I have read several of Dorothy Garlock's books and this is definitely one of her best. This is a romance set in the days of the American Wild West. The heroine, Victoria McKenna, is appalled to discover that her devious half-brother has illegally sold the family ranch, deeded to Victoria in their father's will, to the hero, Mason Mahaffey, and his rather large family of younger siblings. While awaiting the outcome of the legal dispute over the property, the Mahaffey's take up residence at the McKenna Ranch. They soon discover that the ranch is a resting spot for various vagrants,and possible criminals, all of whom are welcome to rest, lodge, and eat with no questions asked at the McKenna Ranch, a precedent set by the Victoria's deceased father to prevent getting gunned down. A relationship develops between the main hero/heroine couple of Victoria and Mason, as well as the extremely well depicted romance between Mason's sister Nellie and one of the vagrant cowboys,Sage, who has a secret troubled past. It was actually the secondary character's romance that was especially endearing and had me reading page after page to find out what would happen to them. The story has plenty of action and adventure,a nasty villain, as well as danger and mystery. A very good story with lots of fun, humor, and touching romance. A keeper.

I know I say this with each and every Dorothy Garlock book that I read... but this is the best one yet!!! I think this is my all time favorite book!!! I just couldn't put this book down!!!

Mason purchases Victoria's ranch from her brother, while in England. However, the ranch was not for her brother to sell, as it was left in a last minute will to Victoria. Nevertheless, Mason shows up with the right paperwork, and deed of sale - and the will Victoria has that her father made out before he died, hasn't been recorded until she brings it in to her lawyer's office. The will was witnessed by an employee at the ranch, and although it appears to be valid as well... Victoria and Mason must wait out the lawyer's research to find out who actually has the right to the property. Only both Victoria and Mason understand that possession is nine-tenths of the law, so Mason refuses to stay anywhere but the ranch until things are settled.

In the meantime, Mason brings his two sisters and three brothers to the ranch... which further upsets Victoria, watching her home be taken over by this big family. The family, determined to be together, and Victoria determined to be alone... all have some sacrifices to make.

It's a fun story to read, with these strangers being forced on each other... all trying to claim their legal property, but finding much more than a new home. That's not all to the story, like classic Garlock quality, the story is full of gunshot wounds, villians and outlaws, and danger lurking from all corners.

I loved this book. The first time I read it, I could not put it down until I was finished, and I have read it many times since. I think Ms. Garlock develops her characters well. I can almost see them when I read the book. Victoria is a very independent woman with a definite soft side. Mason is a world - weary guy who just wants to settle down. The children and their suffering (unfortunately) is very real. This was the first Dorothy Garlock book I read and went on to read as many others as I could find - all of which were wonderful.

This was good. Pioneering in Wyoming. Starting a town with men about---lets bring in some women. The story is fast paced and keeps going well. Things are always happening, so it makes it hard to put down! I'm so tired! :)
Jane reminds of Jane Eyre. The trod upon Jane who falls for the powerful Mr. Rochester. Except hes now Mr. American Kilkenny.
Hes got Irish and Indian blood in him. Hes running the town.
And he finds her intriguing.
She has a painful secret. She doesn't want to share with anyone and this keeps her and Kilkenny apart for most of the story. Theres also the typical Garlock character of the woman beaten who has left her bad man and the obsessed maniacal person out to kill our heroine.
But---what I want to say is that its just good. It keeps you going and its a sweet romance. Its built up enough to make it believable and sentimental throughout the story.
Jane grows close to several other women in the story as well as Kilkennys people. They name them the family which is pretty cool.
Oh yeah and Colin Tallman shows up from "Larkspur" and falls in love.
Sorry this isn't the best review. I keep staying up late reading Ms. Garlock! This is one of the good ones! Also try "Larkspur" and "House on a Hill."

I just finished this book from Dorothy Garlock... and it is now one of my favorites (yes, I realize I say that with each and every book I complete of hers)!

