The American West of the late nineteenth century blazed off the pages of pulp novels as the nWild Westa: land of gunslingers, outlaws, and cowboys and Indians. The mythos continued in films, television, and even theme parks. But what was the West really? Where was it? What became of it? And is it even still there? These were some of the questions photographer Carl Corey began asking himself during his travels capturing images of the vast landscapes and the people who inhabited them. In he 1996 glanced back over his untold forays to the West, both on assignment and for personal exploration and pondered if the core of the American Westethat fiercely independent spirit that carved a livelihood out of an isolated, hardened landehad eroded long ago? In Rancher: Photographs of the American West, the award-winning photographer decided to answer his questions by studying the real heart and soul of the land: its people.

Corey set out to find a place that maintained an identity that could be uniquely defined as the American West. He found it in the great plains of Dakotas among the ranchers, the progeny of the men and women who left safe havens in the East to build better lives in the West. One hundred stunning color and black and white photographs in Rancher document the steps of a journey that spanned five years. While there are pictures of the land, the book is a testament to the proud people who worked iteAmerican people, whose lives exemplify and define what was and resolutely continues to be the American West.

Carl Corey is a fine-art photographer and print maker. The recipient of more than 100 awards, he has been a veteran of assignment photography since 1979. Since 2000, Corey has directed his energy to more personal work concentrating on social and aesthetic issues involving the environment and the landscape. He lives in Hudson, Wisconsin.