"Bonus story inside: Celebrate the 10th anniversary with Vicki Lewis Thompson's first Blaze book, Notorious!"--P. [4] of cover.

“Thompson-Hernández's portrayal of Compton's black cowboys broadens our perception of Compton's young black residents, and connects the Compton Cowboys to the historical legacy of African Americans in the west. An eye-opening, moving book.”—Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures “Walter Thompson-Hernández has written a book for the ages: a profound and moving account of what it means to be black in America that is awe inspiring in its truth-telling and limitless in its empathy. Here is an American epic of black survival and creativity, of terrible misfortune and everyday resilience, of grace, redemption and, yes, cowboys.”— Junot Díaz, Pulitzer prize-winning author of This is How You Lose Her A rising New York Times reporter tells the compelling story of The Compton Cowboys, a group of African-American men and women who defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America’s most notorious cities. In Compton, California, ten black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun. They are the Compton Cowboys, their small ranch one of the very last in a formerly semirural area of the city that has been home to African-American horse riders for decades. To most people, Compton is known only as the home of rap greats NWA and Kendrick Lamar, hyped in the media for its seemingly intractable gang violence. But in 1988 Mayisha Akbar founded The Compton Jr. Posse to provide local youth with a safe alternative to the streets, one that connected them with the rich legacy of black cowboys in American culture. From Mayisha’s youth organization came the Cowboys of today: black men and women from Compton for whom the ranch and the horses provide camaraderie, respite from violence, healing from trauma, and recovery from incarceration. The Cowboys include Randy, Mayisha’s nephew, faced with the daunting task of remaking the Cowboys for a new generation; Anthony, former drug dealer and inmate, now a family man and mentor, Keiara, a single mother pursuing her dream of winning a national rodeo championship, and a tight clan of twentysomethings--Kenneth, Keenan, Charles, and Tre--for whom horses bring the freedom, protection, and status that often elude the young black men of Compton. The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. Walter Thompson-Hernández paints a unique and unexpected portrait of this city, pushing back against stereotypes to reveal an urban community in all its complexity, tragedy, and triumph. The Compton Cowboys is illustrated with 10-15 photographs.

WITH 8 PAGES OF BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS How—and why—do we obsess over movie stars? How does fame both reflect and mask the person behind it? How have the image of stardom and our stars’ images altered over a century of cultural and technological change? Do we create celebrities, or do they create us? Ty Burr, film critic for The Boston Globe, answers these questions in this lively and fascinating anecdotal history of stardom, with all its blessings and curses for star and stargazer alike. From Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin to Archie Leach (a.k.a. Cary Grant) and Marion Morrison (a.k.a. John Wayne), Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts, and such no-cal stars of today as the Kardashians and the new online celebrity (i.e., you and me), Burr takes us on an insightful and entertaining journey through the modern fame game at its flashiest, most indulgent, occasionally most tragic, and ultimately, its most revealing.

As the United States expanded west in the 1800s, and cattle became big business, the figure of the young brash cattleman who rode with the herds quickly emerged as a cultural icon. Victorian Americans went crazy for cowboys, snapping up dime-store novels and sheet music, and turning out in droves for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. It was only a matter of time before someone brought together these three facets-entertainer, singer, and cowboy. And when Carl T. Sprague recorded the first hit cowboy record ("When the Work's All Done This Fall") in 1925, the singing cowboy as we know him was born. A singing cowboy himself, Douglas B. Green (better known as Ranger Doug from the Grammy-award-winning group Riders In The Sky) is uniquely suited to write the story of the singing cowboy. He has been collecting information and interviews on western music, films, and performers for nearly thirty years. In this volume, he traces this history from the early days of vaudeville and radio, through the heyday of movie westerns before World War II, to the current revival. He provides rich and careful analysis of the studio system that made men such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers famous, and he documents the role that country music and regional television stations played in carrying on the singing cowboy tradition after World War II. This book, lavishly illustrated with over 140 photos, is a wealth of information that comes out of decades of research. Green has unearthed never-before-published photos and rare movie posters-including one from an all-Black western, Harlem on the Prairie (1938). Through his close friendships with other singing cowboys and their families, Green is able to provide rare insights into the ways that some like Autry became stars and others like Raoul Walsh (who lost his eye in a shooting accident and later became a famous director) did not. Green also traces the history of cowboy music, from popular songs such as "Sweet Betsy from Pike" to the instantly recognizable harmonies of the Sons of the Pioneers. Green even speculates about just when the famous yodel became a ubiquitous part of the singing cowboy's repertoire. More important, Green reveals how the imagery of the singing cowboy has become such a potent force that even now country musicians don cowboy hats so as to symbolically take part in the legend. Nowhere has the recorded history of the singing cowboy and the film history been collected in one volume, and this book is sure to become the resource for students of the style. Co-published with the Country Music Foundation Press

