“If Chaucer were a Texan writing today . . . this is how he would have written and this is how he would have felt.”— New York Times In Leaving Cheyenne (1963), which anticipates Lonesome Dove more than any other early novel, the stark realities of the American West play out in a mesmerizing love triangle. Stubborn rancher Gideon Fry, resilient Molly Taylor, and awkward ranch hand Johnny McCloud struggle with love and jealousy as the years pass.
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lonesome Dove comes the novel that became the basis for the film Hud, starring Paul Newman. In classic Western style Larry McMurtry illustrates the timeless conflict between the modernity and the Old West through the eyes of Texas cattlemen. Horseman, Pass By tells the story of Homer Bannon, an old-time cattleman who epitomizes the frontier values of honesty and decency, and Hud, his unscrupulous stepson. Caught in the middle is the narrator, Homer's young grandson Lonnie, who is as much drawn to his grandfather’s strength of character as he is to Hud's hedonism and materialism. When first published in 1961, Horseman, Pass By caused a sensation in Texas literary circles for its stark, realistic portrayal of the struggles of a changing West in the years following World War II. Never before had a writer managed to encapsulate its environment with such unsentimental realism. Today, memorable characters, powerful themes, and illuminating detail make Horseman, Pass By vintage McMurtry.
"James Chisholm was a staff writer For The Chicago Tribune sent to report on the gold strike made in the late 1860s at one of the great historical features of the continent?South Pass on the western trails. His journal, illustrated by himself, Is a graceful, observant narrative full of the real essence of frontier mining camp life."?Library Journal. "Chisholm had a lively sense of humor, An engaging frankness, and a fine eye for landscape. He was also a candid social critic."?Rocky Mountain News. "Lovers of the Old West will buy Chisholm's Journal and never part with it."?Pacific Historical Review. "If South Pass failed to produce gold in the paying quantities James Chisholm's miners thought it would, Chisholm himself produced finer, more lasting gold in his journal account of Wyoming's short-lived gold rush. His journal exudes the smell of sagebrush and scenic panoramas, Of torrential rain storms and night packing, Of being small in a big land, and of honest, earthy people who, In business-like fashion, went about the task of risking life, limb, health, and what small fortunes they had, To hit the big one. Chisholm sees with unpretentious eyes. His is an honest appraisal from a detached journalist, leavened with self-effacing humor. His prose is clean and clear. it can be read aloud and remembered."?Charles E. Rankin, editor of Montana the Magazine of Western History. Lola M. Homsher was director of the Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department.
During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. Published in 1941, on the fiftieth anniversary of the state, the WPA Guide to Wyoming is a thorough reflection of both the history of the state’s pioneer routes as well an attempt to capture the beauty of the surrounding area in photographs. Descriptions of the Equality State’s livestock and oil industries are included as well as pictorial documentation of the area’s vast expanses of open land.
