Dr. Tim McNeese, York University’s author-in-residence and history professor emeritus, has contracted with the University Press of Kansas to publish a book titled, “WILD FRONTIER: How the Bison, Beaver, Horse, and Cow Tamed the American West.”

“With this new book, I’m not looking at a new topic, but rather a new take on an old one,” explains McNeese. “For many who study or even have a passing interest in the American West, the story is often about archetypes, versions of westerners who advanced the American republic’s grasp of the far-flung frontier, including cowboys, ranchers, mountain men, and buffalo hunters. But certain animals played key roles as well.”

“Without the beaver, there would have been no mountain men. Without the introduction of cattle stock to the Great Plains, the necessity of cowboys would have faded with the sunset,” notes McNeese. “Even the world of the Native Americans was significantly altered by the introduction of the horse which allowed them to hunt bison more efficiently, which altered their culture.”

With this new book, the YU professor intends to tell the story of four animals who made significant impacts on the trajectory of America’s frontier history.

“Many books on cowboys, for example, treat the horses and cattle that defined their role in the West pretty peripherally,” says McNeese. “But these animals made contributions no others could replicate, including providing food, mobility, economic impacts, and cultural significance to the West. This means I will be focusing on another group that made an important contribution to the West—the preservationists who rescued the last bison herds before it was too late,” says McNeese.

McNeese will write his new book over the next six months with the goal of producing a 100,000-word manuscript for the Kansas Press.

After 32 years as a professor at York University, Dr. McNeese retired from teaching in December, 2023. He now serves as the university’s author-in-residence.

“The university has been very supportive of my transition from teaching professor to emeritus-writer. For that I am grateful,” says McNeese.