For an element so firmly fixed in American culture, the frontier myth is surprisingly flexible. How else to explain its having taken two such different guises in the twentieth century—the progressive, forward-looking politics of Rough Rider president Teddy Roosevelt and the conservative, old-fashioned character and Cold War politics of Ronald Reagan? This is the conundrum at the heart of Cowboy Presidents, which explores the deployment and consequent transformation of the frontier myth by four U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. Behind the shape-shifting of this myth, historian David A. Smith finds major events in American and world history that have made various aspects of the “Old West” frontier more relevant, and more useful, for promoting radically different political ideologies and agendas. And these divergent adaptations of frontier symbolism have altered the frontier myth. Theodore Roosevelt, with his vigorous pursuit of an activist federal government, helped establish a version of the frontier myth that today would be considered liberal. But then, Smith shows, a series of events from the Lyndon Johnson through Jimmy Carter presidencies—including Vietnam, race riots, and stagflation—seemed to give the lie to the progressive frontier myth. In the wake of these crises, Smith’s analysis reveals, the entire structure and popular representation of frontier symbols and images in American politics shifted dramatically from left to right, and from liberal to conservative, with profound implications for the history of American thought and presidential politics. The now popular idea that “frontier American” leaders and politicians are naturally Republicans with conservative ideals flows directly from the Reagan era. Cowboy Presidents gives us a new, clarifying perspective on how Americans shape and understand their national identity and sense of purpose; at the same time, reflecting on the essential mutability of a quintessentially national myth, the book suggests that the next iteration of the frontier myth may well be on the horizon.

The Cowboy President: How the American West Transformed Theodore Roosevelt details how his time spent in the Western Dakota Territory helped him recover from an overwhelming personal loss, but more importantly, how it transformed him into the man etched onto Mount Rushmore, a man who is still rated as one of the top five Presidents in American history. Unlike other Roosevelt biographies, The Cowboy President details how the land, the people and the Western code of honor had an enormous impact on Theodore and how this experience influenced him in his later years.

"There are few sensations I prefer to that of galloping over these rolling limitless prairies, with rifle in hand, or winding my way among the barren, fantastic and grimly picturesque deserts of the so-called Bad Lands." —Theodore Roosevelt He was born a city boy in Manhattan; but it wasn't until he lived as a cattle rancher and deputy sheriff in the wild country of the Dakota Territory that Theodore Roosevelt became the man who would be president. "I have always said I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota," Roosevelt later wrote. It was in the "grim fairyland" of the Bad Lands that Roosevelt became acquainted with the ways of cowboys, Native Americans, trappers, thieves, and wild creatures--and it was there that his spirit was forged and tested. In Forging a President, author William Hazelgrove uses Roosevelt's own reflections to immerse readers in the formative seasons that America's twenty-sixth president spent in "the broken country" of the Wild West.

An intimate look at two extraordinary figures and their secret collaboration?one that turned the alliance structure of the political world upside down In this character-driven study, acclaimed historian and bestselling author David Fromkin reveals how two colorful figures?Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh? assumed leadership of the English-speaking world at the beginning of the twentieth century. As human beings, the two men could hardly have been more different. Edward, a lover of fine food, drink, beautiful women, and the pleasure-seeking culture of Paris, had previously been regarded as nothing more than a playboy. Across the Atlantic, Theodore Roosevelt, the aristocrat from Manhattan and self-made cowboy, would rise above his critics to become one of the nation?s most beloved presidents. Together, they wrote the agenda for the North Atlantic democracies of the twentieth century.

Revised to include presidential hats, new celebrity hats, and a fully updated resource listing of custom hatters. The Cowboy Hat Book features an impressive array of cowboy hats, showcasing the wide variety of styles, colors, and fabrics used to create the cowboy hat, now a symbol of America and western culture that is recognized all over the world. Beginning with a brief history of the cowboy hat, the authors go on to explain the building of the perfect hat, its care and feeding, hat etiquette, hat hair, and more. Beautiful photos of real cowboys and movie cowboys sporting their trademark hats illustrate how creases, brims, shapes, and trims are unique to the individual who wears each hat. The Cowboy Hat Book celebrates the history and importance of this unique piece of clothing that hasn't fundamentally changed in more than 100 years. Ritch Rand's family has been making handcrafted hats for over twenty years. His hats have rested on dozen's of famous heads-from presidents to kings and heads of state to movie stars. He lives in Billings, Montana. William Reynolds is president and CEO of the marketing, PR, and advertising agency Banning Company, Inc. The company has a special division that services the western and equine industries. He lives in Malibu, California.