Jane Love is just one of many women that are trying to start a new life in Wyoming Territory, where T.C. Kilkenny is working to bring the old town to life again. Jane, as many of the other women, are almost running from their past lives, but each will learn you can't run and instead must face them head-on. This story is full of interesting characters... from the sweet and scared Polly that is pregnant from a recent rape... Sunday, the strong and beautiful woman with a mouth like a man, and is just as strong as one too... and Jane Love, who is carrying the burden of a terrible secret, that she is sure will shame her if discovered. From the very beginning, Jane begins receiving threatening notes... "I know who yu are."... which make her desperate to leave the town of Timbertown, Wyoming. However, T.C. is determined to keep her in the town, until he's ready for her to leave for his homestead ranch.

Also making their presence in this wonderful story is Colin Tallman - the son of Addie and John Tallman from "Yesteryear."

Readers will also learn the fates of Amy and Rain Tallman from "Dream River" - the grandparents of Colin Tallman. If you recognize the name Kilkenny, it is from "Midnight Blue." Moose Kilkenny was the bare-knuckle fighter that lost his title to Pack Gallagher... Moose is T.C.'s uncle. Milo Callahan returns to Garlock's stories from a villain in "Sins of Summer" to a villain in this story. Also mentioned in this book is Gerrick and Katy Rowe from "Nightrose."

Now for those of you that haven't read all these other books by Dorothy Garlock, you are in luck. You don't have to read any of them to follow along and understand everything that is happening. Those mentioned simply make it much more enjoyable for those of us that have read them all.

Next, I'm off to read Dorothy Garlock's "Sweetwater."

I literally just finished this book about ten minutes ago, and now I am here browsing through Garlock's other books because The Listening Sky was so good! She really had a nack for describing a love that I think everybody would want - a love that is so perfect. The characters are all well described, and you really find yourself getting attached to all of them. The trials that the two characters go through is enough to keep anybody hooked to the plot, and to watch the way that their love is displayed to each other through thick and thin just makes you feel so good. I highly recommend this book.

This book was very imformative and valuable on a recent road trip to the parks with my kids. I provided a consise resource of information and facts in an easily readable form. A valuable addition to your glove box at the start of your trip, or reading material on the flight to Jackson. Highly recommended.

There are many travel guides which will tell you where to eat, where to stay, and how much you can expect to spend. Some contain maps, important phone numbers, and local attractions. This book goes well beyond that. You will come away with a deep appreciation of the area and a better understanding of the wildlife. You will come to understand the differences between a black, brown, and grizzly bear and how to peacefully coexist with them in the park. You will learn how geysers work, what dangers exist, and how to help preserve the park for future generations.

I just returned from a visit to Yellowstone and found this book extremely helpful both in planning the trip and as a reference while there. I particularly liked the author's reviews of the accomodations within the park, which I found to be accurate, especially his reviews of the accomodations at the Old Faithful area, Canyon, and Lake Yellowstone.

The book contains excellent, accurate maps and the descriptions of touring the park contain lots of little-known sites that were worth seeing. Also, the book contains great information on hikes within the park.

I looked at several other guides to Yellowstone, this one by far outshines the other ones that I saw.

Enjoy your visit to this wonderful park!

The photos collected in this book, about 150 of them, capture a period in time from 1872 to the early 1930s, when the area along the upper Snake River below Yellowstone was explored and settled. There are photos taken by seven photographers, the earliest of them William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) traveling with a scientific expedition and working with cumbersome equipment and 11x14 wet glass negatives.

The bios of all seven of these men recount the lives of 19th and early 20th century adventurers, intrepid trekkers across the wilderness and frontier to make a visual record of the West during its early years of settlement. Their images are joined by those of scores of amateur photographers, whose snapshots were collected for this edition and fill many of the pages of the book.

The book is organized by various themes, from rodeo (see cover) to farming and ranching, communities, dudes, hunting, and so on. An interesting sequence captures a landslide which blocked the Snake River for 2 years in the 1920s and then gave way, causing a flood that inundated the valley, wiping out the town of Kelly. Another sequence illustrates the years of change at Teton Pass, the only winter access to the valley, transport progressing from horses to automobiles.

Lest we think of this as entirely a man's world, there's a photo of the all-woman town council of Jackson, the first U.S. town to be governed entirely by women (1920-1924). There are photos of the first aeroplane landing, winter dog sled racing, and the environmental devastation caused by the damming of Lake Jackson. Photos record the vists of European royalty and the John D. Rockefellers, whose influence and money helped create Grand Teton National Park.

