Product Description
When Bo spots what he thinks is a "rip-roarin', rootin'-tootin', shiny red armadillo," he knows what he has to do. Follow that armadillo! Bo leaves his mother and three brothers behind and takes off for a two-stepping, bronco-bucking adventure. Jan Brett turns her considerable talents toward the Texas countryside in this amusing story of an armadillo on his own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Great Classic
The book is perfect for the classroom. It teaches all kinds of lessons and some teachers use it during Public school week. Great art work. Jan Brett Rocks

Armadillo Rodeo
I am a Jan Brett fan.I used this book while teaching a rodeo unit to preschool children.The students enjoyed the book as well as I did.I would recommend it to others.

Wonderful Book
This book is a well written, educational and the illustrations make it very enjoyable for any child to want to read. It is a cute story about an armadillo that will be enjoyed by readers.

.
This is a really great book. I love the rhythm, and the language choices, and I love Bo's adventurous attitude!

As always with Brett, be sure to check out the signature pictures on the sides of the pages that show what Bo's mama is doing as he has fun.

Not bad at all
The Western flavor (hot peppers and all) of this Jan Brett story comes with lots of Western dialogue and animals--armadillos, as the title suggests.

Bo the fourth of a set of armadillo brothers, and gets himself into a pickle now and again, especially since (typical of armadillos) he can't see too well. In this tale, Bo wanders off after a lizard and ends up mistakenly following a red cowboy boot.

The boot wearer, like Bo, is a bit green around the ears. She's trying to make them look well worn.

Trailing the boot, Bo rounds his way into the rodeo ring, across a cook out, and into a dance hall. Finally he figures out that he's befriended a boot.

This was one of our least favorite Jan Brett stories. Still, it's better than a lot of children's fare making the store shelves these days, just for the illustrations alone. ... Read more

Product Description


Out of nowhere, Walker Cody swoops in and saves Paula Olsen's toddler son from a dog bite. Before she can properly thank him, the handsome Iraq War veteran fades into the crowd.

Walker's in training to retake his World Champion Bulldogger title. The practice rides are bruising, but still don't knock thoughts of a certain beautiful young widow and her little boy out of his head. And Paula's shocked to realize she has a bad case of Pervasive Walkeritis.

Survivors' guilt and ghosts from their pasts stand between them. Walker's need to prove himself on the rodeo circuit runs deeper than bragging rights. But can Paula risk her healing heart on a troubled man who deliberately puts himself in danger?

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Hot Guy, Hot Read
Originally posted at: [...]

Looking for a Harlequin American a little different from the norm? This is it. I'm a big fan of the American line - I love the sense of community and large cast of characters, so was thrilled to review this book. What I found was a story a little less fluffy than usual. One that addresses some pretty serious issues that are quite relevant to our time.

Our hero, Walker, has just returned from the Middle East after having been seriously injured. He suffers from significant PTSD and has flashbacks which can happen anywhere and without warning. When we meet him for the first time, he saves a little boy from a dog bite but the action sends him back, mentally, to the war. It isn't pretty.

Our heroine, Paula, was widowed by the same war that has psychologically scarred Walker. She struggles daily with the fear of losing someone else she loves, and also deals with raising a baby on her own. When Walker saves her child, Clay, from a dog attack she wants to thank him - but he's there and gone so fast, it's almost like she dreamed him.

This book gripped me with its realism from the start. I didn't want to stop reading it until I discovered how Walker and Paula were able to come to grips with those things that were hurting them. I will admit that things got a little frustrating for me when the two main characters spent almost no time together for a good sized chunk of the book - this IS a romance after all - but things sped right back up again once they began to become friends.

Friends? Yep. That's right. At first, they simply enjoy being together. Walker likes Clay, Clay like Walker, Paula enjoys the insight Walker gives her into being a soldier (something her husband never did). They slowly grow to know each other, and it's a wonderful thing. Truly, two people couldn't be more perfect for each other, even when Walker starts competing in the rodeo again and Paula questions whether she can deal with him putting himself in harm's way on a regular basis.

This book offers a slow, realistic courtship between a man and woman with wounds that need to heal. Understand this: there isn't some miraculous healing that occurs in this book - only the beginning of one, that we know will continue due to love and acceptance.

This is a warm, sweet, real story. And one I highly recommend.

WALKER THE TEASE
This was an okay read that I originally picked up because I'm a fan of dark tortured heroes, military men and cowboys. On the surface this ticked all my boxes and started out great however after the introductions the story never really went anywhere. The rodeo aspect, which was supposed to be a big deal (come on its in the title) was unfortunately only ever told to us (repeatedly mind due) but the author never showed us an actual rodeo scene. And the heroine, don't even get me started. The best I can say about her is that she's the kind of girl who wears sensible shoes. Of course then we also have her young son and if I had to read one more sentence about ear infections, Pedialyte or Cheerio's I was going to scream.

This was my first Harlequin American romance and also my first by author Rebecca Winters so little did I know going in this was going to be a "clean" romance. In all honesty I'd never even heard that term before. I have to admit I was dissapointed in not getting to see Walker the sexy, military cowboy stud naked. *sigh*

Walker's initial struggles with PTSD are well done however theres a really silly plot thread involving his overbearing father and the fact that he'd cheated on his mother some 20 years earlier. Apparently this horror left bigger scars on Walker then the war or any IED ever did. It's a good thing he finally comes to terms with it so he can concentrate on healing those skin grafts. I'm guessing the message here is that infidelity is worse then war!?

There were moments of this book however that I liked and I think others (with cleaner minds) will probably really enjoy this touching contemporary romance so I'll stop the bashing here and just give you a brief summery. Cheers.

Walker Cody has returned to Wyoming a changed man. Recovering from his war injuries and still suffering debilitating flashbacks all he wants now is to isolate himself at his grandfather's cabin and avoid his affluent rodeo family. On his way through town he happens upon a parade and without thinking rescues a child from the clutches of some crazed dog. Before the young mother can thank him though Walker has disappeared.

Paula is recently widowed, having lost her husband in Iraq she's just now starting to get her life back on track and the last thing she needs is to be thinking about is the dark and dangerous cowboy who rescued her son, yet she can't seem to stop herself. With a war between them our couple forge into a wary friendship. Walker is hesitant and Paula is afraid of falling in love again. When Walker returns to the dangerous life of the rodeo circuit (which runs deep in his blood but not on the page) Paula fears she may just lose him forever.

super contemporary romance
In Markton, Wyoming at the dog parade, two year old Clay tumbles out of his Red Flyer wagon into the path of a snarling Lab.However, a stranger plucks the child out of harms way.The infant's grateful mom widow Paula Olsen tries to thank the man, but he vanishes before she can voice her gratitude.

From an affluent family, Cody Walker endures PTSD suffered while in combat as a marine.He has come home with plans to be a hermit hiding from his family.However, having seen caring Paula brings him out into the open though he is hesitant.Paula and Walker are attracted to one another, but she has not moved passed her late husband dying in the same war that haunts the returning veteran.

This is a super contemporary romance starring two wonderful lead characters haunted with what war has wrought to them personally.Fans will relish this character driven tale as an ex marine and a veteran's widow find love and more important solace with one another.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
A relentlessly honest coming of death story, this psychological memoir of comedian Glenn Rockowitz's ongoing struggle with cancer offers a vivid glimpse into the landscape of a mind when it is faced with the constant threat of death. The story takes us from Glenn's unexpected diagnosis of 'three months at best' just days before the birth of his only child, to his miraculous remission and the ironic death of his father. It is a journey that is by turns heartbreaking, painfully funny, misanthropic, loving and ultimately heroic. Rodeo In Joliet tramples the Hallmark cliches and platitudes of traditional cancer survival stories and presents in their place an experience that leaves the reader in awe and grateful for his or her every breath. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Loved this book
This book was gritty, amazing and just so engrossing, that I couldn't put it down. It's one of those books you think about for days after you have finished reading it.

