Synopses & Reviews
"One of the stories I tell myself when I am trying to fall asleep is that I have tried. I've tagged along after myself in the pages of my own modern Western, and every few years is another chapter to the story. The myth of the cowboy. I chased a dream and it kicked me in the teeth. Yet I find myself falling for it again and again."
Across the rugged and beautiful landscape of the contemporary American West, Tom Groneberg paints an unsparing portrait of his flawed, funny, and sometimes triumphant efforts to become a cowboy. It is a classic tale: a young man, facing a future he doesn't want to claim, has an inspiration -- Go West.
Leaving behind his friends and family, Groneberg follows his heart and heads to a resort town in the Colorado Rockies, where he earns his spurs as a wrangler leading tourists on horseback. Like an old saddle blanket, the tale unfolds, revealing the clean threads of a new story. Groneberg moves to Montana, working for wages at a number of ranches before getting a chance to become the owner of a sprawling ranch, fifteen square miles of grass and sky.
In lean but passionate prose, Groneberg demystifies the image of cowboy as celluloid hero and introduces us to the tough and kindhearted men who teach him how to be a real cowboy, the woman who teaches him how to love, and their son, who teaches him how to be a man. "The Secret Life of Cowboys" is both a coming-of-age story as stunning as the land itself and a revealing look at America's last frontier.
Synopsis
This classic memoir takes a stark but loving look at the world of the modern cowboy.
Synopsis
A stark but loving look at the world of the modern cowboy. Groneberg paints an unsparing portrait of his flawed, funny, and sometimes triumphant efforts to become a cowboy. In lean, but passionate prose, Groneberg demystifies the image of cowboy as celluloid hero and introduces readers to the tough and kindhearted men who teach him what it really means. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2.
Synopsis
In this classic memoir, a young man facing a future he doesnt want to claim has an inspirationGo West. Tom Groneberg leaves behind friends and family, follows his heart, and heads to a resort town in the Colorado Rockies, where he earns his spurs as a wrangler leading tourists on horseback. Later, Groneberg moves to Montana, where he works for wages at a number of ranches before buying his own ranch. Demystifying the image of cowboys as celluloid heroes, The Secret Life of Cowboys is a coming-of-age story as stunning as the land itself and a revealing look at Americas last frontier.
About the Author
Tom Groneberg and his wife, Jennifer, have lived and worked in four Montana locales, managed a ranch, and introduced their three sons to cowboy life. Today they live in northwest Montana, where Tom has a day job on a working cattle ranch.