Every now and then a book comes along that is so well written, so unique, so marvelous that it stays with you long after you have laid it aside. This book is like that. If there is any justice in the publishing world this book will be a best seller and earn a place in the classic catagory. It's that good. Henry Elijah "Lige" Langston was born in 1908 in the Great Basin outback on a homestead. He worked his entire life as a wrangler and rawhide braider in the region known as the Sagebrush Corner of northeastern California and northwestern Nevada. Hussa tells his story with a mosaic of memories blending oral history, storytelling and poetry. Interspersed throughout are Lige's own words which fill in the gaps in an honest, unflinching, matter of fact manner. The character that emerges from the experiences of love, fear, courage, and pride in overcoming adversities of every stripe is one you will never forget. The story of individuals growing up in the West has been told many times. But never like this. This is a gentle, respectful, lyrical book that quietly tells the story of a real man, living in a hostile environment, in a most remarkable manner. Hussa has succeeded in a way most writers strive for but never achieve. Sweet Iron? After reading this masterpiece you will never look at a horse's bridle in the same way.

This 1984 book is a sponsored history. Notwithstanding the characteristics of that genre, this remains a fine history book, rich in detail and broad in coverage.
The book pays special attention to the post-Comstock period, Nevada's "twenty-year depression" (1880-1900). This is the key period of Reno's formation and marks its peculiar culture to this day.
The book has a separate section of color photographs, including a beautiful photograph of McKinley Park School.

Delightful rendition of the Pioneer spirit. Easy to read and hard to put down.

In doing research for a journalism assignment, I was recommended Fouts' "Next of Kin." I read the book as I prepared for a trip to the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care, a sanctuary of hope in southern Florida for chimpanzees rescued from labs and similar monstrosities, funded by Jane Goodall and other good people. It was a superb introduction to what I was about to witness, and I ended up using a lengthy quote from the book as an epigram to my article about the sanctuary.

Fouts has given an incredible and heart wrenching insight into a world we too often choose to ignore - the world side by side to our own "civilized" one, the world of the animal kingdom. It is, perhaps, our view of it as a separate world from our own that first gets us into trouble. The human being is an arrogant being. We like to think that we are the superior beast - the thinking, feeling, building, progressive being that rules the earth - but so often the human being is not so superior at all, but only... a beast. Fouts takes that arrogance down several notches. He reveals the remarkable intelligence of the chimpanzee mind. He reveals the astounding emotional depth of the chimpanzee heart. He unveils the tragic suffering of the chimpanzee life when we forget these emotional and intellectual capacities. In a time when scientific strides in all fields - space exploration, medical, or other - can easily be made without the torment of our animal brethren, this book bears witness to our human cruelty and argues effectively for an abandonment of such treatment forever. We are not, after all, a superior creature on this planet. We are only one among many, sharing a global environment to which all of our varied species have a right to live in, enjoying our freedom to live our lives without the threat of enslavement by others - human or animal.

I read this book in a day, though I didn't plan to--as soon as I began reading, I found myself unable to put it down. This is the story of both Dr. Fouts' study of chimpanzee language abilities, and his struggle to find a home for the chimps where they will be treated with the respect they deserve. Engagingly written and humanely told, his story is a direct challange to the cruel legacy of Descartes, one that will change your view of our primate relatives forever. Frequently funny, oftentimes heartbreaking, this book will leave no reader unmoved and unchanged.

After reading Fout's Next Of Kin I was speechless. I can express how wonderful it is to learn from an indivdual whose humility, concern for life and compassion is his life work. I simply could not put the book down! It was one of the most thoughtful, eye-opening, and educated books that I have ever read. Having the opportunity to listen to Roger Fouts speak on booktour, my heart opened to his message of compassion; his willingness to express his feelings and experiences to a group of strangers further enhanced my view of this incredible individual. A book that will change your life and the way you see our next of kin and the fellow animals of this world.

This book fills a void in the history of the state of Nevada. But the author spends much time blind to the factors that devealop the state as a whole and their impact on Nevada's hispanics, and rather focuses on how the hispanics were just sufferers of white majority's whims. Nevada has a rich history of many races (Including many Chinese) and the facts presented in the book are befitting of Nevada's Hispanics. But the writing is choppy at best, and a second edition is sorely needed. The book seems as if it was very rushed towards it's finishing pages.