A wizard of wit, truth, pain, and love!
Glen Rockowitz writes his life and death story with words stripped bare, with impeccable timing, with the force of fierce poetry! No wonder. He's also a stand-up commedian! I met him at a book-signing party, took his book home, started to read, and finished at 2 a.m. Won't ever forget this book....Nancy Rekow, MINNIE ROSE LOVGREEN'S RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS.

simply amazing. every word.
You will finish this book within days, but it will stay with you forever.

And let's hope Glenn does the same.

Thank you, Thick Dick.
Glenn "Thick Dick" Rockowitz (the book explains the obscene Amazon "key phrase", I promise), tells the beautiful, honest story of his bouts with cancer and his battle against time...death...God...himself.

Everything about this book is thoroughly captivating, from the minimalistic, white exterior of the book to Rockowitz's beautiful writing style, adorning every page.Rockowitz writes so effectively that while the entire memoir revolves around his cancer, it is an underlying theme to all 346 pages.His use of imagery throughout the book put me there with him every step of the way - every cold tile floor, every setting of the sun, every drip of poison.

Rodeo in Joliet may be the best book I have ever read in my entire life (I only say "may" because I don't like to make conclusive, irreversible statements).It is certainly the quickest I have ever read a book cover to cover (since "Goodnight Moon").Rockowitz pulls you in at page one and holds you there.Sure, the grip of words may feel uncomfortable at times, but honestly...he doesn't give a damn.Life's too short to not tell it like it is.

Fearless truth
There ought to be a new word for brave.Glenn pulls no punches and still manages to make you laugh.It's like he took my heart and had his way with it.
Read it, share it, you will see gratitude in a whole new light. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (7)

great condition
very helpful manual for the doer yourselves will save you lots of money and time

Great Guide for the "Home Mechanic"
Haynes Manuals are amazing.
they are written based on a complete tear-down and rebuild of most cars.
The manuals include routine maintenance procedures, liquid capacities and torque specs; all the good stuff.

Great book! too bad it did not have color illustrations.
The book is easy to read, the index is as detail as you may need, rated as a 3 stars since at times the illustrations were kind of hard to see since they were black and white.

Aside form that great buy; I just keep it my Rodeo just in case.

Chilton Repair Manual
Has been a great help in diagosiing and making repairs on our multiple Rodeos...We ordered and received the manual in about 4 days. Saved us a lot of time and money.

Haynes Rodeo Manual
The manual was delivered on time. It was a was used in good condition (no missing pages but it did have a few greasy fingerprints. I added a few myself within a few hours.) ... Read more

Product Description

Yee–hah! It's rodeo time!

Bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, calf roping, the livestock show, the fiddling contest, and don't forget lunch –– how are Katie and Cameron going to fit it all in and still have time to help their uncle, Cactus Joe, with chores? By making a schedule, of course. But making a schedule and sticking to it turn out to be two very different things!

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for kids at home and at school
This book is great for kids who are interested in math and also for those you wish to get interested in math.It makes math fun. ... Read more

Product Description

[Siren Menage Amour: Erotic Cowboy Menage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, Contemporary]

Customer Reviews (6)

Three for the Rodeo
Sadie Perkins had one goal in her life. She wanted to be in rodeo. Not in the girl events though, she wanted to ride bulls and broncs. To help realize her dreams, she gets a job with a rodeo company. However, when she tries to find someone to show her the ropes, she runs into the rock and the hard place.

Kyle Johnson and Gabe Miles were both professional rodeo riders. When Sadie asks them to teach her to ride broncs and bulls, they thought she was nuts, but it was a good way to get closer to her. So, they make Sadie an offer-they will teach her the basics, but they are the only ones who get to teach her. But what happens when unexpected feelings arise?

An entertaining cast of secondary characters adds scope to the story. The overall attitude of the cowboys about women was aggravating at times, but funny in the story. A surprise curve-ball at the end of the story made the ending really touching and heartwarming.

THREE FOR THE RODEO was an excellent story. The love scenes between Kyle, Gabe, and Sadie were scorching. Sadie wanting to ride bulls really had the feminist in me cheering for her. It is really awesome when a woman steps out of the "traditional" roles. Ms. Ryder did an amazing job portraying the emotions and relationships between the three main characters, and she really showed how different the men's feelings for Sadie were. All in all, THREE FOR THE RODEO was a very entertaining read. Ms. Ryder did an excellent job putting the reader in the story.-
Reviewed by Noelle- Courtesy of Romance Junkies Review Site

Its not great literature but its great erotic romance
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Unlike some writers of erotic fiction, the author tries to make the story plausible and believable.I realize that some readers may be alienated by this because, lets face it, some of them are only after speedy tittilation! But anyone who enjoys reading about situations that *could* actually happen in real life will enjoy this book.

Recommended read
I've read a couple of Luxie's books and I love the way she builds her characters. Sadie is a sassy, independant woman who wants to be treated like an equal - in life as well as in bed. She meets her match in two sexy cowboys name Kyle and Gabe. I won't give away the ending except to say that by the time you get there, Ms Ryder has taken the reader on a very sexy, satisfying ride. Highly recommend Hard to put this book down!

ugh--yuck--
this book was pathetic--it's not really a menage--just because all 3 are in the room together or one after another--sadie isshallow- winey-and emotionally immature--she wants to ride bulls or something--because it looks like fun? she's supposed to be in her 30's and acts like she's a teenager--there is no character developement--one guy even goes after someone else--can't see any love developing till the last page--only because that's how it ends.yucky--don't waste your $$ buy lorelie james of leah brooke--waste of a couple hours of my life

Three for the Rodeo
just finished this one. I liked that Sadie isn't some girlie girl dripping in diamonds and make up and they are still attracted to her in her blue jeans and t-shirt tomboy look. I also loved the ending. not gonna give that away in my review though. read it! Read anything by Luxie Ryder! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (13)

A Personal Journey through the Rodeo
In the early-2000s WK "Kip" Stratton hit the road to discover how the professional rodeo circuit had changed over the years. He found a sport that was gaining popularity, but struggling to retain its soul. From Stratton's perspective, TV and big money from marketers are draining away much of what is best about rodeo.

Stratton gives the reader a great feel for what life is like when the rodeo comes to town. He is a talented writer who makes people and places "come alive" for the reader. There are great descriptions of Stratton's travels to the rodeos in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pendleton, Oregon. The book also contains a vivid portrait of the late rodeo champion Freckles Brown.

What gives Chasing the Rodeo an extra dimension is Stratton's personal connection to the sport. His late father, Don, was a rodeo bum - a marginal cowboy who hung around the fringes of the rodeo circuit. Don ran off when "Kip" was an infant and the writer never knew his dad. In trying to discover the heart of the rodeo Kip is trying to learn something about his father - and himself. Stratton's account of his father's star-crossed life is the best aspect of the book.

Chasing the Rodeo is not perfect. Stratton departs from his two main stories - his travels and his father - too often. The book has a tendency to bog down and the reader has to plow though some of this material.

I've always wanted to attend a rodeo and Stratton's book whetted my appetite. While Chasing the Rodeo is not a perfect book it is very enjoyable. I recommend it.

A great read...but not long enough!!!
As soon as I picked up this book and started reading, I was hooked in about 5 minutes. There are really three stories going on here. The authors search for his unsuccessful rodeo bum of a father that left him as a kid, a history of many different rodeos, and the authors experience attending these rodeos. This is really a well written and entertaining book!!! The stories move along really well, and keep you from putting the book down. My only complaint is that it wasnt longer. But then again, maybe that was a plus, as there really wasnt any lulls in the story. Highly recommend!

Real Rodeo
Growing up around rodeo and knowing the ins and outs of it. It was nice to find a book about rodeo that revealed some interesting things about it that I did not know. I enjoyed this book very much.

