CRAIG SAVOYE

     A number of years ago some stories were related to me about ranch and western life I thought were among the funniest anecdotes I had ever heard. It started a quest. Over a ten-year span I interviewed 150 cowboys, ranchers, and others mostly in Texas and Nebraska. The result is Cowboys, Ranchers, and Assorted Characters: True Tales from the New West. It’s lore of cowboys and cattlemen, ropers and riders, drinkers and brawlers, odd neighbors and crazy bulls. It is a “best of” collection from my self-published books Nebraska Stories and Texas Stories, plus new material, arranged in a collection of 23 profiles/character sketches. The goal is humor and entertainment (some stories are poignant as well), but mostly there is character.  At their heart these are simply stories about people, who happen to be cowboys or, say, a country doctor. 

     Eudora Welty’s tales were never meant primarily for Mississippians, or Garrison Keillor’s for Minnesotans. Likewise 

Cowboys, Ranchers transcends region; Nebraska and Texas are the setting of the stories, but not in the least the exclusive

intended audience. These tales tap into a universal longing for yesteryear and simpler ways. They are small town, homespun, authentic tales. They are Americana and nostalgia. I am not a “cowboy enthusiast;” that is, I had no previous exposure to cowboys and ranchers before starting this project. I just know a good story when I hear it.

 

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT LISTENED TO COWBOYS, RANCHERS... AS AN AUDIO BOOK, NARRATED BY ALEX ZONN, IT WASN’T PRACTICAL TO HAVE THE AFTERWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SECTIONS FROM THE EBOOK VERSION READ ALOUD, BUT PLEASE CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW TO READ THOSE SECTIONS, WHICH INCLUDE A EXPLANATION OF THE NARRATOR'S VERNACULAR VOICE