Chely Wright, singer, songwriter, country music star, writes in this moving, telling memoir about her life and her career; about growing up in America’s heartland, the youngest of three children; about barely remembering a time when she didn’t know she was different. She writes about her parents, putting down roots in their twenties in the farming town of Wellsville, Kansas, Old Glory flying atop the poles on the town’s manicured lawns, and being raised to believe that hard work, honesty, and determination would take her far. She writes of making up her mind at a young age to become a country music star, knowing then that her feelings and crushes on girls were “sinful” and hoping and praying that she would somehow be “fixed.” (“Dear God, please don’t let me be gay. I promise not to lie. I promise not to steal. I promise to always believe in you . . . Please take it away.”) We see her, high school homecoming queen, heading out on her own at seventeen and landing a job as a featured vocalist on the Ozark Jubilee (the show that started Brenda Lee, Red Foley, and Porter Wagoner), being cast in Country Music U.S.A., doing four live shows a day, and—after only a few months in Nashville—her dream coming true, performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry . . . She describes writing and singing her own songs for producers who’d discovered and recorded the likes of Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, and Toby Keith, who heard in her music something special and signed her to a record contract, releasing her first album and sending her out on the road on her first bus tour . . . She writes of sacrificing all for a shot at success that would come a couple of years later with her first hit single, “Shut Up And Drive” . . . her songs (from her fourth album, Single White Female) climbing the Billboard chart for twenty-nine weeks, hitting the #1 spot . . . She writes about the friends she made along the way—Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, and others—writing songs, recording and touring together, some of the friendships developing into romantic attachments that did not end happily . . . Keeping the truth of who she was clutched deep inside, trying to ignore it in a world she longed to be a part of—and now was—a world in which country music stars had never been, could not be, openly gay . . . She writes of the very real prospect of losing everything she’d worked so hard to create . . . doing her best to have a real life—her best not good enough . . . And in the face of everything she did to keep herself afloat, she writes about how the vortex of success and hiding who she was took its toll: her life, a tangled mess she didn’t see coming, didn’t want to; and, finally, finding the guts to untangle herself from the image of the country music star she’d become, an image steeped in long-standing ideals and notions about who—and what—a country artist is, and what their fans expect them to be . . . I am a songwriter,” she writes. “I am a singer of my songs—and I have a story to tell. As I’ve traveled this path that has delivered me to where I am today, my monument of thanks, paying honor to God, remains. I will do all I can with what I have been given . . .” Like Me is fearless, inspiring, true.

For the first time ever, a collection of essays gives voice to what America thinks of the Dallas Cowboys. Bert Randolph Sugar, whom "The New Yorker" calls "the best kibitzer in New York", has assembled a group of noted contributors--including Kenny Stabler, Sonny Jurgensen, Irv Cross, and Steve Bartowski--who offer the reasons why they hate the Cowboys.

