
SINGING COWBOYS: THE STORIES AND THE SONGS

Singing Cowboys
Douglas Green
Manufacturer: Gibbs Smith, Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1586858084

Book Description

Singing Cowboys tells the fabled story of the men and women who shone brightly during the magical era of the singing cowboy movie star. It was an era when Western heroes sang and yodeled as well as threw punches and drew six-guns; an era where for a time nearly half the Western films churned out in Hollywood's golden age either featured a singer as a hero, or had singing second leads or singing ranch hands to provide that dreamy, romantic, exquisitely beautiful music we now think of as western.

Customer Reviews:

Singing Cowboys.......2007-08-26

A book like this has been needed for a long time. I wish that it wasn't such a brief overview, but had more depth with the characters. There were minor singing cowboys that I would like to have learned more about, but at least they were mentioned. When I picked this book up to read it, I didn't know I couldn't put it down until I had finished. The accompanying CD has good coverage, but leaves you wanting more. Good thing I have a good collection this type of music.

An outstanding, colorful history.......2007-02-03

An audio cd of music packs added punch to the review of Western cowboy music's development and colorful characters in SINGING COWBOYS, which charts a bygone era when cowboys sang, yodeled, and were active members of the real West. From the singing cowboy movie fad to the evolution of the cowboy from ranch hand to musician, the lives of some sixty 'singing cowboys' are presented in a blend of biographical sketches, photos, and music. An outstanding, colorful history, SINGING COWBOYS will interest even readers who have only a casual affection for the genre, and deserves a spot in any general or music-specific library.

Singing Cowboys.......2007-01-04

Interesting to see all the history of the original country singers that were real cowboys. The CD adds greatly to the history, especially for those who didn't hear them originally. Wish there were more of the old songs by these artists on CD.

SINGING COWBOYS: THE STORIES AND THE SONGS.......2006-12-16

Doug (Ranger Doug) Green has followed up on "Singing in the Saddle," his scholarly milestone in the history of the singing cowboy phenomena, with this delightful treat for the fans. If someone sang in a "B" western just once they are surely here. Incisive thumbnail essays describe the contributions of fifty personalities and five singing groups who made lasting impressions singing in the
silver screen sagebrush. An additional chapter covers working bands and pickup bands
that would provide music where needed.
One group forinstance, the very popular Beverly Hillbillies, appeared uncredited as the Radio Ranch band in "The Phantom Empire" before getting their due in Gene Autry's "The Big Show."
If the brief resumes of the stars fail to conjure memories of matinees past then the beautiful graphics, from a publisher dedicated to beautiful book production,
will knock your nostalgia into gear.
Opening the book provides a wide-screen, eye-poppin' (not a trite phrase in this case) spread of lobby cards, posters, songbook covers, stills and occasional publicity shots. My particular favorite is the full page picture of Roy Rogers sittin' on a fence and pickin' a guitar which I hadn't seen since my youth. This is an expanded, and strangely colorless version of a photograph originally shot in the studios of the New York Daily News for publication in their Sunday Coloroto Magazine.
There are a few minor glitches in the text. Dick Foran appeared with Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis in "Petrified Forest" not "Painted Desert," Tex Ritter's work on "High Noon" was in 1952, at the midpoint of his career, not 1950, and a bit of clarification in the Jane Frazee article would have helped. "Captain Blood" was a big picture in 1935 starring Errol Flynn and readers might think it is the film alluded to but it is "Captain Blueblood," (not Blue Blood) a two-reel Vitaphone short trading on the Flynn features' title. These caveats aside the book is a treasury of memories, pictorial marvels and music.
Accompanying the book is a 10 song CD starting with Patsy Montana's "I Want to be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" and ending with Rex Allen's "Too Lee Roll Um." In between you can hear Smiley Burnette's "Mama Don't Like Music," a song whose history deserves a couple of paragraphs, the classic "Blue Shadows on the Trail" by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers" and Ray Whitley's recording of "Back in the Saddle Again" made before Gene Autry put his brand on it.
All in all a great round-up of stars, scenes, and songs for the "B" western fan .

