Playing Cowboys : Low Culture and High Art in the Western

This book examines the Western hero - a principal image of American manhood since publication of "The Virginian" - as portrayed by a variety of post-World War II novelists and film-makers.

This book demonstrates that the Western is not primarily about escape or violence, but, at its best, it is about development.

The would-be hero adopts the existing role only to find it is inadequate, and, forced to "reimagine" himself, he defines the Western hero anew.

At the core of this process is strength - not power over others, but courage to go beyond the established boundaries.

Although women do appear in the Westerns, it is fundamentally a man's world, offering an important view of male identity.