Not Satisfied
This book was not what I was hoping it would be.I was hoping to get a nice history of rodeo, which it included somewhat.That wasn't all of it, though.For a person that proclaimed to like rodeo, it sure didn't come across in this book.He accused stock contractors of lying about the treatment of animals, complained about the rise in popularity to the sport and what it has done to the authenticity and then almost became apologetic towards the treatment of non-whites in the sport.This book is not good for anyone, outsiders to the sport of the rodeo or the hardcore fans that watch week in and week out.I hope this book was written to "generate passion for the sport" because if I wasn't a fan, I wouldn't get past this book.There are better books on rodeo.

Call of the wild . . .
While rodeo insiders may find fault with this book and quibble over details, it remains an excellent introduction to the history, the personalities, and the meaning of this sport as it's evolved over the past century. Stratton, a journalist based in Austin, TX, with roots in Oklahoma, comes by his "kicker" credentials fairly enough - his mother a cowgirl in her own right and his father a rodeo cowboy who went on down the road and never came back. Stratton's book is a personal journey, a search for an understanding of the romance of rodeo - the call of the wild in the soul, the appeal of risk-taking, the love of a past that can be recaptured for a moment in a beautifully executed ride on a bucking horse or bull. And he does much to reclaim the essentials of a pastoral ritual that has been compromised by commercialism, corporate sponsorships, and marketing that positions it as an extreme sport.

Stratton covers some familiar ground that will not be new for all readers, but many stories deserve retelling, such as that of George Fletcher at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup, the first bulldogger, Bill Pickett, and the death of champion bull rider Lane Frost. Then there is an account of the first rodeo "cowgirl," Lucille Mulhall and of Indian cowboy Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In Prescott, AZ, he has occasion to recall at length the rodeo film "Junior Bonner" with Steve McQueen.

There is a wide array of other personalities who find their way into Stratton's book: Justin McBride, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Willie Nelson, Jack Kerouac, Ben Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, and evangelist Susie Luchsinger. He gets closest to the sport itself in conversations with all-around champion Jesse Bail and bullriding champion Freckles Brown. The first-chapter account of Brown's famous ride on Tornado at the National Finals in 1967 just takes your breath away. Finally there is the search for the story of Stratton's absent cowboy father, which rounds out the book with more than a little poignance. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone curious about rodeo, the fascination it holds for both fans and participants, and its place in American popular culture. ... Read more

Product Description
The little town of Cavity is no place for Rodeo Ron and his multicolored milkshake cows.

Not a soul in Cavity will drink milk. They'll only drink extra-fizzy, extra-sweet sodas from Frothy and Fruity's. Which would explain everyone's uncontrollable burping and dirty brown teeth. So Rodeo Ron moseys on over to Frothy and Fruity's soda bar and challenges those two belching brothers to a shake-off -- milkshakes vs. soda! Frothy and Fruity gather their sugars and syrups. Rodeo Ron gathers his milkshake cows.

The shake-off is on! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

One of my favorite picture books!
I love this book.It is especially fun to read with a child on your lap.The text is perfect for jogging the child and usually results in even more laughs!

Rodeo Ron is a lot of fun!
We found this book in the library one day and we checked it out so many times, I decided to just buy it.The boys I babysit (4 1/2, 2 1/2) love this story and love to shake shake shake along with the cows while I'm reading to them.It's a great story with vivid, funny illustrations and a much needed lesson about good nutrition for kids!I highly recommend this book for any young child.

Shake Up Some Colorful Drinks
Rodeo Ron reforms the town with Rotten Teeth by introducing his tasty shakes from his cows: the first one as yellow as a field of sun ripened corn, the second as blue as a cloudless sky and the th ird as green as a fresh spring meadow. The milkshake cows not only make tasty shakes, they dispense colorful shakes. This would be a fun introduction to a lesson on making milkshakes of three colors using a variety of flavorings. Even little kids can use a blender to transform plain old burpless milk into yummy snacks that everyone will love. There are no recipes in the book, but it won't take most kids more than a minute to come up with ideas for their own tasty drinks.

Must Have For Dental Offices!!
Great kids book, young and old. Town called Cavity only serves soda to drink and everyones teeth are rotted. Great western and very colorful! ... Read more

Product Description
Never before had Daniel Bergner seen a spectacle as bizarre as the one he had come to watch that Sunday in October. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers were competing in the annual rodeo at Angola, the grim maximum-security penitentiary in Louisiana. The convicts, sentenced to life without parole, were thrown, trampled, and gored by bucking bulls and broncos before thousands of cheering spectators. But amid the brutality of this gladiatorial spectacle Bergner caught surprising glimpses of exaltation, hints of triumphant skill.

The incongruity of seeing hope where one would expect only hopelessness, self-control in men who were there because they'd had none, sparked an urgent quest in him. Having gained unlimited and unmonitored access, Bergner spent an unflinching year inside the harsh world of Angola. He forged relationships with seven prisoners who left an indelible impression on him. There's Johnny Brooks, seemingly a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, who, while washing the warden's car, longs to be a cowboy and to marry a woman he meets on the rodeo grounds. Then there's Danny Fabre, locked up for viciously beating a woman to death, now struggling to bring his reading skills up to a sixth-grade level. And Terry Hawkins, haunted nightly by the ghost of his victim, a ghost he tries in vain to exorcise in a prison church that echoes with the cries of convicts talking in tongues.

Looming front and center is Warden Burl Cain, the larger-than-life ruler of Angola who quotes both Jesus and Attila the Hun, declares himself a prophet, and declaims that redemption is possible for even the most depraved criminal. Cain welcomes Bergner in, and so begins a journey that takes the author deep into a forgotten world and forces him to question his most closely held beliefs. The climax of his story is as unexpected as it is wrenching.
        
Rendered in luminous prose, God of the Rodeo is an exploration of the human spirit, yielding in the process a searing portrait of a place that will be impossible to forget and a group of men, guilty of unimaginable crimes, desperately seeking a moment of grace.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Not since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood hasa writer so humanely evoked the complicated, harrowing lives ofviolent convicts. At turns haunting and inspiring, God of theRodeo is novelist-journalist Daniel Bergner's riveting account ofa year spent visiting the maximum-security prison at Angola,Louisiana, also known as "the last slave plantation." Initially thereto report on the prison's annual four-weekend rodeo in October 1996for Harper's, he was able to extend his stay for a full yearwhen he was granted complete, unsupervised access to the sevenprisoners with whom he became most closely acquainted.

In God of the Rodeo, he introduces readers to rodeo championJohnny Brooks, a 41-year-old "lifer" incarcerated for a murder hecommitted at the age of 18, who is engaged to marry a civilian womanhe met at the rodeo. He's also the most promising candidate forparole. There's Terry Hawkins, a man who tries to seek salvation forthe violent murder of his boss, the grotesque details of which haunthim, and Danny Fabre, plagued with comically large ears he desperatelywants corrected by plastic surgery almost as much as he wishes tolearn to read past the 6th-grade level.Perhaps the most strikingfigure is the stern, spiritual warden, Burl Cain, a self-proclaimedprophet who genuinely believes in redemption for even the most violentoffenders.

Written with the eloquence of a poet and the perceptive eyes of apainter, Bergner's extremely well wrought, unforgettable book offers arare glimpse into the hearts and souls of men who commit violence,finding hope and courage where few dare to look, without ever losingsight of the horrific crimes that landed them in America's mostisolated prison. --Kera Bolonik ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Interesting read
This book was an interesting read.Angola is a facinating place, and this book delivers a haunting look around.Warden Burl Cain is a classic case where truth is stranger than fiction.This is the kind of book that you wish could go on forever.