Average customer rating:

A New Connection
Great for Little ones who love horses
Great for kids who like cowboys
Every Child needs Cowboy Small
Our family's all time #1 Lois Lenski book ever!!!!

Cowboy Small (Lois Lenski Books)

Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0375810757
Release Date: 2001-11-27

Book Description

Cowboy Small takes good care of his horse, Cactus. In return, Cactus helps Cowboy Small get work done on the range. Together they round up cattle for branding and live the good life. At night, Cowboy Small eats at the chuck wagon, sings with his friends, and sleeps under the stars.

Customer Reviews:

A New Connection.......2007-05-13

I bought this for my "almost" grandson's first birthday. I remember it from my farm and ranch childhood and now it will enchant another generation. It is somewhat "Dick and Jane"--very easy to memorize. Also it is nice to now have the board book for the really little ones.

Great for Little ones who love horses.......2007-04-26

My 14-month-old loves this book. We read it over and over again! We live in a fairly rural area and we walk every day to see horses. The book's simple drawings of horses (and cowboys) working and going about their day capitvates my daughter. It's suggested for kids around four, but it's a real hit with our toddler. I wish they had a Cowgirl Small, but that's just me.

Great for kids who like cowboys.......2007-01-09

My 3 yr. old son LOVES the Lois Lenski books, this being one of his (and my) favorites. We started reading it when he was just 2, and we have also read all the other cowboy books we can find. In my opinion, this is the one to get for a toddler. My son loves to ride around the house on his stick horse playing Cowboy Small. Timeless.

Every Child needs Cowboy Small.......2006-03-01

This is a great book, very light hearted and catchy. Be prepared to keep it handy, it's one of those books you will read it to your child, niece, nephew.... over and over again.

Our family's all time #1 Lois Lenski book ever!!!!.......2005-06-12

You can't go wrong with Cowboy Small. Even if your child isn't into being a cowboy, they will like this story. My 2 girls (now ages 22 and nearly 13) both LOVED Cowboy Small! I read it over and over and over and over...we had it on permanent checkout from the library it seems!! Then the library gave it to us when they were clearing out worn books...we were thrilled and treasured this book! I read this book so much I can still recite most of it. My son is 7 and he likes to play cowboy and he likes his reissue copy of Cowboy Small, but it is interesting that my girls asked for it to be read to them much more often. Our children's bouncy horse even got named Cactus in honor of Cowboy Small's horse. I recently gave this book to a 60+ yr. old friend who has horses and dresses in cowboy clothes, and he loved it! He has it displayed on a shelf in his livingroom and reads it to his grandchildren when they visit. I repeat: you just cannot go wrong with Cowboy Small. It has a simple but great story, nice pictures, and is a whole lot of fun. So glad it is available for today's children.

King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (Ray and Pat Browne Book)

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America's most celebrated personifications of the American West mythos in popular culture and entertainment
"Two Icons for more than 60 years...Roy & Dale ~ Raymond E. White"
outstanding biography and reference on these two popular culture figures

King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (Ray and Pat Browne Book)
Raymond E. White
Manufacturer: Popular Press 3
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299210049

Book Description

For more than sixty years, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans personified the romantic, mythic West that Americans cherished. Blazing a trail through every branch of the entertainment industry-radio, film, recordings, television, and even comic books-the couple capitalized on their attractive personas and appealed to the nation's belief in family values, an independent spirit, and community.

Raymond E. White presents these two celebrities in the most comprehensive and inclusive account to date. Part narrative, part reference, this impeccably researched, highly accessible survey spans the entire scope of Rogers's and Evans's careers and highlights their place in twentieth-century American popular culture. In a dual biography, he shows how Rogers and Evans carefully husbanded their public image and-of particular note-incorporated their Christian faith into their performances. Testifying to both the breadth and the longevity of their careers, the book includes radio logs, discographies, filmographies, and comicographies that will delight historians and collectors alike.

