Classic cowboy text by a guy who actually spent time roping and photographing real cowboys before the modern era. This volume follows upon Coolidge books on Texas and Arizona cowboys, but in some ways is his best. Coolidge was born and raised in Orange County during the citrus crop era, and so his Stanford education scholarship really shines though in this work written for the lay audience. I first discovered this book as modern paperback reprint and realized that I needed the original first edition hardbound for my California and Western History Library. ( )