Hawaiian Cowboys: A Photographic Journal - Tapa dura

Intrigued by a way of life rich in tradition, devotion, and pride, mainlander photojournalist Michal McClure, over a three year period, traveled to the islands, where he was invited onto the ranches and into the lives of the paniolo. The result of the relationships forged and the trust earned is a remarkably candid and stunning chronicle of America's westernmost frontier, where close-knit paniolo families rise early to work the cattle as a crew, brothers and neighbors compete for pleasure and pride in dusty rodeo corrals, and knowledge is passed down to children in a tradition that honors both the paniolo's ties to the land and to the generations of cowboys that preceded him.
Bracketed by essays that provide insight into the rich cultural and spiritual history of the paniolo, McClure's pictorial essay records for posterity the vitality and vigor of a contemporary lifestyle that is, in the words of Dr. Billy Bergin, "uniquely Hawaiian, Western, and American."