Montana Books

This is a very inspiring Christmas tale, set in the Mexican mountains, somewhere around the late 19th century. Amidst the civil wars that tear the country, a political refugee finds peace and quiet in his small home town, and comes to listen to the message of the birth of the Saviour.

Very similar in spirit to Dickens's A Christmas Carroll it makes a very nice reading. My mother gave it to me as a present many years ago. It still is one of the warmest memories I keep about Christmas past.

This is an amazing book, the true story of Fannie Sperry Steele, a legendary rodeo rider who was raised on a homestead in north-central Montana during the late 1880s. The book chronicles her career in numerous Wild West shows, her remarkable personal life, and what it was like to live in the West at that time.

Fannie's family had very little money and earned extra cash by selling wild horses, which they captured and trained. By the time she was fourteen, Fannie was riding bucking horses to entertain spectators at local gatherings. Soon she was hired to perform in various traveling Wild West shows, where she participated in bronc riding, relay races, and sharpshooting exhibitions. In 1912 she earned the title "Lady Bucking Horse Champion of the World."

She was such a good rider that men were afraid to compete against her. Apparently male chauvinism was one of the main obstacles faced by dozens of women who competed in these shows, which were the precursors of today's modern rodeos.

For many years Fannie continued to ride broncs, despite pressure to get married and start raising a family. Eventually she did marry a cowboy who operated a Wild West show (unfortunately, the marriage was somewhat tempestuous), and finally they started a dude ranch in western Montana. She lived there until shortly before her death in 1983.

The book is written in such a smooth, interesting way, it's almost like reading a novel. The writer interviewed Fannie repeatedly and had access to her collection of letters, newspaper clippings, etc., which enabled the author to add a multitude of personal details that bring the story alive. The book includes about a dozen photographs: the primitive homestead where Fannie spent her childhood; Fannie on a bronc at the Calgary Stampede, her long dress flapping and her long braids flying out behind; and Fannie in her seventies, confidently riding one of her prized Paint horses.

Surely almost anyone (especially teenage girls) would be fascinated by this tale of a young woman who knew what she wanted to do with her life, and made it happen, in spite of all the people who kept telling her that it was not possible and not wise. This is one of the most inspiring stories I've read in a long time.

This is one of the best collections of short stories I have ever read. The settings for the stories is Montana and the inevitable impact of the harsh environment on the people living there. In seven short stories and less than one hundred pages Blew has managed to combine the effects of an unforgiving climate with the turbulent lives of so-real characters that experience conflict, brutality and heart breaking violence. The environmental effect on the characters in the title story "Lambing Out" is stark and readily apparent. However, the impact in "Paths Unto The Dead" and "Monsters" is more subtle and will give the reader pause and, upon reflection, insight into the incredible talent of the author. This blend of human and natural landscape into the written word is powerful and unforgetable. If you ever wondered why anyone would live "out there", try these stories. For anyone interested in first-rate writing about the interrelationship between a regional environment and the people that inhabit it, this is as good as it gets. Don't be surprised if you end up with the impression the characters are real, that somehow Blew is not making these stories up. She is that good. These are powerful, thoughtful, moving stories that come very close to transcending region.

Tracie Peterson never disappoints. This is another heart-warming story and is the first in her Heirs of Montana series. All three of the books in this series are wonderful. The characters in this series face and overcome very tragic obstacles. If you enjoy historic Christian fiction, don't miss this series. I was sorry to see it end!

A very nice summary of the different water law regimes in the Western U.S., extremely well-organized and presented. Highly accessible to those who aren't lawyers and never intend to be.

Anne Eames, please don't let this be the end of the "Montana Malones". This last book in the trilogy was absolutely wonderful. I laughed, and cried, and actually stood up and cheered in parts. You made Josh and Taylor so real, I was absolutely mesmerized by their saga. Truly a work of art.

I loved this book! It grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. It's written in a way that you actually feel like you're living the book. The characters become friends . . . you laugh and cry with them. I really didn't want to see it come to an end!

"I hate it when them places go," said Madeline. "All the stories are gone, too." Peter Bowen does a masterful keeping the stories from going. Du Pre, his beautiful lover Madeline, family and friends Metis, descendents of French voyageurs and their Indian wives, in the mean damn Montana Du Pre loves. This one is of retribution, of old families, of honor, of Du Pre's fiddle and the old songs, of a youngster wanting Du Pre to extend to her the torch of musical raconteur, of FBI agents stuffy and zany.

Find a youngster and start him/her on this for a little-known era of history, of local color, of excellent writing about a beloved subject. The child will bless you for it.

And aren't books for sharing as well as loving? You were born to make the world a better place. Here's one way to do it.

This is a contemperary romance worthy of reading - it has a bit of a mystery - or held back information that tantalizes.
Why did Rachel Brant's father, a man who seemed to have no love left after his wife died, send her on the trail of a cover-up in the Vietnam war?
Could finishing the article make her father love her?

Thirty seven year old Ash McKee didn't want Rachel upsetting his step-dad, Tom by stirring up memories of NAM that he has buried for 36 years.

Tom McKee slowly comes to the conclusion that it was time to face the hole in his life and maybe help Ash let go of the trauma of losing his wife of 17 years.

Both Tom and Ash recognized that Charlie needed a man in his life. And Rachel began to help Daisy with her ambitions to write as a journalist and to soften Ash's attitude toward writers.

There was the incident of where Rachel helped to save Ash from serious injury strengthening her feelings of usefullness and where Ash disciplined Charlie for not following the rules in the cattle barn. After Rachel called Ash to account - he handled Charlie with compassion.

Two wounded people were slowly falling in love [hah! they still hopped into bed, with no commitment] Almost to the end she was determined to leave. I had to chuckle when I read the reasons behind Tom's silence and Brant's nastiness. Loved the outcome.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --M - for a contemp. Loved learning about the ranch life in rugged Montana.

This in the introduction of another character that has lived in Whitehorn for about nine years: Jonas Bishop.
He is mysterious, a bit, and reclusive.

Elizabeth Monroe is sent to Whitehorn, an investigative reporter, to run a story on the kidnapping [or disappearance of] little Jennifer McCallum.

Jonas doesn't want anything to do with any reporters, they will just try to dig up his past. Well here we have another secret.

Clint Calloway is one of the police detectives of Whitehorn. He has been given the case of the missing child. [can I slip in here that he is one of Jeremiah Kincaid's illigitamate children?]
Elizabeth found this out when she "borrowed" some journals from the library. They were written by Jeremiah's first wife.

Finally the DNA came back on the woman that was killed in Nick Dean's truck explosion. Marie March was 24 and possibly coming back for her child, Jennifer. DNA also proved the little girl was Jeremiah's child.

How had little Jennifer disappeared from the library at or soon after Mary Jo Kincaid's story-telling time? No one saw a thing.
Mary Jo had to contend with all the questions that Elizabeth was asking and stirring up curiosity of the Whitehorn inhabitants.

Of course the big problem between Jonas and Elizabeth [after she moved in with him] was their attraction [yup! into bed they hopped] and his distrust of her. [dingbats can't control their hormones].