Rodeo: No Guts No Glory
by Louise L. Serpa
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Book Summary Information
Author: Louise L. SerpaPhotographer: Louise L. Serpa
Collaborator: Larry McMurtry
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-10
ISBN: 0893815853
Number of pages: 86
Publisher: Aperture Book
Book Reviews of Rodeo: No Guts No Glory
Book Review: The drama and excitement of the rodeo arena . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a terrific collection of 60+ black and white photographs by rodeo enthusiast Louise Serpa, dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Most are a privileged view of the action, taken inside the arena, and the drama in those frozen moments of action is electric. As Larry McMurtry points out in his commentary at the end of the book, she has the gift of capturing motion just as a leaping animal and rider are poised in mid-air, ready to be overcome by gravity. Besides roughstock, she also finds the excitement in other events, like steer wrestling, team roping, and barrel racing, as well as the work of the bullfighters, or clowns.
One of the most dramatic shots is of a young bareback rider silhouetted against the thickening cloud of a sudden dust storm. In another, a fallen cowboy goes down under a completely air-borne saddle bronc. Another shows a surging melee of cowboys and horses in a wild horse race, while a saxophonist stands to play in the bandstand, and just beyond are boulders and forest-covered Arizona hillsides.
The book is organized with a balancing flow of action shots followed by group and individual photos taken behind the chutes of riders stretching, adjusting their rigging, leaning on a fence to watch the show (backsides to the camera), or just sitting around talking. A few portrait shots capture a variety of moods among the contestants. Meanwhile, her own running commentary, describing rodeo events and rodeo people, flows along with the images.
By contrast, novelist Larry McMurtry's anti-romantic comments about cowboys and rodeos close the book, but as he observes, it doesn't seem to matter how strongly you challenge the myth. The myth lives on. Hugely enjoyable book. Currently out of print. Find a copy and hang onto it.
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