A First Hand View into Angola Prison
Bergner's inside look reads more like an expose than a historical account, not surprising when one takes into consideration his background as a journalist. This account, however, it must be noted takes into account an extensive history of Angola State Prison. Bergner spent time there performing the work of a sociologist: observing, writing, detailing, getting to know the inmates on a personal basis; and even sometimes getting caught in the political tides of the prison administration. This work is as much designed for the general reader who seeks an understanding of the life of a prisoner as much as it is for the student of criminal justice or political science who seeks a knowledge base in prison life. Bergner's talents are clearly on display in this sociological masterpiece that clearly details the emotions of prison life. The graphic behavior exhibited by the characters in this work only serve to intensify the reality of prison life and drive home the point that Bergner makes, chiefly being that Angola State Prison, much like any other prison, is a world apart from normal society. This work is an inside view of that other world. It shocks just the same as Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities.

great material, poorly done
The narrative jumps around, unfocused and unsure of itself, and never truly captures the convicts. No dramatic tension and anti-climactic.

Bull-riding behind bars
This book is only incidentally about rodeo, and even less about God. Yes, Bergner uses a prison rodeo as the structural device to build this account of prison life around. But it's not any kind of rodeo you would see authorized by the PRCA. The events are more treacherous, and the men who participate have no experience. They are a spectacle for a crowd of people looking for the same kind of thrills that drew ancient Romans to the Coliseum.

The book is chiefly about the daily lives of several of the prisoners who happen to participate in this spectacle, as Bergner follows them over the period of a year at Louisiana's maximum security prison, Angola. Bergner is permitted to talk to them one-on-one, with no guards present, by an unusual warden with a reputation for his "humane" philosophy of incarceration and his efforts at rehabilitation. The interviews, as a result, or more than usually candid. One prisoner even fantasizes aloud to Bergner about escaping and taking revenge on the people who put him there.

Not all the prisoners Bergner introduces us to are reprehensible. Most, in fact, seem decent enough blokes, and he has to keep reminding us (and himself) that all of them are serving time for violent, awful crimes. Most are black men, reflecting the racial (im)balance of the prison population. And most struggle daily to maintain a sense of self-worth that society and the judicial and penal systems have denied them. One man becomes active in the prison's chapter of Toastmasters. Another attends church services for a time. One holds out the hope that his teenage son will find a way to be proud of him. One romances a woman with two children who eventually marries him in a prison ceremony.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the narrative, the prison warden begins to pressure Bergner for editorial privileges. He wants only good publicity and perhaps suspects that Bergner has uncovered some shady dealings involving labor provided by prisoners to business associates. What starts as a congenial relationship between the two men turns sour, and Bergner has to take his case to a sympathetic state prison commissioner, who reinstates his privileges, no strings attached.

The book ends as it begins with the annual rodeo. By now we know how the hope of winning a buckle feeds the participants' desire to compete and succeed. We also see the shabby futility of the event and regret ever yearning along with them for a moment of personal glory.

I recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in what happens to men who are sent to prison. Bergner has written a fascinating account of lives spent year after year behind bars. As a companion volume, I would recommend Ted Conover's "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing," which gives an account of prison life told from the point of view of the men and women who work as guards.

Carpetbagger Journalism
A New York Yankee flies down to Louisiana for a couple of weekends to report "the truth" as he sees it. At the same time, he's on areligious journey. The problem with this book, much like James Agee's"Let Us Know Praise Famous Men," is that the author allows thestory to be about him writing the story. Who cares? A journalist in aLouisiana prison. That's not fodder for interesting reading. There are over5,100 men currently in Angola. Surely, there had to be more interestingstories there than Bergner's. It's as if Bergner already had the storywritten before even visiting the prsion. He just plugged in some names and(voila!) he has a book.

It's a shame this book is so weak. There is agreat deal of potential, but Bergner doesn't follow through. Moreimportantly, he has a wonderful opportunity to teach his readers a thing ortwo about the condition of the Louisiana State Penitentiary and themenincarcerated there, but instead he chooses to write a Hollywood story,Bayou Style.

If you thought the movies The Big Easy and Forest Gump weregreat films, than this is the book for you. Otherwise, steer clear of thistawdry fluff. On an aesthetic note, the book looks really great on the tankof your toilet. ... Read more

Product Description
Hockey is booming in the minor pro leagues south of the Mason-Dixon line, with the epicenter being the Texas Sunbelt, home to more pro hockey teams than any other province or state including Ontario and Michigan. Zamboni Rodeo follows the fortunes of the Austin Ice Bats as they wander across Texas, living on junk food and beer, practicing in deserted malls, and navigating slushy ice in too-warm arenas. Writer Jason Cohen joined the team in the locker room between periods, suffered through every lurching bus ride and fog-delayed game, and even spent a night in the penalty box in his quest — hilariously documented here — to know heartland hockey in all its sorry glory. Photographs add to this lively, irreverent ride through the heady world of bush-league hockey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

a good book for those interested in the subject
I really enjoyed this book which followed a season of the Ice Bats, a minor league hockey team in Texas. It definitely captured what that experience is like, for good and for bad. And it was mostly good. I had three sons play youth hockey, and one played four years of college hockey, and is now trying to play hockey on a team like the Ice Bats. My interest in the world could hardly be greater. To anyone who dreams of pro hockey for themselves or someone they know - this is a must read! Those with a strong interest in hockey should enjoy this book, too. I'm not sure that someone without an interest at the start will get drawn into this book. While I feel that I know the world of minor league hockey after reading this, I don't know the individual players as well as I'd like. "Good Enough to Dream" by Roger Kahn is about one team's season in a low level of minor league baseball. Kahn is a brilliant writer, and that book would draw in even non-baseball fans, I expect. It's unfair to compare Jason Cohen to Roger Kahn. Cohen captured the big picture well, and that is a good thing.

Zamboni Rodeo for RW
Zamboni Rodeo is about Jason Cohen, the Author, who whent on the rode with the Austin Ice Bats and followed them through one whole season. There Cohen found out what Texas Hockey was all about: booze, broken buses, late games, practicing in broken down malls, and potato chips. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was full of laughs and excitment. I think Cohen is a really good writer who putsexteme amounts of detail into every scentence in the book that makes it seem like your are right there next to him. This book is great, and I would recomend it to everyone.

Hard to follow at times, but a good read
It's tough at times to keep up with all of the players, but for anyone interested to see what goes on behind the scenes of low level minor league hockey this is a great book.I really enjoyed it.

Zamboni Rodeo
A nice slice of Americana, viewed in the context of a vehicle that gets (sadly) little respect in this country.As a hocley fan you can pick up the lingo and imagine what is going to happen, as a sports fan you can identify the heiarchy of the athletic food chain, as a human being you can see the pathos of striving to attain a goal or just surviving to the next day.
A good read....recommended.

Great title. Very good book.
I enjoyed it, but then I have three sons playing youth hockey.

It's another depiction of the stark truth for anyone dreaming of fame and fortune through athletics. Each of the players portrayed in this true story was outstanding as a kid, but here they are in small towns, far from their homes in the frozen North, playing in front of enthusiastic but mostly oblivious audiences, and worse yet are soon to be retired by minor league hockey's equivalent of term limits. But they're having fun with each other and getting paid. Problem is their fame is fleeting and spread narrow, and their fortune is short-lived and small.

The book is also a good introduction to life on the road for anyone willing to try it for a time, hopefully after laying a solid foundation for the future (college degree or whatever fits the particular kid). The "where are they now" appendix should be sobering for anyone who is college-bound but instead chooses minor league hockey.

There are plenty of funny anecdotes, but it's not a joke book. I couldn't keep the characters straight, maybe since I read it in bits and snatches over a period of weeks, or maybe because they aren't that well drawn, given so many players doing the same basic job in this relatively short book.

The book could also entertain someone who just likes sports in general or who is interested in this region of the country (New Mexico to Louisiana), but no character or theme is fully developed. Not that the author intended to or must do. ... Read more

Product Description


Tanner O'Brien had always kept his focus on two things: rodeo and caring for his nephew. So why was he distracted by one big-city gal who was in town for only a month?