For lovers of the Old West and old photographs, the images reproduced here are a rich treasure. From significant and historic events to everyday life, the book is a picture album of Americana. I also recommend another excellent collection of old Western photographs in Richard Collins' "The American Cowboy."

This wonderful book shows you the real spirit behind the town of Jackson. Before it became a resort and a vacation town, Jackson was a gateway through the Teton Mountains.

Through vivid photography, the author relay to the reader the struggles and hardships associated with living in a small western town during the turn of the century while also expose them to the joy and beauty that make people move to the Jackson Valley today.

Seeing Jackson in this early state makes you appreciate what is there today and what is lost of yesterday.

When my mother first began work on her second book, I thought, what is she up to now? At any rate, she saw the project through, and it actually came out very good. It truly gives the reader or looker, a feel for life in Jackson Hole in the early days. My mother gave birth to me in 1951, (not the early days) and I had just opened my eyes, and she said "son, "Life" magazine is for people who can't read, and "Time" is for people who can't think. Her book covers both basis (bases), so is something an entire family can enjoy. If it passes my test, it's worth a peek. Jim Huidekoper Jackson Hole Wyoming 4/11/97

This is the real MCoy. The authors appear to know their subect well and have done their homework. I thank you for that because this is my first read on the subject of real cowboy clothing and I wanted facts. The detail was very good and in some cases too good as in the section on horse bits. What cowboys acually wore and why is fascinating. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the Hollywood costumes but it's nice to know the real story and this is it.

A friend shoved this book in front of me during research for a historical novel, and I found it fascinating! It is a comprehensive guide to the real garb and tack of real cowboys in a real frontier, not a Technicolored Hollywood wardrober's fantasy. I found it expertly written and illustrated, detailed and enormously helpful. This isn't the kind of amateur historical pap you see so often in this category, it's the Real McCoy. Anyone who wants or needs to know how cowboys and frontiersmen dressed needs to pick up "I See By Your Outfit."

I thought this book would be about what you can tell about people from what kind of truck they drive. But it turned out to be a very good reference on historic Western garb.

Verna Davis was my friend when my family lived in Ten Sleep. She played piano at our Methodist Church and often accompanied our choir. Her autobiography was fascinating. What a life she has led! She is a strong, imaginative, cultured and independent woman who helped shape the West into the special place it is today.

Verna Davis' Trails in the Big Horn Mtns. were many. Particularly interesting as I now own the land where the gold mine cabin still rests, though the roof has fallen in. Her book answered many questions I always had about this mine, except for the amout of gold found! As a native of the TenSleep area, it was fun to read about people I know and the familiar landscapes that she so elequently describes. I'm glad she is back in Buffalo, opting over Texas winters! I hope she is still alive so she can know how much I enjoyed her book.

Verna Davis tells of her life experiences, growing up in Wyoming. All too often, we take for granted many of modern day life's simple conveniences. Knowing that the automobile was invented at the turn of the twentieth century, it is easy to assume that it's use and popularity quickly spread across the country, when in fact it did not become a popular mode of transportation in northern Wyoming for some forty years. Mrs. Davis' account adds the next chapter to Johnson County, Wyoming's colorful history.

Sam Western's book addresses the ecomomic stagnation and the loss of the young people that have constantly plagued Wyoming. He traces the origins of myths that have influenced the development or lack of development in the state from the area's territorial days to the present. He uses facts and figures, but he also uses anecdotal information and profiles of important people. His style reads well. He is concise. Western says that he wanted to write something that was the size of "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. He has succeeded in packing a lot of information into a small space, while at the same time keeping it interesting. He has made decisions to leave out some information that might have been helpful because of his goal. I have used this book in college composition classes at a Wyoming Community College and have found that students respond well and that it provides great material for discussion.

My class At Sheridan Comm. College was assigned his book to read. It is a different look into the growth of Wyoming. He gives several examples of the crises and images that Wyoming has substained over the years. I would say that if you enjoy finding out how states have come to be or how they overcame situtions of ecomonic growth and false images this would be a good reading material. There are a few typing errors and he tends to use big words. I would advise having a dictionary near by, but overall the material flows from one chapter to the next very easily. Thanks for the extra reading material. Enjoy!