Customer Reviews:

America's most celebrated personifications of the American West mythos in popular culture and entertainment.......2006-12-09

Professor Raymond E. White, author of numerous published articles concerning Roy Rogers and cowboys in film, presents King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West, an in-depth biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, two of twentieth-century America's most celebrated personifications of the American West mythos in popular culture and entertainment. King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West naturally focuses on both actors' careers in film, recordings, television, and even comic books, but also covers their meticulous maintenance of their public image and how their Christian faith was incorporated into their performances. Vintage black-and-white photographs intersperse this solid and highly readable reference for fans and media scholars alike.

"Two Icons for more than 60 years...Roy & Dale ~ Raymond E. White".......2006-08-11

Popular Press 3 presents "KING OF THE COWBOYS, QUEEN OF THE WEST: ROY ROGERS & DALE EVANS", definitive source on two American icons for more than sixty years of Roy Rogers (birth name: Leonard Franklin Slye)...birth date November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati Ohio...left us July 6, 1998 in Apple Valley, California...Dale Evans (birth name: Frances Octavia Smith), birth date October 31, 1912 in Uvalde, Texas...left us February 7, 2001 also in Apple Valley, California...written by Raymond E. White a professor emeritus of history at Ball State University, White has published numerous articles on Roy Rogers and on cowboys in film... whose accounts of thrilling adventures of B-Western heroes during the Saturday matinees of yesteryear takes us back to our childhood, family and friends...in dual biography shows how Rogers and Evans through their Christian faith into their performances, each testifying the longevity of their careers, inclusive radio logs, discographics, filmographics and comicgraphics for historians, collectors and fans, this is a wish come true, reliving those wonderful years from the past through the pen of Raymond E. White..

Roy was a top box office draw for Republic Pictures...when you went to see him on the big screen, you got exactly what the marquee said...plenty of thrills, action and hard riding with a song or two thrown in for good measure...Roy was a member of several music groups named the Hollywood Hillbillies, Rocky Mountaineers, Texas Outlaws, and his own group, the International Cowboys...then came 1934 he formed a group with Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer called the 'Sons of the Pioneers'...he was known as Leonard Slye, then Dick Weston, and finally Roy Rogers...in 1937 Roy went solo and made his first starring film in "Under Western Stars" (1938), featuring Smiley Burnette (Gene Autry's old sidekick), Earle Dwire, Jack Rockwell, Earle Hodgins, Jack Ingram and of course Trigger the smartest horse in the movies...Roy appeared in almost 100 films...then came television with "The Roy Rogers Show"(1951) ran on CBS television network from October 1951 through September 1964.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: (Chapter, Title and Page Numbers)
Illustrations - IX
Preface - XIII
Chapter 1 - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans: Symbols of the Mythie American West - 3
Chapter 2 - Radio Roundup: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on the Air - 24
Chapter 3 - Waxing the West: The Recording Careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - 45
Chapter 4 - Quick Draw: The Comics of Roy Rogers, Dales Evans and Trigger - 67
Chapter 5 - Adventures in Paradise Valley: The television Careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - 86
Chapter 6 - The Bible Tells Me So: Christianity in the Careers of Roy Rogers and Dales Evans - 104
Epilogue - 113
Appendix A ~ Roy Roger's Filmography - 117
Appendix B ~ Dale Evan's Filmography - 166
Appendix C ~ Log of Roy Rogers' Radio Appearnces - 174
Appendix D ~ Log of Dale Evans' Radio Appeances - 213
Appendix E ~ Roy Roger's Discography - 230
Appendix F ~ Dale Evan's Discography - 300
Appendix G ~ Roy and Dale's song Compositions - 340
Appendix H ~ Roy and Dale's Comics - 345
Appendix I ~ Roy and Dale's Television Appearances - 400
Appendix J ~ Log of A Date with Dale - 459
Appendix K ~ Dale Evans Roger's Inspiration Books - 479
Notes - 485
Bibliographical Essay: In Their Own Words - 505
Index - 517

