The American cowboy has long been a popular figure in fiction, motion pictures, and studies of the West, but over the years inaccuracies have crept in, distorting the image of the real cowboy. Philip Ashton Rollins, in The Cowboy, sets out to provide a complete, accurate handbook on the everyday life of the cowboy--trailing, herding, branding, round-up, and horsebreaking. He also discusses tools of the trade, including types of saddles, bits, riatas, boots, and spurs. Most vivid is his presentation of the cowboy's personality, code, mores, and amusements.