Flint Spears: Cowboy Rodeo Contestant

by Will James

"Perhaps the finest story of the rodeo ever written. A story of horses and a corking good one." --Chicago Tribune



Join Flint Spears in his quest to be the best all-around cowboy on the rodeo circuit, from busting broncs in the very first rodeo on the range to roping steers in front of royalty in Europe. Anyone who enjoys Will James or western lore will enjoy this novel that's bustin' with ornery strings of outlaw horses, sailing lariats, and broken bones.



First published in 1938, Flint Spears captures the terror and triumph of the rodeo circuit from its beginnings. Will James's prose and 30 pen-and-ink drawings place you in the stands cheering the flawless bronc riders and booing all those cowboys and cowgirls that "grab leather." After reading Flint Spears and looking at the 21 black-and-white photographs, you'll need to brush the dust off your chaps--and you too will understand why the rodeo is "the finest, squarest, and hardest fought contest there is."



Flint Cowboy Rodeo Contestant is the sixteenth title in the Tumbleweed Series of Will James reprints.

38 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Will James, artist and writer of the American West, was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault. It was during his creative years everyone grew to know him as Will James. During the next several years, he drifted, worked at several jobs, was briefly jailed for cattle rustling, served in the army, and began selling his sketches and in 1922 sold his first writing, Bucking Horse Riders. The sale of several books followed.

An artist and author of books about the American west and, in particular, horses, Will James wrote the 1926 book "Smoky the Cowhorse". It was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927, and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.

His fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was written in 1930. He also wrote Home Ranch (1935) and he wrote his last book, The American Cowboy, in 1942. In all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books.

In 1991, Will James was named a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flint Spears is a likeable character. I instantly liked the cowboy and looked forward to learning more about early rodeos. Will James does a great job of capturing the feeling of those early contests and the men that rode in them. James writes like a cowboy would speak, so be prepared for writing with a drawl. Also, James uses another interesting writing style in that most of the story is told without much dialog, but there is some when it is appropriate. In other words, this is a descriptive story, but it works.

At first I didn't like this, but by the end of the book I was quite used to it and I didn't even notice it anymore. I actually wanted to look up some of the information in this book to see if it was true, like the man who put together the first contest. Overall, I did enjoy this book and the main character. Flint Spears is a cowboy, a man who is not the typical hero in all of those other cowboy stories. He isn't here to save anyone, or to solve an impossible situation, he is simply there to ride in rodeos...and to win.

Flint Spears is a great western tale and I suggest picking up a copy today. Ride 'em, cowboy.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever book! Instead of a dry history of how rodeos came about, Will James invents a larger than life cowboy who was there from the beginning. Flint Spears is a proper rough 'n' tough cowboy, used to breaking the worst horses in any string, and when a few boss get together for a little bet, he is first in line to prove his worth. From there, he starts competing in a variety of 'contests', eventually winning a huge number of titles.

I've read a few books by this author and enjoy the style, even if it takes a while to get used to. The illustrations are fantastic and this edition has a number of black and white photos in the back, showing the different rodeo classes. The story is good, with some humorous and some sad moments, and I found it an easy, enjoyable read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horses, cowboys, rodeos. Historical fiction.