Book excerpt: Many of the stars of silent westerns were young horse wranglers who left the open fields to make extra money bulldogging steers and chasing Indians around arenas in traveling Wild West shows. They made their way to Hollywood when the popularity of the Wild West shows began to decline, found work acting in action-packed silent westerns, and became idols for early moviegoers everywhere. More than 100 of those cowboys who starred in silent westerns between 1903 and 1930 are highlighted in this work. Among those included are Art Acord, Broncho Billy Anderson, Harry Carey, Fred Cody, Bob Custer, Jack Daugherty, William Desmond, William Duncan, Dustin Farnum, William Farnum, Hoot Gibson, Neal Hart, William S. Hart, Jack Holt, Jack Hoxie, Buck Jones, J. Warren Kerrigan, George Larkin, Leo Maloney, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Tom Mix, Pete Morrison, Jack Mower, Jack Perrin, William Russell, Bob Steele, Fred Thompson, Tom Tyler, and Wally Wales, to name just a few. Biographical information and a complete filmography are provided for each actor. Richly illustrated with more than 300 movie stills.