REVIEWS: Thunder of the Mustangs

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

Thunder of the
Mustangs:
Legend and Lore
of the Wild Horses
Edited by Mark Sprag
Sierra Club Books
(85 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94105),
1997. 120 pages, 75 color photos.
$30.00 hardbound.
Wild horse enthusiasts will be drawn
to this book by breathtaking color photographs
taken by some of the most prominent wildlife
photographers alive. The very essence of wild
horses––their autonomy, self-containment,
and fear––is made manifest by the talent of
John Running, Charles and Rita Summers,
Phil Schofield and others.

But what of the book itself?
Thunder of the Mustangs is neither a
novel or a serious study of wild horses.
Instead it is an anthology of nine previously
published essays by nine American writers,
including the eminent sculptor and illustrator,
Charles M. Russell. Screenwriter Mark Sprag
edited the book and did a superb job in selecting
the essays, which unmistakably incite
readers to feel what I felt after reading the last
essay: anger toward all those ignorant of the
equine nature; sorrow for all the wild horses
who have suffered at the hands of bureaucrats,
mustangers and naive adopters; hope that one
day the new ethic of natural horsemanship will
find its way to the Bureau of Land
Management; and unwavering admiration for
a creature who will always mystify me and
serve as my mentor for what is right and natural
for all horses.
––Robin Duxbury
(Robin Duxbury is founder and pres –
ident of the horse advocacy group Project
Equus, POB 6989, Denver, CO 80206.)