Will James


	Will James (1892-1942) Very well-known Canadian artist and author. Considered by many the all-time best writer of cowboy stories. Was born Joseph Ernest DuFault in Quebec in 1892. He left home at an early age and travelled to America where he became a cowboy (and sometime cattle rustler!) and changed his name to Will Roderick James. His life amongst horses and cattle was to form the basis for most of his subsequent literary works. James had been a talented artist from an early age and, when his very hard life as a cowboy began to pall, he turned instead to a career as artist and author. He wrote 24 self-illustrated books which were all centred around the lives of cowboys and cowhorses, both fiction and non-fiction. The most famous of his novels was Smoky the Cow Horse which was awarded the Newbery medal and also made into a number of films. Smoky was first published in 1926, making it one of the earliest American horse stories. Smoky was based on a real horse and it is clear from his narrative that James believed in a gentler form of horse training than the traditional cowboy breaking of spirit. It is quite hard to pick those of the author's books which were more horse stories than general cowboy tales, as horses and cowboys and are so closely entwined, but I have tried to choose those in which a horse or horses figured centrally in the plot. For those of you who are interested in cowboys and the cowboy lifestyle, please visit the bibliographical links on the right which list all the author's works. Apart from Smoky, quite a few of his other books were also made into popular films, including his semi-fictionalised auto-biography, Lone Cowboy.


	Uncle Bill Series: Younger reader's horse/ranching series. 1) UNCLE BILL, A TALE OF TWO KIDS AND A COWBOY FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1932 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners a number of times in the 1940s and 1950s. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press in 1998. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 1998. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: Scootie and Kip visit their Uncle Bill's ranch for the summer. There they learn how to ride and rope horses. 2) IN THE SADDLE WITH UNCLE BILL FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1935 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners a number of times in the 1940s and 1950s. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press in 2001. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 2001. EDITIONS PICTURED: Scribners 1940s reprint, Scribners 1950 reprint, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: Scootie and Kip help to chase some runaway range horses, but find themselves knee deep in adventure when they get separated from Uncle Bill and then lose their mounts! 3) LOOK-SEE WITH UNCLE BILL FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1938 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners in the 1940s and 1950s. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press in 2002. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 2002. EDITIONS PICTURED: Scribners hardback reprint, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: More fun and adventure on the range for Scootie and Kip and their uncle Bill. Collector's info: All three books were reprinted a number of times and are easy to find in the USA, especially paperback editions. Not often seen outside of America however.


