Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs: The Life of Velma Johnston
by David Cruise, Alison Griffiths
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Description
"In 1950, Velma Johnston was a secretary at an insurance company in Reno, Nevada. Twenty years later, she had become a national hero, responsible for spurring Congress into passing legislation that protected wild horses, a feat that cemented her renown as "Wild Horse Annie." This stirring biography is the first to tell the story of Johnston's life and her extraordinary dedication to the mustangs that represent the spirit of the West. Veteran writers David Cruise and Alison Griffiths paint a show more vivid portrait of this intrepid woman, who survived a cruelly disfiguring bout with polio as a child and channeled her energy and intellect into her career and marriage -- until she encountered a truck of injured, half-dead horses on her way to work in 1950. Those horses, destined for a pet food rendering plant, launched Johnston into a decades-long campaign against ranchers and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to stop the roundup and slaughter of mustangs. At a time when animal rights was barely a cause and women were still expected to stay at home, Johnston embarked on dangerous vigilante missions to free captured horses and document roundups, and began a highly organized one-woman campaign to raise public awareness of their plight, all while continuing to work and maintain a household. Johnston's courage, determination, and innovative tactics -- she initiated a children's letter-writing campaign that flooded Congress with more mail than it had received on any issue except the Vietnam War -- pitted her against ranchers and powerful politicians, but eventually won her support and admiration around the world, including the friendship of celebrated children's author Marguerite Henry, who fictionalized her story in a children's novel. In this absorbing and carefully researched biography, Cruise and Griffiths depict the ups and downs of a remarkable woman's life and mission, reveal her lasting legacy, and capture the romance and magic of the wild horses that inspired her." -- from publisher's description. show lessTags
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She thought she couldn't do anything but she should one woman could stop the slaughter of the mustangs.
How a single woman moved a nation to the plight of wild horses.
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293 works; 144 members
Author Information
9 Works 420 Members
David Cruise was born in 1950 and attended the University of Alberta. He is an award-winning Canadian writer who collaborates with his wife, Alison Griffiths, on books that require a great deal of research, such as Fleecing the Lamb: The Inside Story of the Vancouver Stock Exchange and Lords of the Line: The Men Who Built the CPR. Cruise has also show more written for periodicals. His article titled "Powder Burns" won a Silver Medal for investigative journalism in the National Magazine awards competition in 1986. He also won a Canadian National Press Club award in 1987. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
10 Works 424 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs: The Life of Velma Johnston
- Original publication date
- 2010
- People/Characters
- Velma Johnston; Charles Johnston; Marguerite Henry
- Important places
- Reno, Nevada, USA
- Dedication
- To our own remuda, past and present, Honey, Irish, Tenny, Fogerty, Hoodoo, Maverick and Destry--all great trail horses who have taken us on many adventures coast to coast.
- First words
- Bundles of dried sagebrush clung to the fencing of the corral behind Joe and Trudy Bronn's small clapboard house.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But in the end what is truly important about Wild Horse Annie isn't just the preservation of a historical legacy but the affirmation of that quixotic American idea that an individual can and should make a difference.
- Blurbers
- Roberts, Monty; Grandin, Temple
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Economics, General Nonfiction, History, Sexuality and Gender Studies
- DDC/MDS
- 333.95 — Social sciences Economics Economics of land and energy Hydrospheric, Atmospheric, and Biospheric Resources Biosphere and Biospheric Resources
- LCC
- SF284.52 .J64 .C78 — Agriculture Animal husbandry. Animal science Animal culture
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 37
- Popularity
- 777,093
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.88)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
