Cowboys of the Americas

This superb collaboration between two artists, one photographic and one literary, will redefine readers’ image of the cowboy. Through Fabini’s glorious, full-page images and Davis’s lyrical text, readers obtain an arresting glimpse of a world far more authentic, rugged, and gritty than that of Shane or the Marlboro Man. Davis starts at the beginning, explaining the history of the horse from its theorized evolution to its intersection with humankind. He takes readers around the world and through time, documenting the story of mounted men, until he reaches the era of the cowboy. Going far beyond the American West, Fabini and Davis showcase the men of the range from Chile to Canada, and delve into each of their cultures and pasts. The book shatters the charming myth of the cowboy, showing him to be much deeper, richer, and dustier, and giving readers new respect for the men who live by freedom and need only a horse and a hat. From a visual standpoint, the work is simply magnificent. Fabini’s photos seem to breathe, and when they’re paired with Davis’s eloquent, sensory writing, readers may feel inspired to jump on a horse and ride off into a landscape of scrub, sand, and sun. (Nov.)