In the 1880s, there wasn't much in Anson, Texas, in the way of entertainment for the area’s cowhands. But Star Hotel operator M. G. Rhodes changed that when he hosted a Grand Ball the weekend before Christmas. A restless traveling salesman, rancher, and poet from New York named William Lawrence Chittenden, a guest at the Star Hotel, was so impressed with the soiree that he penned his observances in the poem “The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball.” Reenacted annually since 1934 based on Chittenden’s poem, the contemporary dances attract people from coast to coast, from Canada, and from across Europe and elsewhere. Since 1993 Grammy Award-winning musical artist Michael Martin Murphey has played at the popular event. Paul Carlson defines the many people and events mentioned in Chittenden’s poem and explains the Jones County landscape laid out in the celebrated work. The book covers the evolution of cowboy poetry and places Chittenden and his poem chronologically within the ever-changing western genre. Far more than a history of the Jones County dance, Dancin’ in Anson: A History of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball is a novel but refreshing look at a cowboy poet, his poem, and a joyous Christmas-time family event that traces its roots back nearly 130 years. Whether read by lantern light in a horse camp or in an easy chair, you’ll enjoy this adventure into a genuine, nineteenth-century cowboy dance that now boasts an international reputation. In the folksy vernacular of cowpunchers captured by Larry Chittenden as he spoke of Windy Bill Wilkerson, the original dance-caller at the Ball: “Oh, Bill I won’t forget yer, and I’ll oftimes recall / that lively-gaited sworray―the Cowboys’ Christmas Ball.” -- Michael Martin Murphey , from the foreword Paul H. Carlson is professor emeritus of history at Texas Tech University. A fellow of both the Texas State Historical Association and the West Texas Historical Association, he has published numerous books and articles, earned several research and writing honors, and received six university teaching awards. In 2006 he was elected to membership in the Philosophical Society of Texas. He and his wife, Ellen, live in Lubbock, Texas.