Get the first book in eight different series, from eight amazing, USA Today bestselling authors! You'll get mature characters, later in life romance, second chances, military heroes, Christmas stories, and cowboys, cowboys, cowboys in this boxed set - and it's FREE! Spend the evening with a cowboy... or eight in this clean and Christian cowboy romance boxed set by bestselling authors! Escape to the quieter life on a ranch, with a cowboy hero who knows how to treat a woman right. They work hard, they shoot straight, and they love deep. Grab this boxed set and read COWBOYS FOREVER! Last Chance Ranch by USA Today Bestselling Author Liz Isaacson: Scarlett is trying to save her grandfather's farm, but the place is a huge mess. Hudson is a cowboy mechanic who offers to help her fix up the broken down cars on the ranch. Can Hudson fine tune Scarlett's heart as they work together? Or will things backfire and make everything worse at Last Chance Ranch? Heart of Clay by USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield: It’s never too late to give love a second chance. . . even for a hard-working cowboy. When tragedy strikes and a life-altering secret is revealed, this tender, sometimes humorous sweet romance embraces the beauty of letting go of the past and daring to fall in love all over again. Homecoming by USA Today Bestselling Author Carolyne Aarsen: Sheryl Kyle isn’t the trusting type. Her abusive late husband and her disapproving stepfather gave her little reason to feel otherwise. When his ranching partner suffers an injury at the worst possible time, Mark is surprised and delighted that Sheryl agrees to work by his side. How can she open her heart to this man when so many have let her down before? Home for Christmas by USA Today Bestselling Author Melissa McClone: When handsome dude ranch owner Nate Vaughn grants one of Rachel's Christmas wishes—offering her a workspace of her own—she can't refuse. As they grow closer, Rachel and Nate find more than pastries heating up in the kitchen. Is mixing business with affairs of the heart a recipe for disaster? Or will all of Rachel's wishes come true? Broken Ranch by USA Today Bestselling Author Bonnie R. Paulson: When Rosie meets a man who’s looking for meaning in his own family connections, she has to face her longing to be loved and find a family she can be a part of. As Rosie seeks a redemption she didn’t know she craved, she’s in danger of losing her heart and her pride. Can she find what she’s looking for? Or will she need the help of her long-lost sisters to find what she craves? Hometown Hero by USA Today Bestselling Author Kari Trumbo: Cowboy Randal has to think about his future and his own ranch. His goals don’t include getting attached to an author, especially one who challenges him to be the best man he can be. And though he begins to hope for more, their instalove can’t possibly last. As their week together draws to a close, can Madison and Randal find their common ground and risk a love for the ages? On His Bended Knee by Shanae Johnson: She needed a place to stay. He needed to save his ranch. Together they just might make a home. Dylan yearns to reach out for Maggie’s healing touch, but he keeps his distance, convinced his wounds are too deep for her embrace. Maggie sees past Dylan’s injuries, but if she fails to capture his heart they both could lose it all: her beloved animals, his ranch, and each other. The Cowboy’s One and Only by April Murdock: The last thing Logan needs right now is romance. That was before he met Frankie—the fiery out-of-towner who practically stole his heart on sight. But she has no intention of sticking around long-term, and he’s not a forever kind of guy, anyway. And yet, none of that matters when they’re together. Can Logan and Frankie figure out what they want from life—and each other? Or was their happily ever after doomed from the very start? Read these 8 sweet and swoony cowboy romances from eight of the best authors in the genre! Each one starts a series, giving you hours of amazing cowboy romance to escape into!

Sequel to Loving Cowboys Cowboys Jace and Macon are happy and in love with their partners Cody and Bailey. They’re busy planning their nuptials, but life can be full of surprises and families can fluctuate in size. Sometimes it’s not just about saying hello, but also goodbye. As one large extended family, the cowboys and their loved ones deal with the joys and sorrows of life. Through it all they remain strong and whole because when cowboys love, it’s forever.

"A can't-put-it-down modern Western." —Kirk Siegler, NPR Longlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing The Last Cowboys is Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter John Branch’s epic tale of one American family struggling to hold on to the fading vestiges of the Old West. For generations, the Wrights of southern Utah have raised cattle and world-champion saddle-bronc riders—many call them the most successful rodeo family in history. Now they find themselves fighting to save their land and livelihood as the West is transformed by urbanization, battered by drought, and rearranged by public-land disputes. Could rodeo, of all things, be the answer? Written with great lyricism and filled with vivid scenes of heartache and broken bones, The Last Cowboys is a powerful testament to the grit and integrity that fuel the American Dream.

Contemporary Cowboys: Reimagining an American Archetype in Popular Culture expands and develops an understanding of recent cultural shifts in representations of the American cowboy and “the West” as vital components of American identity and values. The chapters in this book examine they ways in which twenty-first century representations have updated the figure of the cowboy, considering not only traditionally analyzed sources, such as television, film, and literature, but also less studied areas such as comics, and music. The contributors probe the cowboy archetype and western mythology with critical theory, feminist critiques, philosophy, history, cultural analysis, and more.