Synopsis
Tom McGuane loves horses. Nowhere is that more evident than in his deft and utterly fascinating essays about some of the more remarkable horses and horsemen he has known. The horse that most intrigues him is the cutting horse-the essence of the sport that pits horse against cow, where the horse demonstrates his athleticism and intuitive sense of bovine mentality. Among the cast of these memorable characters are the near mythical trainer Buster Welch, who defined the modern cutting horse, and the no less mythic Chink's Benjibaby, a horse that had too much "cow" for her own good.
In these eight essays, some published here for the first time, McGuane taps the literary wellspring of his own personal passion. He examines the relationship between horses and humans: what it is about horses that reveals so much about ourselves, what we see in them, why they respond to us, and the symbiosis that can result from such a match. Whether writing about cutting horses, hunting with horses, learning to rope, or the birth of a foal, McGuane's extraordinary talent shines.
Thomas McGuane is the author of ten books, among them several highly acclaimed novels including The Sporting Club, The Bushwhacked Piano, Ninety-two in the Shade, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Nothing But Blue Skies. His stories and essays have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Essays, and The Best American Sporting Essays. He lives on a ranch in Sweet Grass County, Montana, with his family.
San Franciso Chronicle
"Tom McGuane has produced some of America's most precise, vivid, and amusing prose."