Sam Western's book shows an outstanding command of the facts and figures and keeps a clear eye on the line of his thesis. He wittily and yet sympathetically dispels many of the historical myths that keep this state the benighted economic backwater that it is, while it remains one of the physically and socially most inviting places on earth to live. With enviable literary skill, he diagnoses what ails Wyoming today, and in a telling allusion to Ireland, he describes the condition of what is effectively the United State's last colonial possession. This is an ultimately romantic book and vision, though soldily grounded in the way things are. Let's hope the Ireland comparison may play out in the future, though, and perhaps the Equality State may one day be thought of as the Sagebrush Tiger.

The book was reprinted in April 2001 and is currently available.

I am the author of this book and it is currently out of print as of 1/1/2000. The current printing is sold out and no books are available. It will be revised and updated this spring and the new edition will be available around the start of the summer. I will post another message here when it is available. Thanks for your interest in books from Mountain Man Publishing.

I am the author of this book and it is currently out of print as of 1/1/2000. The current printing is sold out and no books are available. It will be revised and updated this spring and the new edition will be available around the start of the summer. I will post another message here when it is available. Thanks for your interest in books from Mountain Man Publishing.

Frederick Dellaenbaugh was a young man when John Wesley Powell tapped him to participate in Powell's second trip down the Colorado River. Powell had made the journey already a few years before, so the second voyage was less pure exploration and more science; the crew included Almon Harris Thompson (called affectionately "Prof." throughout), a professional geographer who also happened to be Powell's brother-in-law. With several boats and men of widely varying experience, the expedition sailed the Green river (thought at that time to be the upper Colorado) to its junction with the Colorado, and the Colorado itself as far as the middle of the Grand Canyon. Swirling rapids, maggotty food, blistering heat, sudden blizzards beset the adventurers, who still though it all made their geographical, geological, and ethnographical observations which resulted in (among other things) the first maps of the four corners region and the Grand Canyon (reproduced in the book).
While wild adventure, humor, and a real sense of the Old West permeate the book, there is a certain sadness, too. The Native Americans whom Dellenbaugh encounters are people clearly already defeated -- fearful, distrusting, sad. We catch glimpses of the Navaho trying to accommodate themselves to the new reality of white (especially Mormon) settlement, creating new networks of trade focused on growing frontier towns. But the seeds of the end are planted already in the irrigated fields of the Mormon settlers, and sometimes it seems as if the natives knew this too. Also, the topography through which the explorers travelled has now partly vanished behind the dams that have ruined Glen Canyon and other stretches of white water and canyon scenery. No one can now do what Dellenbaugh and his companions did; the sense of loss hovers unintentionally about every page.
Dellenbaugh was a keen observer (though perhaps a bit naive) with a talent for making even the monotony of running rapid after rapid spellbinding. One does feel that he may have veiled some of the conflicts that must have arisen in two (non-continuous) years of isolation, though if so this trait is refreshing in a world where we now expect everyone to tattle on everyone else. Every now and then just a shimmer of impatience with one of the crew seeps through. But the real hero who emerges from this book, somewhat surprisingly, is not the leader Powell -- the young Dellenbaugh seems never to have gotten close to him -- but rather the Prof., who rises to every challenge with decency and humaneness, and of whom Dellenbaugh seems to have been genuinely, and for good reason, in awe. Like Powell he is buried in Arlington Cemetery. He deserved that honor, but where he lives is in the pages of this book.

Love and respect for the Green and Colorado Rivers is greatly enhanced by Dellenbaugh's narritive of the 2nd Powell expadition. Well written, accurate history, and spell binding from start to finish. An adventure that can only be partially accomplished today is TOTALLY available in "A Canyon Voyage!"

At the time of the 2nd voyage down the Colorado, Dellenbaugh was on about 19 years old. He didn't write the book until many years later. What a wonderful/spellbinding look at the most beautiful place in North America (The Colorado Plateau). Not only that but I found it extremely hunorous as well. Great Great book!!!

I have been a fan of Jack Olsen for years, starting way back when he wrote brilliant pieces for "Sports Illustrated." He has the gift of taking non-fiction and bringing it to life on the printed page. I am convinced he could write about an old grocery list and make it interesting.

