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Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo (North Texas Crime and Criminal Justice Series)

Amazon.com Price:  $29.65 (as of 16/04/2019 08:53 PST- Details)

Description

Convict Cowboys is the first book at the nation’s first prison rodeo, which ran from 1931 to 1986. At its apogee the Texas Prison Rodeo drew 30,000 spectators on October Sundays. Mitchel P. Roth portrays the Texas Prison Rodeo against a backdrop of Texas history, covering the history of rodeo, the prison system, and convict leasing, in addition to vital figures in Texas penology including Marshall Lee Simmons, O.B. Ellis, and George J. Beto, and the changing prison demimonde.

Through the years the rodeo arena not only boasted death-defying entertainment that would make professional cowboys consider carefully, but featured a virtual who’s who of American popular culture. Readers will probably be treated to stories about a lot of American and Texas folk heroes, including Western film stars ranging from Tom Mix to John Wayne, and music legends such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Through extensive archival research Roth introduces readers to the convict cowboys in both the rodeo arena and at the back of prison walls, giving voice to a legion of up to now forgotten inmate cowboys who risked life and limb for a couple of dollars and the applause of free-world crowds.

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