If you are of a certain age, and let’s face it, I am, you may remember the endless commercials shown mid-afternoon on UHF channels. Encyclopedia sales were no longer the thing, but parents still wanted to buy educational books for their children. Publishers decided to aim advertising directly towards children to beg parents into buying very expensive books…and since they were educational, guilt-ridden parents of these latch key kids would dump cash into leather bound books in endless series from Time-Life Publishing. I refer to the Old West Time-Life Series that featured an incredible 27 editions published from 1973 to 1980.

I read the first in the series “The Cowboys” since I figured this was the most obvious choice. My local library was happy to lend me the gorgeous leather bound volume with beautiful illustrations and even photos from the period. (I had been invigorated to read one these to itch a scratch I had since I just barely had an age with two digits when I saw a volume at a thrift store going for $18. I probably should have picked it up, because these go routinely for $25 for an edition and up to $700 for the series.)

Knowing the commercials were aimed at kids, emphasizing gunfights and outlaws “that killed a man once for snoring too loud,” I expected a breezy fun little volume…

It wasn’t.

This is an incredibly detailed book that covers everything from stampedes, Roundups, taking cattle along the trail, towns that sprung up along the trail, branding cattle, rodeos, and even every aspect of what I used to think was a simple piece of cowboy nicknackery: the saddle.

The book is DEEP. Crazy deep. What I didn’t realize is what you are picking up is a 240 page issue of Time/Life with incredible research back before you would just hop on Wikipedia to answer a simple question and satiate your curiosity. The book is excellent, but know what you are getting into. This isn’t a “I’m a little curious” type of book. This is a “I want to know every possible aspect of this subject that can be jammed in double columns over 240 pages” type of book.

It delivers.

When I read it earlier this year, I hadn’t made the connection but this is the perfect book to read during this 250th anniversary of America. A more quintessential aspect of our proud history has seldom been shared in such gorgeous detail. I am glad I had the opportunity to read it and hope to get to that “The Gunslingers” volume soon. Though I saw they had one on the trains, too….

It scores a 9/10 and a recommendation from this reviewer.

Get the book here: The Cowboys at Amazon and THE ENTIRE SERIES at Amazon

Tim Kretschmann is the host of Dead On Movie Reviews, Now Streaming, and Dead On the Bases. He is also a columnist on OtherworldlyCulture with the column Universally Loved.