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Aloha rodeo : three Hawaiian cowboys, the world's greatest rodeo, and a hidden history of the American West
2019
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Library Journal Review
The image of the American cowboy brings to mind locations such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, but that list doesn't generally include Hawaii. Wolman (Outside magazine) and Smith (Crossing the Heart of Africa) here set the record straight. The book's first part provides a history of Hawaiian cowboys (paniolo), tracing it back to the introduction of cattle to the islands in the late 1700s that, by the mid-1800s, had given birth to a thriving cattle ranching culture. Parallel to this development, the authors describe the changing reputation of Cheyenne, WY, from outlaw outpost to rodeo capital, attracting fans from across the country to its annual Frontier Days. Later chapters continue these two narratives, following the increasing popularity of rodeo events in Hawaii and across the American West. The two worlds gradually come together, culminating with the 1908 Cheyenne Frontier Days debut and triumph of three legendary paniolo: Ikua Purdy, Jack Low, and Archie Ka'au'a. VERDICT Part history lesson, part rodeo diary, this will find appeal across a broad audience and be of particular interest to fans of rodeo culture, Hawaiian history, and the early American West. [See Prepub Alert, 11/12/18.]--Sara Holder, Univ. of Illinois Libs., Champaign
Publishers Weekly Review
In this immersive history, Wolman (contributing editor at Outside magazine) and Smith (Crossing the Heart of Africa) aim to "overturn simplistic notions of cowboys and Indians" and "explore questions of identity, imperialism, and race" by telling the story of Hawaiian cowboy culture. Drawing on oral histories and other primary sources, the authors recount how, in the 1830s, King Kamehameha I invited vaqueros to teach Hawaiians how to rope and herd cattle; "Hawai'ian cowboys called themselves paniolo, a local twist on the word espanol." The book flips between Hawaii's ranches and Cheyenne Frontier Days, a rodeo show devoted to showcasing "life and sport in the West," featuring such well-known characters as Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. In 1907, paniolo (and ranching empire scion) Eben Low visited Frontier Days and offered American cowboys a trip to Hawaii to compete against him and his riders; the competition was a success, and Low and his riders were invited in turn to compete in Cheyenne, Wyo. In Wyoming newspapers, the Hawaiians were depicted as foreigners despite the annexation of Hawaii 10 years earlier, but they won "the rodeo equivalent of Olympic Gold." This thoughtful look at Hawaii's place in the Wild West will appeal to readers interested in underexplored elements of American history. Agent: Byrd Leavell, United Talent Agency. (May)
Summary

The triumphant true story of the native Hawaiian cowboys who crossed the Pacific to shock America at the 1908 world rodeo championships

Oregon Book Award winner * An NPR Best Book of the Year * Pacific Northwest Book Award finalist * A Reading the West Book Awards finalist

"Groundbreaking. ... A must-read. ... An essential addition." --True West

In August 1908, three unknown riders arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, their hats adorned with wildflowers, to compete in the world's greatest rodeo. Steer-roping virtuoso Ikua Purdy and his cousins Jack Low and Archie Ka'au'a had travelled 4,200 miles from Hawaii, of all places, to test themselves against the toughest riders in the West. Dismissed by whites, who considered themselves the only true cowboys, the native Hawaiians would astonish the country, returning home champions--and American legends.

An unforgettable human drama set against the rough-knuckled frontier, David Wolman and Julian Smith's Aloha Rodeo unspools the fascinating and little-known true story of the Hawaiian cowboys, or paniolo, whose 1908 adventure upended the conventional history of the American West.

What few understood when the three paniolo rode into Cheyenne is that the Hawaiians were no underdogs. They were the product of a deeply engrained cattle culture that was twice as old as that of the Great Plains, for Hawaiians had been chasing cattle over the islands' rugged volcanic slopes and through thick tropical forests since the late 1700s.

Tracing the life story of Purdy and his cousins, Wolman and Smith delve into the dual histories of ranching and cowboys in the islands, and the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Cheyenne, "Holy City of the Cow." At the turn of the twentieth century, larger-than-life personalities like "Buffalo Bill" Cody and Theodore Roosevelt capitalized on a national obsession with the Wild West and helped transform Cheyenne's annual Frontier Days celebration into an unparalleled rodeo spectacle, the "Daddy of 'em All."

The hopes of all Hawaii rode on the three riders' shoulders during those dusty days in August 1908. The U.S. had forcibly annexed the islands just a decade earlier. The young Hawaiians brought the pride of a people struggling to preserve their cultural identity and anxious about their future under the rule of overlords an ocean away. In Cheyenne, they didn't just astound the locals; they also overturned simplistic thinking about cattle country, the binary narrative of "cowboys versus Indians," and the very concept of the Wild West. Blending sport and history, while exploring questions of identity, imperialism, and race, Aloha Rodeo spotlights an overlooked and riveting chapter in the saga of the American West.

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