Jules Vandeveer was the opposite of everything Tanner was attracted to in a woman--but even her negative attitude toward bronc riders didn't make her any less appealing. Something hidden beneath her kindness to his young nephew made him want to help ease her pain--if only she'd let him.

Penetrating Jules's tough exterior and winning her heart would require lots of getting-to-know-you time. And Tanner knew just the cowboy for the job....

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Book
This author is an exception writer.She keeps the reader's attention and it has just the right amount of suspense, romance, and entertainment.It also made me smile.

well written contemporary romance
She loved to ride horses when she was a child.That is until the accident when she was twelve left her temporarily in a coma.Jules Vandeveer has kept her distance from horses ever since she regained consciousness, preferring the big city to ranch country.

However, the urban based lawyer has no choice but to enter Oklahoma rodeo country as her best friend Beth Anders is getting married and expects her to attend the ceremony.Jules figures she can deal with anything for a month like she did when they first met at the hospital when Beth had poison oak and she had the injuries.She had not counted on rodeo bronco rider Tanner O'Brien and his troubled fourteen years old nephew Shawn who he is raising.Unable to stay out of the uncle and his ward's issues, Jules becomes involved when she intercedes while they argue in a tavern's parking lot.Tanner admires her guts when it comes to teens, but wonders why he is attracted to a person who disdains his vocation.

Though none of the three lead characters are developed deep enough to fully understand their fears, fans of contemporary romances will enjoy the well written THE RODEO RIDER.The story line is fun to follow due to the range wars between Jules and Tanner over how to deal with Shawn, bronco and horse riding, and love; as both grasp in their respective gut the desperation of caring and fearing for someone else.

Harriet Klausner
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Customer Reviews (1)

Clowns and Wagon Chow.
In this edition of the Scooby-Doo book series, the Mystery Inc. gang visits a rodeo operated by Bucky McCoy, the world-famous yodeling cowboy. Fred is one of Bucky's biggest fans and he wants to introduce the gang to his childhood hero. However, Bucky's rodeo is having financial problems and a malignant rodeo clown tries to scare everyone away. It's up to Scooby and the gang to solve the mystery and save the rodeo.

This entry into the series reads like an average book and since the mystery doesn't really involve a scary monster, the story isn't as exciting as other Scooby-Doo tales. ... Read more

Product Description
From its roots in cowboy and vaquero culture to the big-business excitement of today s National Finals competitions, rodeo has embodied the rugged individual-ism and competitive spirit of the American West. Now the long trajectory of rodeo culture comes fully alive in Arena Legacy. Showcasing the unrivaled collections of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, this lavishly illustrated volume is the first to depict rodeo s material and graphic heritage.

Richard Rattenbury opens Arena Legacy with an engaging and richly illustrated history of rodeo, from its first recorded competition in Colorado in 1869, to its role in county fairs, cattlemen s conventions, and old settlers reunions across the West, to its rise to national prominence between 1920 and 1960.

Following its historical overview, Arena Legacy features an extensive pictorial gallery of signature materials. A series of colorful portfolios reveals treasured artifacts from rodeo life, including costumes, trophies, buckles, and riding equipment. Here the reader will discover lavish artistry in leather and silver, flamboyant expression in western dress, and the interpretive work of both fine artists and commercial illustrators.

Certain to delight a diverse audience of rodeo aficionados, participants, collectors, and historians, this stunning volume is a fitting tribute to America s truly western sport. ... Read more

Product Description
Those who do not remember family history are condemned to repeat it...Haunted by a failed marriage, a resentful son left deaf by a bout of meningitis, and the slow death of her artistic aspirations, Margaret Yearwood takes refuge in Blue Dog, New Mexico. There, in the shadow of Shiprock Mountain, and in the unlikely arms of Owen Garrett, she finds the courage to love again, and to be loved. And she comes to realize that even the most primal wounds scar over and that there's nothing so renewable or so healing as passion. This is a bittersweet story of ordinary people who must learn to heal family bonds before they are permanently severed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A good romance that could have been edited a bit
I found this story interesting, but I think it needed some editing. It's a romance
that would appeal to a woman more than a man. The characters were all strong and well defined. Two lonely people meet up in New Mexico and find a life.

Great service...great book
I received my book on the 3rd business day after ordering it. the book arrived in great condition for a used book.Jo Ann Mapson is a great author.

Blue Rodeo
This book kept me up half the night to finish. It is beautifully written.

This Book was Great!
I loved this book.It has so much to give - information about New Mexico, Navajo Indians, rug weaving, cowboys, deafness, philosophy and - the best part - love.I think this is Mapson's best book - and, yes, I've read them all.I couldn't stop reading it.And the ending? Oustanding.One of the best endings ever.

Another great book from JoAnn Mapson
JoAnn writes great stories with believeable characters--people you know or want to know. Her stories are hard to put down. You can feel their pain and their joy and her endings leave you wanting more.

This is a story about new beginnings, old pain and good friends. I highly recommend it. I've never seen the movie but plan to do so. Kris Kristofferson was a perfect choice for the lead roll.
... Read more

Product Description
In Rodeo Legends Gavin Ehringer presents the life and times of twenty of the sport of rodeo's greatest athletes, complete with hundreds of photos, many taken during competition. "Career Milestones" sidebars detail the achievements of each arena champion and include both historical and contemporary legendary rodeo figures. In his introduction Ehringer states: "I've tried to talk about their great arena accomplishments, for sure. But I also tried to talk about how they stumbled and fell, then picked themselves up and dusted themselves off." The stories are riveting and at times tear-jerking. Among the most extraordinary is the comeback of all-around champ Joe Beaver after a near-death and subsequent out-of-body experience from overdosing on drugs and alcohol; the sheer endurance of Bruce Ford and his three decades on broncs; and Larry Mahan's study of mental preparedness, his singing career, post-rodeo western-apparel businesses, and now his natural horsemanship and equine wellness programs. The list of rodeo's tall, but true, tales goes on. (8 1/2 x 11, 216 pages, b&w photos)

Gavin Ehringer is one of the most prolific rodeo writers in America. He has written Western Horseman magazine's "Rodeo Arena" column for more than ten years and has reported on every major rodeo event in the West. Ehringer coauthored Rodeo in America with Dr. Wayne Wooden and has written dozens of articles for magazines such as The Quarter Horse Journal, Paint Horse Journal, The National Reining Horse Association Reiner, Horse & Rider, Cowboys & Indians, and American Cowboy. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful book on some of the greats
Great book with information on some of the very best in the sport of Rodeo.

Rodeo Legends
My son has really enjoyed reading about the various people and events that they pursue in this book.Interesting to read. ... Read more

Product Description
A journey inside the hearts and minds of the best bull riders in the world as they compete for their greatest prize--the championship gold buckle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Great Book to Read.
I've rode bulls for quite a while and thought this book was great.

Simply the best I've read!
I just finished the book and I have to say this is the best I've ever read.If you watch the PBR, you have to buy this book.Donnie Gay, Tuff Hedemann, Ty Murray, Charles Sampson, they are all here.

roughstock riders point of view
Just finished the hardback version. As a bullrider and saddlebronc rider I have never read anything as painfully accurate about our sport as this book. The only drawback is I couldnt put it down and as i finished I wanted MORE. I hope he writes a second book..because Jeff Coplon knows more about rodeo than some cowboys. NICE JOB.

more than a sport
Highly recommended, excellent book about a misunderstood sport. While Rodeo and Bull-Riding fans will enjoy this book, it is a great book for folks not familiar with Rodeo/Bull Riding and the culture that gave birth to it and sustains it.As the PBR circuit grows in popularity it will be interesting to see if the PBR stays true to it's Western Values and Culture. I hope so...