Lovell, WY, a small insular, highly religious farm community was ripped apart when one of the leading citizens, Dr. John Story, was accused of sexual harassment and rape going back twenty years. He was a general practitioner with OB/GYN a large part of his practice. By the time he came to trial, more than 100 former patients admitted they felt they had been mistreated or raped under the guise of a pelvic examination.

My first thought was how could this have been so widespread and gone on for so long without anyone knowing, complaining, or accusing? The answer is the nature of Lovell itself. The majority of the citizenry belonged to the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) or to a very strict fundamentalist church of which Dr. Story was a founding member. Particularly with the LDS women, there is a strong bias in favor of male superiority. They are taught that men (and only men) can become priests of their church and give absolution; rarely is male authority questioned. Along with this background is an incredible innocence and ignorance about sexual functions. It wasn't until a leading church member started asking hard questions after her more enlightened daughters complained to her, that the scope of this crime emerged. The women thought two to three hour examinations were normal and all had taken for granted these examinations took place without the presence of a nurse.

It made very painful reading to see how difficult it was for these women to be taken seriously. The Medical Registry of Wyoming was hostile toward their efforts, but finally gave them a hearing. The leaders of the church, who did not want the church to formally be involved in the issue, did not support them. It took the dedication and incredible hard work of a local sheriff and District Attorney for the county to finally bring Dr. Story to trial. The town split in two along religious lines. The fundamentalist group said it was a "Mormon conspiracy." People who had been friends and neighbors for years were now bitter enemies.

Mr. Olsen has created a page-turner with his balanced narrative that includes many direct interviews with the leading participants. I felt pity for Dr. Story's devoted wife and for many of his well-meaning followers and patients. However, what stands out most in my mind is the bravery and endurance shown by his victims and their willingness to stand by their beliefs and principles.

Another dangerous sexual predator is free, practically in my own community. I don't live in Lovell, but I live in the Big Horn Basin. As a kid when this happened, I never really had a grasp of the depth of John Story's deviant acts until I read this book! This is not about the Mormon church versus the rest of the world as some people in Lovell still argue to anyone who will listen to this day; no, this is about a man who took advantage of his power and position as a trusted family doctor as an opportunity to rape women. This is about woman who, for whatever reasons, were conditioned as children to serve their fathers and to respect males. Young newlywed women who automatically knew to obey their husbands and believed they were nothing without their men. Women who never questioned a male's right to absolute authority. Sadly, these are also woman who never knew the extent of their own ignorance until it was too late.

The events were shocking in the 1980's when they ripped apart Lovell to the point that the wound still has not healed 20 years later. But it was the release on parole of a monster, of the so-called "doctor," that prompted me to finally read this book.

I now know and work with the attorneys in this book which made reading it all that much more exciting--the Honorable Gary Hartman, Scott Kath, the late Honorable John Dixon, Charles Kepler, and William Simpson and I know of Loretta Kepler, Kathy Karpan, and Terry Tharp. The author took some liberties with a few things; for example, Mr. Kepler is not a burly man nor is he a large man, Ms. Kepler is a charming and beautiful woman despite the plain-jane description to the contrary, Judge Hartman did not have a pistol under his robe when the jury verdict was delivered, and, really, Scott Kath is a much more interesting character than Olsen makes him out to be in the book. Furthermore, some of the nasty and degrading descriptions of town people were gross overstatements whereas some of the nicer descriptions were clever understatements of the true problems in Lovell--domestic abuse, alcohol, and to this day men with multiple "wives" and dozens of children.

However, having said that, those did not detract from this very well written book.

As a closing note for those who have read this, remember the exam table? Last year John Story's wife, Marilyn, picked up the "table" from the evidence room at the Big Horn County Courthouse. The table was a key factor in facilitating John Story's rape of literally hundreds of women during so called pelvic examinations. However, John Story no longer has a medical license nor can he ever hold a medical license again as a convicted felon. What does this man, who will surely be classified as a high risk registered sex offender, need with a fancy examination table when he does not have a medical license? Does he think he can sell it on eBay? Or is he starting a home based business?

I guess, this may only be the first story in a series of events yet to happen.......

I read this book back in 1990 but let someone borrow it and never got it back. It is an awesome story. I could not believe that people would let religion lead them to believe everything a doctor tells them. This book keeps your attention and I believe every woman should read it so that they might not get caught up in something like this.