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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 791.84 EAN: 9780156031219 ISBN: 0156031213 Label: Harvest Books Manufacturer: Harvest Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: May 01, 2006 Publisher: Harvest Books Studio: Harvest Books Editorial Review: Product Description: From its roots as the quintessential Western pastime, rodeo has grown into an international, prime-time television sport. Steeped in tradition and spirit, the rodeo calls aspiring cowboys and cowgirls to its rough-and-tumble fame as they repeatedly risk their lives for eight seconds of triumph. In Chasing the Rodeo, Kip Stratton takes us into the addictive core of bull riding and the circuit that has grown up around it. Immersing himself in the world of rodeo, Stratton collides with the specter of his runaway "rodeo bum" father, finding part of the cowboy dream that was his father's legacy. As much a tribute to the famed characters of the old West-Freckles Brown, Lucille Mulhall (the first cowgirl), Wild Bill Hickok, Lane Frost-as it is a riveting look at today's superstars who are triumphantly rocketing the sport to NASCAR fan levels, Chasing the Rodeo is a bucking, riveting, glorious ride. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - 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 ... Read More Rating: - Exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alikeRodeo's roots may be in the primitive West of the past, but today it's prime-time TV material, even while steeped in tradition, filled with pros and tours. Journalist W.K. Stratton followed the pro rodeo circuit for one year, exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alike. His findings about the people and politics of today's rodeo make for lively reading in Chasing The Rodeo: On Wild Rides And Big Dreams, Broken Hearts And Broken Bones, And One Man's ... Read More Rating: - Rodeo: Universality of the American WestHaving grown up in Texas, I easily recognize many names and places and am quite familiar with rodeos. W.K. Stratton brilliantly blends the romantic lure of the rodeo as an expression of the American West with the univeral theme of the quest for identity. The book is a delightful mixture of colorful characters, amusing anecdotes, and sad stories. Mr. Stratton's personal quest mirrors that of all, not just those familiar with the sport or the region. His story's appeal lies in the universality of each human's ... Read More Rating: - This book deserves a buckle.**For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?** "Kip" Stratton has written a winner of a book, here. I felt it appropriate to begin this review with that familiar biblical quote, although "Chasing The Rodeo" is about the search for soul as well as about its diminution. What I mean by "soul" in this context is that which makes us part of society as well as unique individuals within it. Stratton's father, whom he never met, was a bull rider. Stratton's literal search ... Read More Rating: - A classic American taleIn these fractious times, it is a joy to come across a book that embraces something as distinctly American as the rodeo. W.K. Stratton has delivered a handsomely-rendered treasure for every man who ever wanted to be a cowboy and every woman who ever wanted to be a cowboy's sweetheart. He traces the origins of rodeoing, takes us to this wild sport's biggest events, and introduces us to the kind of outsized characters it is hard to believe still exist. So here's to Freckles Brown, the rodeo clown who rode the fiercest ... Read More |
