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Chasing the Rodeo: On Wild Rides and Big Dreams, Broken Hearts and Broken Bones, and One Man's Search for the West |  | Author: W. K. Stratton
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Seller: books24seven
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 682527
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0156031213
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.84
EAN: 9780156031219
ASIN: 0156031213
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
The rodeo is in W.K. Stratton's blood. He attended his first one in utero just days before he was born (on Will Rogers birthday, naturally). He is also the son of a bull-riding cowboy that left him and his mother when Stratton was an infant. The search for this elusive "rodeo bum" father is an underlying theme of Chasing the Rodeo but its main focus is on the action in the ring. Stratton spent a year following the professional rodeo and bull-riding tours and he explores the circuit with a keen and sympathetic eye. He writes about the history of the sport and its place in the mythology of the West, cowboy legends, current stars, and classic rodeo towns, such as Prescott, Arizona, and Pecos, Texas--both of which claim the title as the true birthplace of rodeo. He also looks at the growing popularity of rodeo and bull-riding and what it means for its future now that major events have corporate sponsors and are held in Las Vegas casinos rather than fairgrounds. While acknowledging that the big money prizes are good for the athletes, Stratton worries that marketing considerations will force the sport away from the very traditions that make it interesting. As proof, he bemoans the fact that helmets and Nike shoes are starting to replace Western hats and boots at some rodeos. Still, he encounters plenty of true Western spirit and memorable characters during his journey to keep his love for the rodeo alive and his enthusiasm for his subject proves contagious. Even those who have never considered attending a rodeo will likely find themselves enthralled by this wild ride of a book. --Shawn Carkonen
Product Description
From its roots as the quintessential Western pastime, rodeo has grown into an international, prime-time television sport. Steeped in tradition and spirit, the rodeo calls aspiring cowboys and cowgirls to its rough-and-tumble fame as they repeatedly risk their lives for eight seconds of triumph. In Chasing the Rodeo, Kip Stratton takes us into the addictive core of bull riding and the circuit that has grown up around it. Immersing himself in the world of rodeo, Stratton collides with the specter of his runaway "rodeo bum" father, finding part of the cowboy dream that was his father's legacy.
As much a tribute to the famed characters of the old West-Freckles Brown, Lucille Mulhall (the first cowgirl), Wild Bill Hickok, Lane Frost-as it is a riveting look at today's superstars who are triumphantly rocketing the sport to NASCAR fan levels, Chasing the Rodeo is a bucking, riveting, glorious ride.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 A great read...but not long enough!!! March 7, 2009
D. Davis (Mountain Home, ID. United States)
As soon as I picked up this book and started reading, I was hooked in about 5 minutes. There are really three stories going on here. The authors search for his unsuccessful rodeo bum of a father that left him as a kid, a history of many different rodeos, and the authors experience attending these rodeos. This is really a well written and entertaining book!!! The stories move along really well, and keep you from putting the book down. My only complaint is that it wasnt longer. But then again, maybe that was a plus, as there really wasnt any lulls in the story. Highly recommend!
Real Rodeo February 26, 2009
Isleta Indian (Isleta, NM USA)
Growing up around rodeo and knowing the ins and outs of it. It was nice to find a book about rodeo that revealed some interesting things about it that I did not know. I enjoyed this book very much.
 Not Satisfied January 12, 2009
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was not what I was hoping it would be. I was hoping to get a nice history of rodeo, which it included somewhat. That wasn't all of it, though. For a person that proclaimed to like rodeo, it sure didn't come across in this book. He accused stock contractors of lying about the treatment of animals, complained about the rise in popularity to the sport and what it has done to the authenticity and then almost became apologetic towards the treatment of non-whites in the sport. This book is not good for anyone, outsiders to the sport of the rodeo or the hardcore fans that watch week in and week out. I hope this book was written to "generate passion for the sport" because if I wasn't a fan, I wouldn't get past this book. There are better books on rodeo.
Call of the wild . . . August 21, 2007
Ronald Scheer (Los Angeles)
While rodeo insiders may find fault with this book and quibble over details, it remains an excellent introduction to the history, the personalities, and the meaning of this sport as it's evolved over the past century. Stratton, a journalist based in Austin, TX, with roots in Oklahoma, comes by his "kicker" credentials fairly enough - his mother a cowgirl in her own right and his father a rodeo cowboy who went on down the road and never came back. Stratton's book is a personal journey, a search for an understanding of the romance of rodeo - the call of the wild in the soul, the appeal of risk-taking, the love of a past that can be recaptured for a moment in a beautifully executed ride on a bucking horse or bull. And he does much to reclaim the essentials of a pastoral ritual that has been compromised by commercialism, corporate sponsorships, and marketing that positions it as an extreme sport.
Stratton covers some familiar ground that will not be new for all readers, but many stories deserve retelling, such as that of George Fletcher at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup, the first bulldogger, Bill Pickett, and the death of champion bull rider Lane Frost. Then there is an account of the first rodeo "cowgirl," Lucille Mulhall and of Indian cowboy Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In Prescott, AZ, he has occasion to recall at length the rodeo film "Junior Bonner" with Steve McQueen.
There is a wide array of other personalities who find their way into Stratton's book: Justin McBride, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Willie Nelson, Jack Kerouac, Ben Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, and evangelist Susie Luchsinger. He gets closest to the sport itself in conversations with all-around champion Jesse Bail and bullriding champion Freckles Brown. The first-chapter account of Brown's famous ride on Tornado at the National Finals in 1967 just takes your breath away. Finally there is the search for the story of Stratton's absent cowboy father, which rounds out the book with more than a little poignance. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone curious about rodeo, the fascination it holds for both fans and participants, and its place in American popular culture.
Exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alike November 4, 2005
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rodeo's roots may be in the primitive West of the past, but today it's prime-time TV material, even while steeped in tradition, filled with pros and tours. Journalist W.K. Stratton followed the pro rodeo circuit for one year, exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alike. His findings about the people and politics of today's rodeo make for lively reading in Chasing The Rodeo: On Wild Rides And Big Dreams, Broken Hearts And Broken Bones, And One Man's Search For The West. A spirited account of today's wild riders.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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