About Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West
In
August 1908, three unknown riders arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, their hats
adorned with wildflowers, to compete in the world’s greatest rodeo.
Steer-roping virtuoso Ikua Purdy and his cousins Jack Low and Archie Ka’au’a
had travelled 3,000 miles from Hawaii, of all places, to test themselves
against the toughest riders in the West.
Dismissed
by whites, who considered themselves the only true cowboys, the native
Hawaiians would astonish the country, returning home champions—and American
legends. An unforgettable human drama set against the rough-knuckled frontier, Aloha
Rodeo unspools the fascinating and little-known true story of the Hawaiian
cowboys, or paniolo, whose 1908 adventure upended the conventional history of
the American West.
About
the Speaker:
David
Wolman is a Contributing Editor at Outside and a longtime contributor at
Wired. He has also written for publications such as the New York
Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek,
and Nature. His work has twice been anthologized in the Best American
Science and Nature Writing series, and his feature about Egyptian
revolutionaries was nominated for a National Magazine Award. His latest book, Aloha
Rodeo, was published in May, 2019 (HarperCollins).
David is a former Oregon Arts Commission fellow, Fulbright journalism
fellow (Japan), and a graduate of Stanford University's journalism program. His
other books include The End of Money, A Left-Hand Turn Around the
World, Righting the Mother Tongue, and Firsthand. He lives in
Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children.
Visit
his website at www.david-wolman.com
and follow him on Twitter & Instagram @davidwolman