Finally, a great book about the world's greatest sport
This is a very good and captivating book and something every rodeo fan should read. If you want to learn more about bull riding legends like Don Gay, Myrtis Dightman, Wacey Cathey, Tuff Hedeman, Lane Frost, Jim Sharp andTy Murray, this is probably the only place you can find it told socolorfully and honestly. It is also nice to read about the days when theworld's top bull riders were cowboys and actually competed at rodeos, andnot the pretentious PBR events. It also takes a look at how bull riding'spopularity surged in the 90s.I just hope a similar book on bronc riderscomes out soon. ... Read more

Product Description
This lift-the-flap, fold-out book contains nearly 50 flaps to lift, plus a unique rodeo event on every brilliantly colored spread: Grand Entry Parade, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Cutting Competition, Mutton Busting, Calf Scramble, Barrel Racing, Calf Roping, Bull Riding, and a Square Dance with a cowboy band to round out the fun. Munro's attention to detail leaves nothing out. There are explanations of the rodeo events on every page plus the interactive flaps to highlight the action of each event. Wild broncs and bucking bulls will leap across the pages of this colorful, engaging book, and young readers will be enticed to lift the flaps on each page over and over.

Roxie is the acclaimed author/illustrator of 27 books for children (including Mazescapes; Amazement Park; The Inside-Outside Books of New York City [New York Times Best Illustrated Award], Washington DC, Texas, London, Paris, and Libraries; Feathers, Flaps & Flops; Doors; Gargoyles, Girders & Glass Houses; The Great Bridge-Building Contest; Ranch; Wild West Trail Ride Maze; Circus; and Mazeways (2007).

Roxie has been an artist from the age of six, when she won first prize in a county-wide contest for a painting of a bowl of fruit. She has supported herself all her life on her art, at one point freelancing in Washington DC as a television courtroom artist. Clients included CBS, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press.

She also creates oils, watercolors, prints, and drawings, primarily cityscapes, which are exhibited widely in the U.S. in galleries and museums. Roxie's work is in numerous private, public, and corporate collections. Fourteen of her paintings have appeared as covers of The New Yorker. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Even covers Mutton Busting!
Wow! What a great book! I bought this for my granddaughters, ages 3 and 6, just as the Houston Rodeo was starting this year.They both love the book.The 3 year old thinks the picture of the child doing the Mutton Busting in the book is her sister, the 6 year old.The 6 year old did participate in Mutton Busting this year, and it does look like her. Lots of flaps with information for adults to share with little kids. No dialogue in the book.The story you create with this book is your own. I am now going to order more books by the author Roxie Munro.

Great book forever and years to come!
Thanks for having such great customer service, as THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I GOT ABOUT OF RODEO PUBLISHED IN 2007, AND WITH ALL DIFFERENT RODEO BOOKS I'VE SEEN AND THREW AWAY FOR SALE, I MADE A REAL NEW DONE DEAL THAT THIS IS REALLY THE ONLY ONE I WILL NEED. IT's lift-the-flap, fold-out book contains nearly 50 flaps to lift, plus a unique rodeo event on every brilliantly colored spread: Grand Entry Parade, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Cutting Competition, Mutton Busting, Calf Scramble, Barrel Racing, Calf Roping, Bull Riding, and a Square Dance with a cowboy band to round out the fun. Munro's attention to detail leaves nothing out. There are explanations of the rodeo events on every page plus the interactive flaps to highlight the action of each event. Wild broncs and bucking bulls will leap across the pages of this colorful, engaging book, and young readers will be enticed to lift the flaps on each page over and over. ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKED MOST ABOUT THIS BOOK IS THE ACTION AND WHEN MY EYES TOOK ME INTO THE PICTURES OF THE WHOLE ACTION OF EVERY EVENT AS IT PRETTY MUCH CAME TO LIFE AS I FELT LIKE I WAS REALLY THERE AT THE RODEO WATCHING THE ACTION AND THE EVENT AS I FELT LIKE I WAS THE CONTESTANT IN THE CALF ROPING EVNET WHERE I IMAGINED MYSELF ROPING AND TYING THE CALF, AS CALF ROPING CAME INTO MY LIFE AS THE EVENT CAME TO LIFE AT ME, AS I ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I HOPE IF YOU GET THIS BOOK YOU WILL ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I HAVE, AS If you have a young horse lover, cowboy romance enthusiasts, rodeo fans, rodeo tie-down calf ropers, ranchers, Cowboy Hall of Fame historians, and horse lovers in the family, get this book for them. Think about given out several copies to kids who come to visit the rodeos where any cowboy competes work. You cannot really go wrong with this book. This book is about the rodeo. This book was excellent for me. I think students will love this book also. What to learn about the intersting world of and about the rodeos? If you said yes this is definitely the right book for you! This is a well planned and wonderfully illustrated book on rodeos, as for the child or the adult or anyone interested in tie-down calf roping, cowboys or rodeos--whether you compete at one by riding or roping or not or maybe just enjoying the sport of rodeo--it's the only book you'll ever need as this is a must for any rodeo fan's library.

Even though I read and I'm very content looking under the flaps and making up his own "story" to the pictures of my favorite event calf roping, as I think in the five different pictures of the flaps where he's lassoing and tying up the calf, I think it's taking the calf roper about three swings to lasso the calf, and he ties up the calf's three legs with two wraps and a hooey. The five different pictures in the flaps of calf roping by artist Roxie Munro is really one of my all-time real best favorite ones to look at to show the sport of calf roping and how the action of going back in time really comes to life each and everyday forever, as this is really my favorite event, as this is also another favorite of mine to be in and with forever as I really like the colors, urgencies, roping, the horse, the roper and the joy in this one, as if in the five different pictures in the flaps, I really imagine myself to be the calf roper, as if I was at one of the outdoor rodeos of the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta or at the Mo'Betta Calf Roping up in Apache, Oklahoma or at one of the outdoor rodeos up in Texas or any other outdoor rodeo or out in the practice pen, as if I could copy the way of how the calf roper is probably lassoing the calf by probably about three swings, as if I could copy and repeat the way of how he lassoed and swung the lasso and caught the calf by probably about three swings, and I would then pull back and then flip up and pitch up my whole slack up in the air, while I would be jumping and leaping down from my horse, and then I would run down to the calf, pick it up and get it down to the ground, and then I would wrap and tie up three of the calf's legs with two wraps and a hooey with probably lightning fast quick hands and then complete my hooey (slang term for half hitch) very tight and then throw my arms up in the air to stop the official's clock, and I could forever repeat this run out of this book just because of how the roper caught the calf, and for my fun, I would then wrap up the calf with two wraps and a hooey to make sure it would stay down good and tight for about six seconds at a rodeo or a practice pen, and that's how I'd copy and repeat this calf roper forever from those five illustrations by Roxie Munro, to think that the sport grows on me when the more I rope everyday and probably becomes a part of who I am as the real rodeo and ranch and singing cowboy, forever and ever and forever, and I think that makes a lot of sense to you, to think I'm one of the best greatest ropers. CALF ROPING ROCKS, because I'm probably one of the best ropers ever, and I think I'll copy those five different illustrations of the calf roping by Roxie Munro forever and a lot of years, so they'll think I'm one of the best ropers, and THOSE ILLUSTRATIONS REALLY ROCK, BECAUSE 2007 AND 2009 WERE MY BEST GREATEST YEARS TO LIVE WITH AND REPEAT A LOT OF THE BEST ROPING FOREVER FOR YEARS TO COME, TO SHOW THAT 2007 AND 2009 PROBABLY ENSPIRES MY ROPING AT WHO I AM TODAY, EVERYDAY, FOREVER AND EVER, AND THAT'S HOW I'LL SURVIVE FOREVER AT WHO I AM! :) THOSE FIVE PICTURE ILLUSTRATIONS WOULD DEFINITELY ROCK FOR 2009 OF 2007 THIS YEAR! YAHOO! I GET TO REPEAT THOSE FIVE PICTURE ILLUSTRATIONS FOREVER, TO SHOW HOW I LIKE TO TAKE ABOUT THREE SWINGS TO ROPE, AS THE ACTION OF CALF ROPING COMES TO LIFE AS MY EYES TAKE ME INTO THE CALF ROPING ACTION AT THE RODEO, AS I FEEL LIKE I'M REALLY THERE AT THE RODEO, AS I FEEL LIKE I'M REALLY WATCHING THE EVENT AND I FEEL LIKE I'M THE CONTESTANT ON THE HORSE CALF ROPING AND THEN TYING THE LEGS UP, AND YES, THAT ONE ROCKS FOREVER AND THAT'S MY FAVORITE ONE FOR YEARS TO COME.

