An Accidental Cowboy

Rating:
Summary: LIFE
Review: The story illustrates how a single event can bring long lasting changes to a life. The nature of his injury has nothing to do with the trauma inflicted by a random act of terror.
The relationships he builds with the other cowboys and his appreciation for all of the animals on the ranch leads to a primal charm of self reliance and freedom.
The harsh risks of ranch life pale in comparison to the artifical dangers and trauma the average city person faces each day.
In conclusion the book is a statement of the pursuit of individual feedom ,something that is lost in our present society.

Rating:
Summary: Not your Average Celebrity Memoir!
Review: This book was a compelling page-turner. While the subject matter could be construed as being depressing, I found the book uplifting and inspiring.The author's sense of humor and personality permeates each page. Mr. Parker's vehicle, life as a cowboy in modern day California, shows a terrific amount of research and was fascinating in itself. The hills of Virginia may be miles away from the hills in California but I for one found the distance fall away as I read this book. Kudos Jameson Parker for not making this a "whiny" or was that "wine-y" celebrity read.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money folks!
Review: This is a terrific book and nothing like what I expected. I picked up this book because I was familiar with Mr. Parker's story and was interested in it. What could have easily been a "how I survived", victimy saga, since Mr. Parker WAS indeed a victim, turned out to be a wonderful tour of survival. The book adroitly takes the senses back and forth. The horror of Parker's shooting incident and subsequent depression could have been dispiriting and cheerless had he just concentrated on it...but instead he takes you to interesting, informative and joyous heights in the form of glorious cowboy/ranch life stories and then brings you back to why he had the need to focus on the positive side of life and the outlet cowboy life provided for him. To me, this is a true "survivor" story without focusing on the victim. It is extremely well written....needed a dictionary to help me out in a couple of places. I recommend this book as a story of everyman and not just a celebrity telling his story. It clearly shows how people can work through their problems instead of caving to them or diving for the medicine cabinet. Good for Mr. Parker in writing this page turner. I highly recommend this book!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: An amazing book!!
Review: This is a terrific book and nothing like what I expected. I picked up this book because I was familiar with Mr. Parker's story and was interested in it. What could have easily been a "how I survived", victimy saga, since Mr. Parker WAS indeed a victim, turned out to be a wonderful tour of survival. The book adroitly takes the senses back and forth. The horror of Parker's shooting incident and subsequent depression could have been dispiriting and cheerless had he just concentrated on it...but instead he takes you to interesting, informative and joyous heights in the form of glorious cowboy/ranch life stories and then brings you back to why he had the need to focus on the positive side of life and the outlet cowboy life provided for him. To me, this is a true "survivor" story without focusing on the victim. It is extremely well written....needed a dictionary to help me out in a couple of places. I recommend this book as a story of everyman and not just a celebrity telling his story. It clearly shows how people can work through their problems instead of caving to them or diving for the medicine cabinet. Good for Mr. Parker in writing this page turner. I highly recommend this book!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A compelling saga.
Review: To rebuild one's life is a daunting task. To reclaim one's sanity - nearly impossible.
In this surprisingly honest account of his very personal and painful quest, Jameson Parker, the actor we usually think of as private, reserved and "totally together", unashamedly exposes us, with not one iota of self pity, to the hell he lived through following being shot by an irate neighbor. Getting "back to the basics", by living with ranchers and cowboys, served as the therapy that helped him courageously battle suicidal depression and near madness. To his credit, he has emerged a stable, productive, happy person leading an exciting and challenging life. I laughed, I cried. Kudos, Mr. Parker

Rating:
Summary: Something Special by a special American
Review: Very hard book to put down once you have started reading. I think we all can relate to Jameson's demon, for we all have faced some event that has occurred in our life. Just very well writtin and enjoyable. I wish him well on his next adventure and will be looking forward to his book.

Rating:
Summary: A Moving and Humorous Story
Review: Who would have expected that a brush with death would lead a Hollywood actor to explore life on a ranch? Yet that is what happened, and Jameson Parker has written a riveting account of the challenging life of modern cowboys while simultaneously capturing his battle with the demons of depression. I found this fascinating and gracefully written. It is a book I could not put down until I had read the very last page.