	Horse & Pony Books: SMOKY THE COW HORSE aka SMOKY FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1926 FIRST UK EDITION: SCRIBNERS [UK] 1926 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted numerous times in both hardback and paperback in both the USA and UK. Reprinted in hardback by Scribners, Grosset & Dunlap, Burt, Holiday House, Mountain Press. Reprinted in paperback by Scholastic, Puffin, Simon & Schuster, Aladdin, Mountain Press, Dodo (in print as of 2018). Also available as an e-book. Some later editions were just entitled Smoky EDITIONS PICTURED: 1929 Scribners reprint, Grosset & Dunlap reprint, Burt Reprint, 1945 Puffin paperback, 1960s Puffin paperback, Scholastic paperback, Mountain Press paperback, Dodo paperback. SUMMARY: Smoky the horse knows only one way of life: freedom. Living on the open range, he is free to go where he wants and to do what he wants. And he knows what he has to do to survive. He can beat any enemy, whether it be a rattlesnake or a hungry wolf. He is as much a part of the Wild West as it is of him, and Smoky can't imagine anything else. But then he comes across a new enemy, one that walks on two legs. Smoky can't beat this enemy the way he has all the others. But does he really want to? Or could giving up some of his freedom mean getting something in return that's even more valuable? THE DARK HORSE FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA]1939 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Grosset & Dunlap. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 2003 EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Grosset & Dunlap reprint, Mountain Press edition. SUMMARY: Two reject colts become friends and overcome their bad starts in life. Colonel is a sent away from his home as his colour does not reflect his fine racing lineage. Churro is a an orphaned wild horse rescued from starvation by a cowboy. They meet at the ranch where they both end up and form a close bond. SAND (Adult fiction) FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1929 FIRST UK EDITION: SCRIBNERS [UK] 1929 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners. Reprinted in hardback by Grosset & Dunlap/Burt. Reprinted in hardback by Sun Dial Press in 1941. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 2003. Published in the UK by Scribners in 1929 and reprinted in 1932. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Grosset & Dunlap hardback, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: A feckless young city man decides to learn to become a cowboy in order to give meaning to his life and to catch the beautiful wild black stallion which all the cowboys coveted. SCORPION: A GOOD BAD HORSE FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1936 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Grosset & Dunlap. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press. Reprinted by paperback by University of Nebraska Press in 1975. Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press in 2001. Reprinted in paperback by Franklin Classics in 2018. Available at time of this update (2018) as a print on demand title. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Grosset & Dunlap reprint, University of Nebraska paperback, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: An unusual western-type horse story. Pete is breaking in his favourite horse Scorpion when an old friend Tim appears on the run from a train robbery. Pete gives Tim the horse to escape on. On his travels Tim finds that Scorpion, although usually willing, is occaisionally extremely badly behaved. The truth of the matter is that Scorpion only behaves like that when Tim is about to make a stupid decision. Can the horse keep his new master on the straight and narrow and out of trouble? BIG-ENOUGH FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1931 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners. Reprinted in hardback by World a number of times in the 1930s and 1940s. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press in 1997. Reprinted by Mountain Press in paperback in 1997, 2004, 2007. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, unknown edition, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: Cowboy-type horse story. A young boy and a horse are born on the same day and grow up together. Although his parents don't want him to become a cowboy, Billy has his heart set on it. One day he takes his horse Big Enough and the two set off to fulfil his dreams. YOUNG COWBOY FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1935 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners a number of times. Reprinted in hardback by Mountain Press in 2000. As far as I know there were no paperback editions. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Mountain Press hardback. SUMMARY: An arrangement of Big Enough and Sun Up for younger readers. Collector's info: All of these are easy to find in America, although price varies depending on edition. Paperback editions and reading copies are low cost. Some of the earlier editions are however more expensive. All the titles are also still in print in the USA. In the UK, Smoky and Scorpion are still in print and can be ordered from Amazon, etc. Smoky and Sand had UK printings and second hand copies of these can be found without too much trouble in the UK; used copies of the other titles are a lot harder to find.


	Short Story Collections: SUN UP, TALES OF THE COW CAMPS (Adult fiction) FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA]1931? ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by Scribners and Grosset & Dunlap. Reprinted in hardback and paperback by Mountain Press in 1997 and 2009. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: Collection of the author's short stories of horses, rodeos and cowboys, some more horsy than others. Humourous slant. HORSES I'VE KNOWN FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1940 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by World a few times in the 1940s Reprinted by Mountain Press in hardback in 2004. Reprinted by Mountain Press in paperback in 2009. EDITION PICTURED: First edition, Mountain Press paperback. SUMMARY: For older children or adult readers. Collection of short stories of horses and life on the range, some humourous. One of the stories is linked to the novel Smoky the Cow Horse. Collector's info: Both of these are still in print in the USA and UK. They were reprinted a number of times over the years and second hand copies are quite easy to find in the USA, especially paperback editions, though harder elsewhere.


	Short stories in other books & collections: CHAPO THE FAKER in C. W. ANDERSON'S FAVOURITE HORSE STORIES Edited by C. W. Anderson FIRST PRINTED: DUTTON [USA] 1967 ILLUSTRATED BY C W ANDERSON Reprinted in hardback by Dutton. SUMMARY OF STORY: A wily cowhorse tries to get the better of its rider. SUMMARY OF BOOK: Superb book of excellent stories paired with outstanding artwork by C. W. Anderson. You can find more info about this book on the American Short Stories web page. Collector's info: Easy to find in the USA, quite hard to find elsewhere.


	Books about the author: LONE COWBOY: MY LIFE STORY FIRST PRINTED: SCRIBNERS [USA] 1930) FIRST UK EDITION: SCRIBNERS [UK] 1930 ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Reprinted in hardback by original publisher a few times Reprinted in paperback by University of Nebraska Press Reprinted in paperback by Mountain Press First published in the UK in hardback by Scribners in 1930. Reprinted in paperback in the UK by Dodo Press. EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Scribners reprint, UK first edition, Dodo Press paperback. SUMMARY: Autobiography. This is a somewhat fictionalised account of the author's life so some of the events may have to be taken with a pinch of salt! Collector's info: Still in print in both the USA and UK. Used copies are also easy to find in the USA and not too elusive in the UK either, although the UK first edition is not common.