Everyone has every reason to feel optimistic about the book "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro! Two things you wont want to miss "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro and your own copy to enjoy for years to come FOREVER, AS If you enjoy the traditions of the old west, that turned a dare between ranch hands so many years ago into a highly entertaining spectator sport....this book of "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro is for you to own FOREVER! I'll live forever everyday in this book and in 2007 and 2009, and thank goodness there'll be another 2007 and 2009 someday again, YAHOO, I get to live forever in 2007 and 2009, which means thank goodness I pick my top best two favorites years to live with and repeat forever and ever for years and years to come, as there'll be another 2007 and 2009 again someday forever, YAHOO :) My real top best favorite years I only like that will be around forever are 2007 and 2009, as I really know that one day there'll be another 2007 and another 2009, as thank goodness they'll be here again, as 2007 and 2009 are my top best two favorite years to live with and repeat forever, and thank goodness there'll be another 2007 and 2009 someday, it'll be back and I know it will be, YAHOO :) Nice great and fast quick hands in the pictures of the book, as I really love calf roping and this is my favorite event forever at the rodeo, and this event ROCKS IN 2007 AND 2009! YEHAA, YAHOO, FOREVER 2007 AND 2009 :) YAHOO :) CALF ROPING ROCKS FOREVER OF 2007 AND 2009, YEEHAA, YAHOO :) 2007 will be my favorite to be copying, repeating and doing forever and I'm definitely favoriting this one, because that ONE ROCKS FOREVER OF 2007 AND 2009, YEEHAA, YAHOO :)

I sure hope that rodeos go on forever in 2009 and 2020 and the 100th century and just forever and ever and forever and forever and ever in the 11th millenium and the year of 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 as (500 quintillion) and beyond and forever, forever, forever, forever, forever, beyond, more forever, and ever and forever and forever: In Stephen Baxter's Manifold: Time novel, the last descendants of humanity, close to the Big Freeze, make some changes to our near present in order to release the universe's vacuum energy, spawn new universes, and avoid letting the Big Freeze from happening at this time and let's ever hope if I hope I'll be calf roping forever, and I hope that calf roping will be around forever as long as I live and survive forever in 2007 and 2009 again and years to come, as 8 Seconds is one of my real favorite rodeo movies starring Luke Perry as my real favorite western movies to watch are "8 Seconds" starring Luke Perry, and "J. W. Coop" starring Cliff Robertson, and those are the only real two western and rodeo cowboy movies that you should only watch and they'd be probably the only three western rodeo and cowboy movies for you ever to watch, as if you say that if you like "8 Seconds" starring Luke Perry, and "J. W. Coop" starring Cliff Robertson, then those are for you, forever and ever, as they're your own copies to enjoy for years to come forever as those three movies will really come to life, they really will be yours if you want to enjoy them.

Again, everyone has every reason to feel optimistic about the book "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro! Two things you wont want to miss "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro and your own copy to enjoy for years to come FOREVER, AS If you enjoy the traditions of the old west, that turned a dare between ranch hands so many years ago into a highly entertaining spectator sport....this book of "Rodeo" by Roxie Munro is for you to own FOREVER, AS THIS BOOK IS REALLY A GEM TO ME AND THIS BOOK REALLY ROCKS AND THIS IS THE ONLY RODEO BOOK I'LL EVER NEED AS THIS IS REALLY THE ONLY ONE I WILL NEED, AS I HOPE IF YOU GET THIS BOOK YOU WILL ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I HAVE, AS IT'S THE ONLY BOOK YOU'LL EVER NEED!! THIS BOOK ROCKS AND USE THIS BOOK AS A REFERENCE, AND ENJOY THIS BOOK FOREVER AND EVER AND AS MUCH AS YOU WANT AND LIKE, AND PLUS, THIS GOOD, BOOK WITH NICE ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROXIE MUNRO IS A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE YOUNG CHILDREN TO RODEO AND IT'S EVENTS.

RODEO EVENTS
The main rodeo events in this book are saddle bronco riding and calf roping.

Saddle Bronco Riding
Cowboys sit on the back of an untrained horse (bronco) in the saddle bronco riding and have to hang on for at least 8 seconds while the animal jumps, twists and kicks.

Calf Roping
A cowboy chases a calf into the arena. He creates a loop with his lasso and throws it around the calf's neck. The horse stops, and the cowboy jumps off and runs over to tie three of the calf's legs together.

This is the best book I ever got and I really enjoyed it, and this book REALLY ROCKS FOREVER AND I LOVED IT! :) Calf roping is my favorite event I'll be competing in and doing on the ranches forever, YAHOO! :)

Great book!
Bought this for a road trip for my 3 yr. old and he loves it!Even though he can't read he was very content looking under the flaps and making up his own "story" to the pictures.

Great service with exceptional shipping time!
Even though there was a minor flaw with the first book I received, the service that followed was the best I have ever dealt with. They sent the replacement super fast and in great quality. I had no problems with charges or confusion from the seller. Thank you for having such great customer service! ... Read more

Product Description
The cowboy is an American classic who taps into a wellspring of cultural memories. And the most thrilling real-life setting for a modern cowboy is roughstock rodeo, an edge sport that makes professional wrestling look like a picnic. Celebrating this increasingly popular event is Roughstock, the first full-color photography book dedicated solely to rodeo culture. Photojournalist John Annerino's quest to capture this extreme sport on film has come with a cost - he's been clipped by bulls and stomped, kicked, and trampled by broncos. From California to Virginia, Roughstock documents Native American, African-American, all-women, and traditional rodeos with a gallery of unforgettable characters and the animals they try to tame - with 130 full-color shots that are up close, mean, and personal, and never before published. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Action packed
The sport of rodeo is an incredible part of the American West, and John has captured the true intensity with his great photos and prose. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to experience the life of a rodeo cowboy from the safety of their armchair.Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet

Let 'er buck . . .
This book is a collection of 110 color photographs that capture the drama, tension, and excitement of the most dangerous rodeo events - bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding. Working out of his home base in Tucson, Arizona, photographer John Annerino has taken his camera behind the chutes, where he gets about as close as any observer can to the experience of riding roughstock.

This is a handsomely designed book, and the photographs are vividly reproduced, the images richly detailed, crisp and clear, often filling the pages. In a two-page spread, a cowboy flies to the ground from a bucking bull, while bull fighters in their clown costumes circle the animal, late afternoon sun casting long shadows and illuminating a cloud of dust kicked up around them. The gravel-strewn arena dirt is rough with the hoof marks of countless rides, and beyond a fence festooned with lite beer pennants, the stands are filled with hundreds of spectators, every face turned toward the action.

Annerino's camera reveals that in addition to the stereotypical cowboy, roughstock riders include Native Americans, African Americans, and women as well. And he writes a long essay at the beginning of the book tracing the arrival of the horse and horsemen at the start of the Spanish Conquest, the growth of the cattle industry and the evolution over centuries of the vaquero and in more recent times the emergence of the American cowboy. This is a fine book whose visual images offer an enthusiastic appreciation of the men and women who risk life and limb in rodeo's toughest events.

