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Summary: Montana and Cowboying At Its Best!
Review: David McCumber's, The Cowboy Way: Seasons of a Montana Ranch, is nothing short of brilliant. The inconceivably hard life of the modern day cowboy is described with gripping passion and confident ease. Having spent time in Montana made the memoir even more engaging for me. For those who dream of the cowboy life or simply the magic of the Rocky Mountain west, this wonderful account will do little to suppress the inherent desire to act on those dreams.
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Summary: A Fun and Educational Read!
Review: Get a first-hand lesson on what it's like to be a modern cowboy, plus some good history on Montana and its ranching business. The author's descriptions of the jobs and work it takes to run a large range are both educational and interesting and will give you a whole new perspective on what it's like to be a "real" cowboy. Great bedtime reading, and if you've ever wanted to spend some time in Montana, you'll like what you read here.
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Summary: A book that makes you feel like you are there on the ranch..
Review: I bought this book because I am very interested in Montana and ranching. This book showed to me that certainly ranching is not a beautiful life. The auther was great at the details and his feelings about the work he does, the way he feels, and the appreciation about the beauty of the lands. I would recommend this book to you if you like cowboy stories, ranching, or Montana. It seems like us folks from Hawaii sure enjoy it!
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Summary: Magnificent scenery and aching muscles - the cowboy way
Review: I love books that help me travel to worlds unknown to me. And, as I live in New York City, ranching is something I know absolutely nothing about. That's why this book by David McCumber, in which he chronicles a year spent as a ranch hand, intrigued me. As he was a 44-year old journalist with no experience ranching, I could easily relate to his trials as tribulations as he learned what it takes to be a cowboy today. He's a straightforward clear writer and he uses his words well to describe even the most mundane tasks that are the daily routines for the people who live and work on ranches. Basically, it's all about the care and feeding of cows and this includes the baling of hay, an essential job which has its own set of challenges. There's the birthing of the calves and the cleaning of the pens. There's setting up and irrigation system, and fixing miles of fencing. Often the weather is brutal and virtually all the work is outside. There's some horseback riding, of course, but nowadays most of the work is done with various trucks and motorcycles and vans which always need mechanical work, also done by the ranch hands. Mistakes are made often and result in a tongue lashing from the owner who knows everything there is to know about ranching and wants no other way of life. These are real people that the author meets and he writes about them all with a sense of admiration and I'm glad he also included the history of the White Sulphur Springs area, which he researched as background. The magnificent scenery comes alive, as do his aching muscles. He enjoys it all completely and made it quite real for me. I must admit though, that in spite of his detailed explanations, I didn't understand it all, especially when he described the mechanical aspects of the baling machines or the irrigation system or the fixing of the motor in a truck. However, I had no trouble at all understanding the birthing, branding and castrating process. And I was right there with him as he fixed fences and chased straggling cattle for miles. I thank Mr. McCumber for writing this book. I learned a lot from it. Now, whenever I hear the word "cowboy", I'll think about the real work that that is his daily grind. I'll think of the harsh and beautiful country. And the simple joy of a job well done. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent scenery and aching muscles - the cowboy way
Review: I love books that help me travel to worlds unknown to me. And, as I live in New York City, ranching is something I know absolutely nothing about. That's why this book by David McCumber, in which he chronicles a year spent as a ranch hand, intrigued me. As he was a 44-year old journalist with no experience ranching, I could easily relate to his trials as tribulations as he learned what it takes to be a cowboy today. He's a straightforward clear writer and he uses his words well to describe even the most mundane tasks that are the daily routines for the people who live and work on ranches. Basically, it's all about the care and feeding of cows and this includes the baling of hay, an essential job which has its own set of challenges. There's the birthing of the calves and the cleaning of the pens. There's setting up and irrigation system, and fixing miles of fencing. Often the weather is brutal and virtually all the work is outside. There's some horseback riding, of course, but nowadays most of the work is done with various trucks and motorcycles and vans which always need mechanical work, also done by the ranch hands. Mistakes are made often and result in a tongue lashing from the owner who knows everything there is to know about ranching and wants no other way of life. These are real people that the author meets and he writes about them all with a sense of admiration and I'm glad he also included the history of the White Sulphur Springs area, which he researched as background. The magnificent scenery comes alive, as do his aching muscles. He enjoys it all completely and made it quite real for me. I must admit though, that in spite of his detailed explanations, I didn't understand it all, especially when he described the mechanical aspects of the baling machines or the irrigation system or the fixing of the motor in a truck. However, I had no trouble at all understanding the birthing, branding and castrating process. And I was right there with him as he fixed fences and chased straggling cattle for miles. I thank Mr. McCumber for writing this book. I learned a lot from it. Now, whenever I hear the word "cowboy", I'll think about the real work that that is his daily grind. I'll think of the harsh and beautiful country. And the simple joy of a job well done. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The right stuff !
Review: I'm lucky enough to have a small familiarity with life on Wyoming ranches and I can say that McCumber has it right: His evocations of the long hours and hard physical labor of ranching and the way your personal responsibility for your work define you in this setting are exactly correct. Mix that with his artful descriptions of the gorgeous Northern Rockies with its "challenging" weather and you come up with a notable portrait of a vanishing way of life. The writing is clean and vivid. Overall, a most engaging adventure!
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Summary: Only one thing wrong with this book
Review: It wasnt long enough, I found myself wishing David had stayed on the ranch for another year, so he would have more to write about. Very engrossing couldnt put it down, what day is this??
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Summary: The New West comes to life
Review: My favorite kind of book: someone leaves his regular life behind to spend time doing something completely different. Writer McCumber hires on as a ranch hand in Montana, and I hurt right along with him reading his baptism by fire into the ways of the large-scale ranch. He tries to fit in with the rest of the guys as he battles the animals, weather, and machines of the ranch. This is, in my opinion, his best book.
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Summary: The best book on ranch life
Review: This is a GREAT Book!!!!!!! I have never read a better book on ranch life or the modern American West. It is based in White Sulphur Springs Montana and Mcumber brings it all to life with exquisite realism. All I can Say is READ THIS BOOK!
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Summary: Writer Living the Modern day Life of a Real Cowboy:
Review: This is quite an undertaking by the author to leave the comforts of the modern world to work in a Montana cattle ranch for a year. The author experiences everything that a new hand will be required to do from the ground up. From virtually using large farm equipment to dump trucks, to manure haulers including repair work and cleaning that keep the equipment in shape. McCumber does a lot of humbling work all through the year with high points of fence repair in beautiful wide open country, to capturing strays usually on four wheel all terrain vehicles and the highlight of occasional work on horse back. Long, often-grueling days of honest work that test many a hand that quit and occasionally return. The amount of land involved in the Galt ranch is mesmerizing along with all the equipment needed to keep it all going. Quite astonishing to read that the owner can actually perform successful cesareans on cows that have breech problems along with a unique castration of a bull with a stone cramping his hose so to speak that as a result now has an alternate urethra. The author does a wide range of mundane work but works his way up to running heavy equipment, wrestling steers for branding to actually vaccinating cows to the joy of driving cattle when its on horseback. He may not have learned it all but he experienced it all and actually became accomplished at most. The rewards for the hard work are his satisfaction of accomplishment, being out in beautiful open country and the occasional run at old cowboy style work on horseback. This book reads like a highly readable and entertaining diary, which also lets you get to know all the hands and owner who must love the life to endure the days. At the end of the final chapter, you feel like you know them very well and you wish for another chapter or perhaps a personal newsletter.
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