"Using the history of the cowboy story from 1820 until 1970 as an extended example, Alf H. Walle combines popular culture scholarship with marketing theory to provide a hybrid analysis of great explanatory value. After a theoretical introduction sets the stage for analysis, individual chapters examine major authors/genres of Western American literature and film.

Additional chapters explore why certain respected authors were unable to significantly impact the cowboy story even though their innovations were embraced by later generations. The book culminates with a truly hybrid analysis that combines business and popular culture theory in an overarching analysis bridging 150 years of Western American literature.".

"Demonstrating how the methods of popular culture scholarship can be merged with those of marketing and consumer research, a mutually beneficial strategy of analysis is showcased."--BOOK JACKET.