Ed Blanchard was known to family and friends as a wild, reckless cowboy long before horsemen of the West recognized him as a noted maker of cowboy spurs. Through Blanchard's experiences, this book traces the changes of Western life, from horse to pickup truck, from hand-forged spurs to commercial manufacture.

Jane Pattie is an independent writer who has written many articles on the American West, published in more than twenty national and international magazines. She has also written or contributed to ten books, including Cowboy Spurs and Their Makers, now in its fifth printing from Texas A&M University Press.Tom Kelly, Ed Blanchard's cousin, is a lifelong New Mexico rancher and raconteur.