SPECIAL FEATURE BIOS:
1. Roy Rogers (aka: Leonard Franklin Slye)
Birth Date: 11/05/1911 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: 7/06/1998 - Apple Valley, California
2. Dale Evans (aka: Frances Octavia Smith)
Birth Date: 10/31/1912 - Uvalde, Texas
Died: 2/07/2001 - Apple Valley, California

Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 as a member of the "Sons of the Pioneers" and elected again in 1988 as Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys"...Roy got his horse "Trigger" in 1938 and rode him in every one of his films and TV shows after that... "Trigger" died in 1965 aged thirty-three...Roy's dog's name was "Bullet" and appeared in almost as many of his films as "Trigger" did...Roy's theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Queen of the West and his wife Dale Evans...inducted (with his wife Dale Evans) into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1976...inducted as a member of the "Sons of the Pioneers into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1995 just three years before his death...Dale Evans married Roy Rogers on New Year's Eve, 1946. Rogers ended the deception regarding Tommy. Rogers and Evans were a team on- and off-screen from 1946 until Rogers' death in 1998. Together they had one child, Robin Elizabeth, who died of complications of Down's Syndrome shortly before her second birthday. Her life inspired Evans to write her bestseller "Angel Unaware"...Evans went on to write a number of religious and inspirational books...For her contribution to radio, Dale Evans has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6638 Hollywood Blvd. She received a second star at 1737 Vine St. for her contribution to the television industry..From 1951 to 1957, Dale Evans and her husband starred in the highly successful television series "The Roy Rogers Show", in which they continued their cowboy/cowgirl roles, with her riding her trusty buckskin horse, Buttermilk. In addition to her successful TV shows, over 30 movies, and 200 songs, Evans wrote the well known songs "Happy Trails" and "The Bible Tells Me So"...Roy and Dale personified the romantic mythic West that all America believed in when they saw the couple on the big screen and small tube every week.

Great job by Raymond E. White and Popular Press 3 Publishing, everything you wanted to know about "The King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West"...little-known facts about a well-known cowboy and cowgirl...Don't miss this one...now appearing on Amazon and Popular Press 3 Publishing ...get your copy today. Great reading in the days and weeks to come...I guarantee it!

Total Pages: 550 Pages ~ Popular Press 3 ISBN 978-0-299-21004-5 ~ (7/17/2006)

outstanding biography and reference on these two popular culture figures.......2005-12-03

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' fans and students of popular culture will appreciate especially the voluminous and what must be virtually definitive references and documentation on the more than sixty-year career of the cowboy couple. Although some of the material goes back to before they met and became married. The eleven appendices begin on page 117 and run through the start of the notes on page 485. In addition to the filmography and discography of each noted in the review's heading, the appendices contain material on each's radio and television appearances, song compositions, appearances in comic books, inspirational books by either one or both (many written with a coauthor), and a "log" of more than 275 "A Date with Dale" radio programs between 1984 and 2000 noting location, topic, song, and guest; these were 30-minute "spiritual talk shows" hosted by Dale Evans. The biography preceding the appendices goes over the success of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in the different areas of popular entertainment while also devoting chapters on them as symbols of the mythic American West while being at the same time exemplars of the wholesome family life which was a prime social ideal in the post-WWII years from the late 1940s to the early '60s when they were at the height of their popularity.

Average customer rating:

Cowboy Campfire Songs For Tab Guitar
Lisle Crowley , and John L. Haag
Manufacturer: Creative Concepts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1569221464

Book Description

32 campfire classics, including: Buffalo Girls * Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie * Clementine * Frankie and Johnny * Git Along, Little Doggies * Home on the Range * The Old Chisholm Trail * On Top of Old Smokey * Sweet Betsy from Pike * The Yellow Rose of Texas * and more.

