THE CRUEL COCKS By Garland Roark 5.5" x 7.75", 224 page hardcover with dustjacket, Hodder and Stoughton, United Kingdom, First Printed 1957 Life in the bayous of Louisiana. Here, the hungers and violence of man and the raw savagery of nature often come together. Here's the story of charming, woman-chasing Jean Boutte, a man whose will is suddenly overwhelmed by desire for one irresistable woman. And his son, David, who enters the world of men in an orgy of bloodthirsty violence that threatens to destroy him. Garland Roark was an American writer known best for his nautical/adventure fiction. His first novel Wake of the Red Witch, published 1946, was a Literary Guild selection and adapted later by Republic Pictures company as a movie featuring John Wayne. Garland Roark was born July 26, 1904 in Groesbeck, Texas the son of James H. and Mona Lee Roark. He married Leola Elisabeth Burke on September 14, 1939. He died February 9, 1985 in Nacogdoches, Texas. He was celebrated as a writer of seafaring adventures and, under the pseudonym George Garland, wrote a variety of western novels as well. Roark held advertising positions with various stores in Texas from 1924 until 1946, when he quit to write full time. The decision proved fortuitous; throughout the 1950s and 1960s Roark maintained a solid reputation for pulp-style adventure stories. The book is complete and in VERY GOOD condition with some overall wear. On the front free endpaper the author has inscribed, "For Jerry Tompkins Marcia - With all the best from the author hoping for your honest evaluation, Garland Roark, Nacogdoches, TX, Oct. 6, 1961."