The Cowboy And The Cossack (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
If someone were to ask me to name my favorite western novel I suppose I would have to say; Lonesome Dove. However The Cowboy and The Cossack would be number 2 on my list. The Cowboy and the Cossack is part of the Book Lust Rediscoveries Series which is a reprinting of the best novels originally published between 1960 and 2000 and selected by Nancy Pearl.The book was originally published in 1973 and is written by Clair Huffaker. Clair Huffaker was a western screen writer and author. His credits include The Comancheros, Hellfighters and The War Wagon along with many others. He also wrote for TV series such as Bonanza, The Rifleman and Rawhide. Mr Huffaker died in 1990.The story is about a group of fifteen cowboys from the Slash-Diamond ranch in Montana who are charged with delivering a herd of cattle to a Cossack village in the Siberian interior. The journey begins in Vladivostok Russia where a ship carrying the cattle and the cowboys is preparing to discharge their cargo. Soon after coming ashore the cowboys are met by a group of fifteen Cossacks who want to help the cowboys on their drive. The help is not accepted gracefully and tensions between the cowboys and the Cossacks develops.The story is full of colorful characters; Shad, Levi, Slim, Rostov Keats, Igor, to name a few. The drive faces all kinds of obstacles from hostile Cossacks to the Czars army and Tartars. Not to mention pouring rain, wide rivers and steep mountains. Some of the narrative is downright hilarious, some is poignant and some is quite sad. Not all of the cowboys and Cossacks will make the completer journey but they will have shared an experience of a lifetime. One of the new words I learned from this book is; "damnere" as "he damnere shot my toe off. I think I will find reason to use this in my future conversations. If you looking for a fun read about the old west and Cossacks you will surely enjoy this book.
"In chess, every piece can be killed and taken from the board, except the king.........And it is so in life. A man who is truly a king never dies." Written in 1973, Huffaker's tale is told from the viewpoint of nineteen year old Levi Dougherty as in 1880 he and a group of Montana cowboys from the Slash-Diamond ranch arrive at Vladivostok, Siberia prepared to drive a herd of longhorns to their new owners in Bakaskaya. After a very creative way of avoiding the bureaucracy and red-tape denying them landing (priceless), the cowboys and their herd are off, although to their dismay they are to be escorted by Cossacks from Bakaskaya for their own "protection". What follows is a highly enjoyable tale as the two disparate groups of cowboys and Cossacks begin to build mutual respect and friendship as they battle the difficulties they face along the way - from crossing raising rivers, avoiding confrontations with the Czar's Cossacks all leading up to a horrifying showdown with the barbarian Tartars against unbelievable odds (you won't believe it 'till you read it). In the end, despite the trappings of high Western adventure in the East, this book is much more than that - it is about the men and the relationships and respect (and love) that grew as they faced the many challenges along the way to Bakaskaya and beyond. You'll be laughing on one page and crying at the next as a very fickle fate delivers the good along with the bad. Like another reviewer I was a bit skeptical about the always available whiskey so many miles into the Siberian frontier, but outside of that and a couple other nitpicks, this was a highly engaging tale and I had a hard time putting it down. Western fans should find this one right up their alley. 4/5/5 stars.
What do You think about The Cowboy And The Cossack (1996)?
"Release date: December 4, 2012 | Series: Nancy Pearl's Book Lust RediscoveriesFifteen Montana cowboys sail into Vladivostok with a herd of five hundred longhorns, ready to cross a thousand miles of Siberian wilderness. When a band of Cossacks, Russia’s elite horsemen and warriors, shows up to escort these rough and ready Americans to their destination, the clash of cultures begins. The feud between American six shooter and Russian saber is embodied in two men: Shad, the leader of the Montana cowboys, and Rostov, the Cossack commander. Nature and man are enemies that will force them to work together—and a ruthless Tartar army that stands between them and their destination. The code of the cowboy West and the credo of the Cossack East seem to be two different measures of a man—but honor and courage are the same in any language when a common enemy must be faced. Lonesome Dove meets Dr. Zhivago in this rousing tale of West meets East in the days of the Russian Tsars and the Wild West."I read this book on advice of a traveling aquaintance. I don't read westerns and doubted if I would enjoy it. He was an educator and said it was his favorite book. So...I downloaded (originally written in the 70's and was hard to find) and loved every minute of it.
—Ruth Boling
This book was introduced to me via my awesome book club. On my own, I would have never picked it since I would never include "western" among my favorite genres. This is why I love book clubs so much!OK... to the review now... in a nutshell, I call this an epic western bromance. It's a story about two cultural groups who believe to be fundamentally different only to find out that although language and land separate them, there are many other things that unite them. Although the overarching narrative perhaps touches more on the challenges and opportunities of interculturalism, each character brings something else to the story, from coming-of-age to race and identity. It was funny and it was sad. I found myself laughing out loud and tearing up at times. There are great lines and an awesome metaphor about the game of chess. I suggest you buy your own copy and read it with a highlighter at hand.
—Antonieta
I have mixed feelings about this book. Let me start by saying that this is not my usual genre, but I'm generally not a stickler for that anyway. It took me several chapters to get into this book and I actually stopped reading it until my brother told me how much he loved it, so I picked it back up and continued. I did become more engaged in the book and with the relationships between the characters, but in the end I think the cowboy theme just didn't work for me. It's a well written book and if this kind of story work for you then I would say give it a read.
—Judi