High Country Bride (McKettrick Cowboys Trilogy #1)

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High Country Bride (McKettrick Cowboys Trilogy #1)
Linda Lael Miller
Manufacturer: Pocket Star Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739430599

An Indian in Cowboy Country: Stories from an Immigrant's Life

Average customer rating:

Thought provoking and an Enjoyable read !!
an indian immigrants perspective
Facts and Fiction combine in AN INDIAN IN COWBOY COUNTRY
Facts and Fiction combine in AN INDIAN IN COWBOY COUNTRY
Great Read

An Indian in Cowboy Country: Stories from an Immigrant's Life
Pradeep Anand
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0595407900

Book Description

"There is a sense of genuineness about the book. I had a strong conviction about the author's enthusiasm for the worth of attributes such as integrity, cultural diversity, honesty, diligence, and a sense of humor and humility, to temper it all."

- Jonathan K. Hustis, EVP-Legal, MetaSolv, Inc.

"Businesses, business schools, and cultural studies departments at schools and colleges will benefit immensely from this book. Pradeep Anand weaves, with fascinating simplicity, warm and authentic stories about Asian Indian immigrants and their experiences in America."

- Amar Bhidé, Lawrence D. Glaubinger professor of business, Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

"Pradeep Anand has put together a collection of highly enjoyable stories about the many challenges of being a brown-skinned techie in Texas. Immigrants everywhere will relate to this perceptive and relevant book."

- Chitra Divakaruni, award-winning author and poet

Customer Reviews:

Thought provoking and an Enjoyable read !!.......2007-01-01

Pradeep has put together a well written collection of short stories that effectively capture the experiences of the average Indian engineer who has to survive the rigors of an extremely competetive education system (IIT) and then has to try to "make it" in a foreign land. The experiences of his protagonist Satish Sharma is one that any immigrant who comes to this country will be able to identify with.
Being a Tam Bram myself, I can say that the episode "Going Home" deftly captures the emotions of returning home after a long period of time. The authors simple narrative very subtly highlights both the prejudices and glass ceilings faced by immigrants as well as the opportunities and support that can only be found in this great country. This book shows the challenges faced by an immigrant while assimilating in a new society without comprising his/her core identity.
A great read for anyone interested on an immigrant's perspective.

an indian immigrants perspective.......2006-12-26

pradeep anand has brought forth in a most candid manner, the trials and tribulations of an indian engineer's journey in the texas oil patch- elegantly enumerating the subtle rascicm and the prevalence of glass ceiling in the work place.
a must read for asian indian children.
prakash r. panday

Facts and Fiction combine in AN INDIAN IN COWBOY COUNTRY.......2006-12-23

For those of you who like to read books titled about India here is one author who has brought out a nice piece of fiction combined with his personal experiences as an immigrant. I found the book very captivating with coherent narration and perpetual flow of ideas especially in the chapters "Pilgrimage", "Going Home" and "Bride hunting in India ". Growing up in India during the time frame that is mentioned in the book and now living in Texas and with similar interests I can relate with the anecdotes. The writer has brought out some core details of "Boy meeting girl" Indian tradition that is funny and factual. Many Indian immigrants can recount their experiences through this gripping fiction and the storyline that the author has explicitly brought out in the book.

Facts and Fiction combine in AN INDIAN IN COWBOY COUNTRY.......2006-12-14

I found the book very captivating with coherent narration and perpetual flow of ideas especially in the chapters "Pilgrimage", "Going Home" and "Bride hunting in India ". Growing up in India during the time frame that is mentioned in the book and now living in Texas and with similar interests I can relate with the anecdotes. The writer has brought out some core details of "Boy meeting girl" Indian tradition that is funny and factual. Many Indian immigrants can recount their experiences through this gripping fiction and the storyline that the author has explicitly brought out in the book. A good reading for anyone interested in titles on India and Indians in America.

Great Read.......2006-12-12

An Indian in Cowboy Country is a great read. Pradeep Anand is a good story teller. There were many moments in the book when I felt it was my story and those of so many of my friends who came to America with great dreams and also many question marks.
The book ends on a very uplifting note which captures the essence of the promise of America: that it can truly be home to people from far away places.

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