Ride 'em Cowboy!
Annerino's pictures are a true testament to his total immersion on the subject! John rides the subject matter like no other.His images do the talking. They take the viewer with him all the way and back! Ride on, John!

A RIVETING ROUNDUP OF ROUGHSTOCK RODEO -True West
A "riveting roundup of roughstock rodeo...readers will hail it as mighty worthwhile."- TRUE WEST

The spirit and tradition of the American west captured.
Roughstock:The Toughest Events in Rodeo joins a growing body of work by the photojournalist John Annerino that portrays the American western culture with a photographic passion and historical perspective. This book portrays "the cowboy" as a diverse and multiethnic persona not the traditional "Marboro Man" and conveys through his thoughtful and well researched essay that the traditional image was never in fact the case. Annerino's photographs show the action of the roughstock rodeo events and bring to life the men and women who participate in them. The images are full of action and the sense of danger and risks are coupled with an intimacy created by his use of light and in his portraits of the cowboys. There is a rhythm and dance to the photos that creates a timelessness to the action. The book is wonderfully edited and layed out and may be the author's finest work to date. ... Read more

Product Description
Meet Jim Bob Feller in the middle of a rodeo ring in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He'll show you how he focuses an angry bull's attention and how he gets the 2,000-pound animal to chase him down. Watch as Jim applies his special makeup and gives you the inside scoop on ring safety and performance techniques. You'll also hear some fascinating stories about what really goes on behind the scenes of a rodeo!

Many people in our world face the unique demands of specialcareers. Some work at jobs that protect us and our families fromdanger. Others have learned skills needed to provide a special serviceor perform in a special way. The Risky Business series givesyou an up-close-and-personal profile of people who do things most ofus would never dream of doing. As you read about them, you'll findout what worries them and what excites them about theirjobs. You'll also learn how each person trained to become an expertin his or her field.

Grades 2-5; 7 1/2 x 9; 32 pages; 25-30 large-format, full-color photos; Sturdy library binding; Index; Further Reading ... Read more

Product Description
This "delectable slice of Americana" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) explores "the glitter and the glamour of the rodeo subculture and, at the same time, some of its deepest contradictions." (Los Angeles Times)

Rodeo Queens is a bittersweet journey into the lives of women who have worked the rodeo circuit in the rural West from the 1930s to the present. For over eight years, Joan Burbick traveled the backroads of the West, searching for "rodeo queens," the women who promote and perform in the elaborate pageantry of the rodeo. She interviewed dozens of queens in their living rooms, kitchens, barns, and ranches. She followed current queens down the rodeo road from tiny Western towns to the show-biz glitter of Las Vegas. Through their stories we witness dramatic changes in the rodeo, including the decline of skilled horse handling, the fierce conflicts over gender and race, and the intense commercialization of the rodeo. Combined with Burbick's wonderful collection of rodeo queen photographs, this rich tapestry of women's voices echoes and challenges our clichŽs of the rural West. Their stories of fulfilled dreams and lost hopes reveal the tenacity of the myth of the American West, a place of muscled men, golden-haired women, relentless beauty and tragic limits. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

I was disappointed, but it wasn't the author's fault.
The mistake I made here was judging the book by the cover. I picked it up because I thought the topic was interesting, and I thought it would detail the lives and personalities of the kind of sassy, salty, almost defiant cowgirls like the ones depicted on the cover. I knew next to nothing about the rodeo and never heard of a rodeo queen before, so I thought she was a sort of cowgirl, not a beauty queen. I expected to be taken on a wild ride through the rodeo circuit. But instead I found myself reading a pseudo-feminist treatise on the shallowness of rodeo and the empty mythos of a West that never existed. I found myself disappointed in the subject matter, much as I imagine the author became disappointed when she delved into it. The only thing I wish the author could've done differently was to view the rodeo more as a community of characters and personalities, rather than as an abstract construct.

the real deal
As the great-granddaughter of one of Pendleton OR.'s first rodeo queens, and the daughter of a former Wa-Hi Farmerette, I believe Burbick hits the bull's eye with her exploration of western women. Only those so entrenched in the false mythology of the west would take offense at these incredibly sensitive essays. Burbick uncovers yet another way in which women participated in the real west - a place of hardship and hard work.
Anyone who thinks that this region is the result of anything but violence, hardship and heartbreak is delusional - and the sense of entitlement whites have with regard to what the west really is is a load of horse manure.
My mother learned from her mother, and her grandmother, how to be a strong woman, and this message was passed along to me. We are cancer victims, alcoholics, intellectuals and damn hard workers. Burbick knows this about these women, and portrays them with respect. Her critique is not that these women, or women who are now involved in the rodeo queen circuit are the problem - rather the commercialized, capitalistic society that has perpetuated the wrong and bad idea that women are for show is at fault.

Book is Falls into Stereotype Trap
Burbick may have done considerable research, but for the most part relies on sterotypes.Any sport or pasttime can fall victim to stereotyping (think cheerleader, football player, chess player, etc.), but an author should search beyond the stereotypes.Burbick may have her historical facts in order, but fails to recognize that today's rodeo queens are intelligent marketing representatives for their organization, their western heritage, and the sport of rodeo.Most rodeo queens areprofessional, talented, poised, gracious, and competitve young women who take their job as rodeo's face to the public very seriously.In addition to riding well, they must be knowledgeable in current events, horsemanship, and rodeo.If you look at the bios of many queens, especially state queens, you will find college students or graduates with aspirations in the fields of law, medicine, and business.

I also found some of Burbick's descriptive phrases very offensive.I don't understand why she thought that "shocking" us would make for a better book.

Here's the reality of the "myth" of the cowboy West
By all standards, this is a superb book about a seemingly innocuous weekend sport that inspires young girls throughout the western states;by the same token, it's also very unfair and elitist in its approach.

It could be the basis of a superb film about life west of the Mississippi.Think of rodeo queen version of 'Friday Night Lights' and similar football films over the years.Becoming a rodeo queen is about beauty and and those who are merely pretty, which in a world of images and make believe of the modern West rates far higher than just a bikini and a smile.

"Borrrrrring" is the first term that comes to mind to describe the West, in fiction and reality.It's "boring" in terms of the daily drudgery; for many girls, being a rodeo queen will be the only real excitement in their dull lives.Football has a few stars, as do cheer and pom and basketball and homecoming queen and even the chess team.For most westerners, devoid of any of the culture or intellect of eastern states, even little excitements are welcome.

Burbick nicely describes this intensity and commitment;rodeo queens are the daughters of successful entrepreneurs who can afford the considerable expense.They know success came from working 16-hour and longer days when necessary;the girls do the same to become a queen;just as Burbick consulted more than 150 sources, plus dozens of interviews of rodeo queens from as far back as the 1930s to write her short but astute book.

Burbick is a "queen" in terms of her commitment to this topic and the quality of her book.Although she's superb in linking the rodeo sport to conservative attitudes in the west, her weakness is not linking it to the intense competitive spirit that produces excellence in academics, in sports, or on the dark side in the form of juvenile crimes and mindless rebellion--all of which characterizes the West.

She deftly outlines the Western myth of rugged individualism and self-sufficiency;but fails to understand that such myths create the limited acumen expressed in Western social and political attitudes--even if they are more fiction than practical.Anyone who reads this book will understand why the West is solid Republican in politics, as well as the "Texas" attitude now in the White House.

Granted, rodeo queens won't regard this book as the best thing since chili and beans, or cold beer in longneck bottles.But, anyone interested in the relentless competition of life which shaped the daddies of these precocious queens (the academic experience is very similar and is based on just as rich a background of myths and dreams),it's a superb look at one of the crown jewels of the western experience.

Women's stories tell of their successes and failures
Joan Burbick's Rodeo Queens And The American Dream examines the women of the rodeo: those who traveled the rural West for years and who became 'rodeo royalty' from the 1930s onward. Women's stories tell of their successes and failures riding the rodeo circuit in this involving guide. ... Read more