"Charyn, like Nabokov, is that most fiendish sort of writer—so seductive as to beg imitation, so singular as to make imitation impossible." —Tom Bissell Raising the literary bar to a new level, Jerome Charyn re-creates the voice of Theodore Roosevelt, the New York City police commissioner, Rough Rider, and soon- to-be twenty-sixth president through his derring-do adventures, effortlessly combining superhero dialogue with haunting pathos. Beginning with his sickly childhood and concluding with McKinley’s assassination, the novel positions Roosevelt as a “perfect bull in a china shop,” a fearless crime fighter and pioneering environmentalist who would grow up to be our greatest peacetime president. With an operatic cast, including “Bamie,” his handicapped older sister; Eleanor, his gawky little niece; as well as the devoted Rough Riders, the novel memorably features the lovable mountain lion Josephine, who helped train Roosevelt for his “crowded hour,” the charge up San Juan Hill. Lauded by Jonathan Lethem for his “polymorphous imagination and crack comic timing,” Charyn has created a classic of historical fiction, confirming his place as “one of the most important writers in American literature” (Michael Chabon).

Ronald Reagan was a natural leader, well-remembered not just for his political leadership, but also for his warmth, kindness, dignity, and optimism. There’s a lot kids can learn from Reagan, about our country and about being good leaders and good people. The Remarkable Ronald Reagan: Cowboy and Commander in Chief is a fun, colorful look at his life, from his humble beginnings as the son of a shoe salesman, to his years as a Hollywood actor, his service in WWII, his life as a rancher, and finally the culmination of his political career in the Oval Office. There’s plenty that even adults can learn as they read along with their kids, including Reagan's efforts to stand up against racial discrimination, and his powerful faith in God. The Remarkable Ronald Reagan is a treat for the entire family.

Generations of Americans have seen the West as beyond federal control and direction. But the national government’s presence in the West dates to before Lewis and Clark, and since 1789 a number of U.S. presidents have had a penetrating and long-lasting impact on the region. In Presidents Who Shaped the American West, noted historians Glenda Riley and Richard W. Etulain present startling analyses of chief executives and their policies, illuminating the long reach of presidential power. The authors begin each chapter by sketching a particular president’s biography and explaining the political context in which he operated while in office. They then consider overarching actions and policies that affected both the nation and the region during the president’s administration, such as Thomas Jefferson’s augmentation of the West via the Louisiana Purchase, and Andrew Jackson’s removal of American Indians from the Southeast to “Indian Country” in the West. Abraham Lincoln’s promotion of the Homestead Act, a transcontinental railroad, and western territories and states free of slavery marked further extensions of presidential power in the region. Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation efforts and Jimmy Carter’s expansion of earlier policies reflected growing public concern with the West’s finite natural resources and fragile natural environment. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s highway program, and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society funneled federal funding into the West. In return for this largesse, some argued, the West paid the price of increased federal hegemony, and Ronald Reagan’s presidency arguably curbed that power. Riley and Etulain also discuss the most recent presidential terms and the region’s growing political power in Congress and the federal bureaucracy. With an accessible approach, Presidents Who Shaped the American West establishes the crucial and formative nature of the relationship between the White House and the West—and will encourage readers to continue examining this relationship.

Presidents Who Shaped the American West present startling analyses of chief executives and their policies, illuminating the long reach of presidential power. The book establishes the nature of the relationship between the White House and the West.

Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency at a time when Japan and Europe, fully recovered from wartime devastation, threatened America’s position as the number one economy in the world. Manufacturing was in decline; traditional industries were being beaten by foreign competitors; many American industries had grown complacent. President Reagan named Mac Baldrige, a successful industrialist (and card-carrying member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association), Secretary of Commerce to address these economic challenges. This book recounts the Washington career of an American original during the era supporters celebrate as “morning in America.”