Little Britches becomes the "man" in his family after his father's early death, taking on the concomitant responsibilities as well as opportunities. During the summer of his twelfth year he works on a cattle ranch in the shadow of Pike's Peak, earning a dollar a day. Little Britches is tested against seasoned cowboys on the range and in the corral. He drives cattle through a dust storm, eats his weight in flapjacks, and falls in love with a blue outlaw horse. Following Little Britches and developing an episode noted near the end of Man of the Family, The Home Ranch continues the adventures of young Ralph Moody. Soon after returning from the ranch, he and his mother and siblings will go east for a new start, described in Mary Emma & Company and The Fields of Home. All these titles have been reprinted as Bison Books.

"John B. Mitchell started out with nothing but a saddle and a long rope--long enough to lasso someone else's cattle. He left Texas in a hurry with an "appropriated" herd and headed north to find a spread of his own. Half a century later he reigned over the Seven X Ranch, a "fair sized outfit" about sixty miles long and more than forty miles wide. With characteristic understatement and drawl, Will James tells the story of life on the Seven X--a story of hard work, tough humor, and longtime friendships. Join John B. and his family on the home ranch as they round up long horns, ride circle with the cowboys, and try in vain to keep tenderfoots from the city out of trouble." --

The dime novel and dude ranch, the barbecue and rodeo, the suburban ranch house and the urban cowboy—all are a direct legacy of nineteenth-century cowboy life that still enlivens American popular culture. Yet at the same time, reports of environmental destruction or economic inefficiency have motivated calls for restricted livestock grazing on public lands or even for an end to ranching altogether. In Let the Cowboy Ride, Starrs offers a detailed and comprehensive look at one of America's most enduring institutions. Richly illustrated with more than 130 photographs and maps, the book combines the authentic detail of an insider's view (Starrs spent six years working cattle on the high desert Great Basin range) with a scholar's keen eye for objective analysis.