• The Cowboy Detective

  • A True Story of 22 Years with a World-Famous Detective Agency
  • By: Charles Siringo
  • Narrated by: Michael Martin Murphey
  • Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (21 ratings)

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The Cowboy Detective  By  cover art

The Cowboy Detective

By: Charles Siringo
Narrated by: Michael Martin Murphey
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Publisher's summary

Charles Siringo's riveting narrative tells of the people and events that shaped the legend of America's Wild West. Siringo spent more than 22 years riding with the cattle country's most lawless men. He relied more on instincts and experience than deductive reasoning to survive Idaho labor riots, hunt Appalachian moonshiners, and chase Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch across the Southwest. After years of cowboying, a blind phrenologist convinced him to join the fabled Pinkerton National Detective Agency as an undercover operative in the wilder parts of the West. This program is part of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Classic Western series.
Recording (P)1996 by Audio Literature
  • Abridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Cowboy Detective

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great short story of a man's life.

If you could sum up The Cowboy Detective in three words, what would they be?

Meeting Life's hardships

What did you like best about this story?

The authors explanation of one mans adventure in the old west. How it seems like what is happening in todays events.

What does Michael Martin Murphey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A feeling of being with him on his job as an undercover detective.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Very suspensfull

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Inside stroy of the Kellogg Idaho Miners strike

What did you love best about The Cowboy Detective?

True story told in the words of the author who lived the events of the day.

What other book might you compare The Cowboy Detective to and why?

This is a good introduction to Siringo's other books extoling his life as a Pinkerton Detective.

What does Michael Martin Murphey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Murphey's knowledge of the old west and the life of the cowboy comes through.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Cowboy detective on the inside of the Kellogge Idaho mine strike and murders.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not alot of

Keep in mind that this book was written after the turn of the century. People who had made (or witnessed) some bit of history saw an opportunity to write a short memoir to supplement their income, or simply have their names remembered.

The story eventually focuses on Charles Siringo's part, as a Pinkerton detective, in the Coeur d'Alene miners confrontation of 1899. This is a fairly interesting re-telling and takes up the bulk of the audio book.

There are many names "dropped" throughout the tale, which mean nothing to the rest of the story. It takes awhile to realize that you don't necessarily need to focus on these for a "call-back" later.

The narration, which I would rate as "decent", is the most "cowboyish" part of this selection. You may need to turn up the volume a time or two to catch everything.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Cowboy Defective

The reader drones on with the tales of a Pinkerton dective. Not real spell binding or excieting listen.

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1 person found this helpful