Black Cowboys in the American West

By Bruce A. Glasrud (editor), Michael N. Searles (editor),

Book cover of Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, On the Stage, Behind the Badge

Book description

Who were the black cowboys? They were drovers, foremen, fiddlers, cowpunchers, cattle rustlers, cooks, and singers. They worked as wranglers, riders, ropers, bulldoggers, and bronc busters. They came from varied backgrounds - some grew up in slavery, while free blacks often got their start in Texas and Mexico. Most who…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Black Cowboys in the American West as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

By some estimates, a quarter of the cowboys on the frontier were African-Americans. I tell some of their stories in my Outlaws book, but this is a much more complete account. Some of the prominent figures of color—Nat Love, Bass Reeves, Rufus Buck, Cherokee Bill, Jim Beckwourth—are portrayed in the 2021 Netflix movie They Harder They Fall, but any resemblance to actual history in that film is purely coincidental. 

From Jim's list on Wild West Desperados.

If you love Black Cowboys in the American West...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Black Cowboys in the American West?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Black Cowboys in the American West.

Browse books like Black Cowboys in the American West

Book cover of The Life of John Wesley Hardin: As Written By Himself
Book cover of Old Deadwood Days
Book cover of The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,757

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Black Cowboys in the American West, you might also like...

Book cover of Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption

Who Is a Worthy Mother? by Rebecca Wellington,

I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places…

Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink by Ethan Chorin,

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the American West, cowboys, and African Americans?

The American West 141 books
Cowboys 75 books
African Americans 814 books