Kirkus评论
A little-known saga describing an improbable colony of eccentric English gentlemen who gravitated to the American frontier, there to establish a misplaced version of aristocratic English life, replete with gentlemen's social club and polo fields. The lives recounted here by Woods (recently retired Chief Financial Officer of Mobil Corporation) include a hodgepodge of immigrants, among them the son of a Scottish earl, the younger son of Irish peer Lord Dunsany, and the son of a Sussex squire. All were drawn to the American West in pursuit of the riches offered by cattle ranching (""place a herd of beef animals on the public domain, let them eat and reproduce as nature willed, and when they were fat and full grown, ship them off to market and collect the proceeds""). Many of the British ranches were run as corporations, reporting to stockholders across the Atlantic, but the Britishers who staffed them were mostly young, vigorous, and willing to run financial and physical risks. The parameters of Woods' story mn only from the early 1880's to about 1886-87, when overgrazing and natural increase made such ventures less profitable. But in the interim, the Etonites and Harrowites who ran ranches such as Prewen's Powder River Company tried as best they could to duplicate life back home. The center of their operations was at the Cheyenne Club--an elite establishment where English ranchers could play tennis and chess while making deals and swapping business information. And even if their careers were short-lived, the British had a long-lasting effect on the area, e.g., the introduction of English breeding stock, the descendants of which still roam the range. And, in the short run, they tidily managed to shore up a weak economy with the millions of pounds sterling they brought over from England. An engaging and unusual bit of historical/literary detective work as Woods uncovers an unknown piece to fit into the historical jigsaw puzzle of the Old West. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Woods explores the way the American West was exploited by the younger sons of English gentry who were unable to inherit land at home or had been banished for misbehavior. The spawning of the British cowboy is told in terms of business successes and failures as well as cultural clashes and the infamous range wars. A remarkable look at a unique slice of American history. Notes, bibliography; to be indexed. --Denise Perry Donavin