Description
Book SynopsisFrom the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century to the popular movie Westerns of the twentieth century, one view of an idealized and mythical West has been promulgated. Elyssa Ford suggests that we look beyond these cowboy clichés to complicate and enrich our picture of the American West.
Trade ReviewIn
Rodeo as Refuge, Rodeo as Rebellion, Ford compellingly uses the rodeo to explore how lived experiences interact with mythic pasts to shape modern identities in diverse settings across North America. The theme of work and the roles of women in each rodeo are highlights in this appealing study." —Margaret Frisbee, associate professor of history, Metropolitan State University of Denver
"Rodeo as Refuge, Rodeo as Rebellion is an important addition to rodeo history, providing a welcome exploration of rodeo that falls outside the traditional white, masculine narrative. Well written and extensively researched, Elyssa Ford beautifully demonstrates the importance of the sport to diverse racial and outsider groups, deftly illustrating how the staging of rodeos 'for themselves and by themselves’ provides important personal and community connection to their Western past." —Renée M. Laegreid, author of Riding Pretty: Rodeo Royalty in the American West
"This well-researched and elegantly written work delves into the overlooked diversity of the West, as both place and idea, and the complex relationship between rodeo and identity." —David Wolman, coauthor of Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World’s Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West
