The Last Cowboys at the End of the World: The Story of the Gauchos of Patagonia

“You will never go there, probably, but after reading this intelligent, tough account, you will have been. Reding writes brilliantly.” —James Salter

“Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy . . . a fastidiously humanist angle, in which the interloping narrator never forgets humility or sensitivity.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Last Cowboys marks the debut of a strong new voice.” —Outside

“The lives of these real cowboys riding the last free range are both fascinating and frightening. This is compulsive reading by a gifted storyteller.” —Tim Cahill

The Last Cowboys at the End of the World is the remarkable account of Nick Reding’s ten- month journey throughout Middle Cisnes, Patagonia, and his witnessing of what happens when time catches up to a people whom history has forgotten.

In 1995 Reding traveled a still-unfinished road in Chilean Patagonia into an unmapped river valley, and it was there he found himself in a closed chapter of history: a last undetected and unexplored outpost of gauchos. He later returned in 1998 to live among this supposedly vanished culture.

The end result is an honest, unwavering telling of an unforgettable cast of semi-nomadic characters. From Duck, the alcoholic with whom Reding lives and takes long cattle drives, to Edith, Duck’s wife, who is convinced she is reliving the life of her estranged mother, who was, according to legend, wed to the Devil, Reding details an ever-changing world conspiring against them. Ultimately, Reding has captured a moment in time that we have never before seen and will never see again.