E. C. Abbott was a cowboy in the great days of the 1870's and 1880's. He came up the trail to Montana from Texas with the long-horned herds which were to stock the northern ranges; he punched cows in Montana when there wasn't a fence in the territory; and he married a daughter of Granville Stuart; the famous early-day stockman and Montana pioneer. For more than fifty years he was known to cowmen from Texas to Alberta as "Teddy Blue." This is his story; as told to Helena Huntington Smith; who says that the book is "all Teddy Blue. My part was to keep out of the way and not mess it up by being literary.... Because the cowboy flourished in the middle of the Victorian age; which is certainly a funny paradox; no realistic picture of him was ever drawn in his own day. Here is a self-portrait by a cowboy which is full and honest." And Teddy Blue himself says; "Other old-timers have told all about stampedes and swimming rivers and what a terrible time we had; but they never put in any of the fun; and fun was at least half of it." So here it is—the cowboy classic; with the "terrible" times and the "fun" which have entertained readers everywhere. First published in 1939; We Pointed Them North has been brought back into print by the University of Oklahoma Press in completely new format; with drawings by Nick Eggenhofer; and with the full; original text.
#1480755 in Books 2009-01-13 2009-01-13Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.79 x 1.11 x 5.29l; .88 #File Name: 0805242368304 pages
Review
4 of 9 people found the following review helpful. The Jewish BodyBy Frances IvkerInteresting. Nothing revolutionary or new to a medical scientist like myself; but a good seminar jumping off point for discussion with an educated lay group.Well written and easily understandable to the non-medical community.16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. poorly conceived and poorly executed bookBy Walter ZifferBook review of "The Jewish Body" by Melvin Konner; Nextbook-Schocken; New York; 2009; by Dr. Walter Ziffer; (a.k.a. "Religious Skeptic") "The Jewish Body" by Melvin Konner is a disappointing book. I am amazed that Schocken Books; a highly prestigious publisher of Judaica-related works; accepted this work for publication. It is hard to know where to begin with a critique because of the book's many weaknesses. Regrettably; many of the statements in the text are not referenced and so the uninformed reader has no choice but to take the author's word for them. The book's structure and content are a veritable hodge-podge. One of the participants of our synagogue book study group compared Konner's approach to that of a stand-up comedian using word association to jump from one topic to the next. Not a single member of our group found the book worthwhile reading. Much of its content is anecdotal; very little truly scientific. After making a quasi definitive statement; the author often backtracks with "buts; howevers; nevertheless's; etc." canceling out what he previously affirmed. As a theologian and Holocaust survivor who literally owes his life to the fire power of the Allies in WW II and who is grateful for these armies' powerful and violent defeat of Hitler; I am nevertheless appalled by Konner's virtual worship at the throne of power. Rare are the Jews who are not grateful for the creation of the modern State of Israel and who do not support Israel's growth; continued development and security; yet the continued and rather unconditional praise of Israel as a magnificent military power is something that this Jew and Holocaust survivor finds downright repulsive. Konner's racial characterization of Jews in the pre-war diaspora; especially Eastern Europe; is patently unscientific and smacks of stereotyping. Those of us who lived there know better than accepting these generalizations as truth. A statement describing Albert Einstein as a "Luftmensch" (p.141) points to the author's lack of understanding of Yiddish and wrong use of the term. Konner's knowledge of Hebrew is not any better when he uncritically repeats (p.27); the biblical interpretation of the name Abraham as "father of multitudes." Linguistically this is incorrect. When on p.34 the author refers to Spinoza with "apostate as he was" one cannot help but wonder whether Konner has ever read; let alone understood; Spinoza's writings. There is no end to superficiality; biased interpretation of history ancient and modern; excessive occupation with genitalia; a long list of minor and major flaws in Konner's book. Finally: the book jacket's description of "The Jewish Body" as "a work of grand historical and philosophical sweep" strikes me as ludicrous.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Rare; unique; well writtenBy book wormA rare and amazing work on Jewish history- very well written and some pretty new ideas
