American lore has slighted the cowgirl, although at least one can still be found in nearly every ranching community. Like her male counterpart, she rides and ropes, understands land and stock, and confronts the elements. The writer and photographer Teresa Jordan traveled sixty thousand miles in the American West, talking with more than a hundred authentic cowgirls running ranches and performing in rodeos. The result is a fascinating book that also situates the cowgirl in history and literature. A new preface and updated bibliography have been added to this Bison Book edition.

Stoeckleins inspiring photographs reveal the beauty and confidence the American cowgirl This book is a tribute to the women of the West a celebration of their spirit and a testimonial to the boundless freedom in which they live their lives

Updated and revised (first edition, 1977) history of the women of the West, telling of their contributions and describing how they broke convention by ranching, trail-driving, and rodeoing. Extensive bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

“This is one of those special novels—a piece of working magic, warm, funny, and sane.”—Thomas Pynchon The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all “bursting with dimples and hormones”—and the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all. Freedom, its prizes and its prices, is a major theme of Tom Robbins’s classic tale of eccentric adventure. As his robust characters attempt to turn the tables on fate, the reader is drawn along on a tragicomic joyride across the badlands of sexuality, wild rivers of language, and the frontiers of the mind.

Illustrated with more than 450 color photographs and historic images, this book pays tribute to the life and legacy of the pioneer woman in the American West, who worked on ranches, performed in Wild West shows, and competed in the rodeo arena.

Kick Ass Your Way As the owner of one of the largest woman-owned advertising agencies in the U.S., Gay Gaddis knows a thing or two about empowerment. Gay's insights are rooted in the spirited strength of the real cowgirl heroines of the 1920s and '30s-gutsy risk -takers in everything they did. In Cowgirl Power, these cowgirls are celebrated as a metaphor for the power we all have to achieve far more than we think. Whether your goal is to start a family, own a business, advance your career, organize community outreach, or run for office, it all comes down to power: knowing how to develop it and not being afraid to take it when it comes your way. Gay's book and Cowgirl Power Toolkit will help you blaze a path to success, on your terms: Taking responsibility for yourself Building your own competence Finding your assertiveness Designing your own life Building a kick-ass culture Recognizing good ideas Becoming a fearless leader Cowgirl Power is not about changing you. You are just fine. It's about understanding your strengths, building on them, and unlocking your power to kick ass-your way.