3.5 stars

I first heard of Nat Love when I read Paradise Sky, by Joe Lansdale. Nat Love was the main character and narrator, and I didn’t think to look up if he was based on a real person until I was almost finished with the book. I was excited to find that not only was he a real person: he had also written an autobiography that was published in 1907.

Because of other time commitments, I started this in small installments, a chapter or two a day, which is a fine way to get through it. I decided to power through to the end today, and that worked fine too. Either way, it’s a short book.

I expected his 20 years as a cowboy to be the most interesting part of his life, but this section of the book was actually my least favorite. He was at his least likeable in this stage of his life, and he sounded like a boastful jerk in the chapters describing the cowboy life. The cowboy life was also a lot more repetitive than I was expecting, despite the adventures he encountered making trips back and forth across the country with large herds of cattle or horses.

I was much more interested in his childhood, where his descriptions reflected a deadpan humor that must have inspired Lansdale when he wrote his novel from Love’s point of view. I was also fascinated by his post-cowboy career as a Pullman porter once he was married, which was his way of settling down but still feeding his desire for adventure and travel. I related to the sentiment in those chapters, and wished I could go on a railway journey myself in one of the wonderful trains he described. I related more to the spirit of adventure that expressed a love of the natural wonders of America as opposed to a spirit of adventure that spoiled for fights with Indians and killed buffalo for sport.

It’s worth a read if you’re curious about this period of history and definitely worth reading if you’ve read Paradise Sky or other works featuring Nat Love as a character. ( )

Born into Slavery in 1854, Nat Love stayed on the plantation after the freedom of the Civil War as he learned his long time career of "braking" colts. ( )

The autobiography of Nat Turner, also known as Red River Dick, and more popularly known as Deadwood Dick, is a pretty good read! He lead a heck of a life, first a slave, then a cowboy, then a Native (for a month!), and finally a porter on the railroads. And he seemed to be everywhere and know everyone who ran around in the Old/Wild West! The story is well written, though full of braggadocio at times. Still, if he really did all that he tells, he SHOULD brag! His slave life and cowboy life were very interesting to me, however his life on the rails bored me, and often felt like an advertisement for the Pullman train company! All in all, his life is super interesting, and I'm glad I read it! ( )