Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West

by Deanne Stillman

Book Overview

"Mustang "is the sweeping story of the wild horse in the culture, history, and popular imagination of the American West. It follows the wild horse across time, from its evolutionary origins on this continent to its return with the conquistadors, its bloody battles on the old frontier, its iconic status in Buffalo Bill shows and early westerns, and its plight today as it makes its last stand on the vanishing range. With the Bureau of Land Management...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 054723791X
• ISBN13: 9780547237916
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent History of a much maligned native species

The story of the America Mustang is a exemplar of the hypocrisy of the environmental movement. These magnificent animals have been hunted down and eliminated from federally established herd areas specifically designated for their protection. Any reasonable person must ask why.

Recommend to all my horse friends

The author is such a gifted writer. As an eight generation wild west (Montana, California) family horses have been a part of our families life since the 1800's. The rich history of the horse that the author shares is history at its best. From Europe to Custer in South Dakota, to Wild Horse Annie who is a heroine in our family for her move to get the wild Mustang here in the west protected. Our family and so many of our families have gotten wild horses thru the BLM Bureau of Land Management which is a Federal agency, since the 1980's. While the book isn't a perfect history of the horse it is a great book on the subject of the wild horse protection plan.

Great book

Mustang is written very well and follows the horses from beginning evolution to the present day. Younger readers may find it slightly boring, but I loved this amazing book. I highly recommend it.

Don't Miss This one

Wild horses have become a political football in Congress, with battles between those who want to protect them and those who are all too happy to eradicate them. Senator Conrad Burns of Montana slipped a rider into a federal appropriations bill in 2004 which ended more than 30 years of federal protection for America's wild horses. Our fearless leader--yes, the one from Texas, of all places!--signed it into law, leading to approval to their slaughter for horse meat to be sold to foreign countries where it is still eaten. Perhaps Senator Burns and his colleagues from states where the majority of these horses are held and who voted for this bill would think differently if they read this book. The tragic story of the American wild horse comes to life in Stillman's beautifully written book. She traces the history from being heroes to being considered surplus to requirements. When you think about the reverence of the horse in American literature and history, that it has come to this--that politicians from states whose fortunes were built on the back of these amazing animals are the ones who voted to destroy them--will make you ashamed to call yourself an American. It's no wonder the rest of the world thinks of us as the creators of the disposable society.

Finally, the truth about the history and saga of the wild horse

In writing "Mustang," Deanne Stillman has given us an amazing new view of American history--the one that was made by wild horses. I have waited for years to read a book like this, one that tells the true story about America's wild horses--from their origins to their fight for survival today. With stunning and dramatic prose, Stillman recounts the making of this country and the fighting of our early wars by way of the service of mustangs. This part of the book reaches its height with her masterful chapter about the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Comanche, the famous horse that survived it, and a visit to the horse cemetery on the battlefield. In the last section of her book, Stillman takes a look at what we are doing to the horses that have served us so well, as she follows them in another battle--the one in which they are now fighting for their own lives. We travel with her to Nevada for a heartbreaking round-up and to places across the West where wild horses have been hunted down and shot. She also takes you to where they are still running free, with manes and tails flying in the wind. After reading this beautifully written book, you will look at this country in a completely different way and want to get involved in the preservation of America's wild horses. In fact, you will feel an urgency to do so. By the way, a moving epilogue covers burros, which are protected under the same federal law that protects mustangs, and are also under siege. Book bonus: it has pictures!