Montana Books

In 1886 Lindstrom, Minnesota, twenty-nine years old Lili Tornquist believes her life is over as her father is remarrying after fifteen years as a widower. The new spouse will take over the household that Lili has run for more than half of her life. When a letter comes from a distant cousin Gunnar Jorgeson asking Lili to marry him, she decides to accept and moves to his Montana sheep ranch.

Gunnar leaves claiming business almost upon Lili's arrival. However, she meets people coming through who stop for grub. This includes mine worker Tom Hawes and mine lawyer Charles Weatherby. When her marriage fails because he is "not manly" when it comes to women so will not make love to his new wife plus he has an alcohol problem, Lili moves to Butte. Charles and Tom, who has become a union organizer, court her while she works as a singer, the only work she can find. She likes both men, but she wonders if she loves either of them? If yes, she has to wonder if she will she consider marriage if either proposes following the shambles of her first marital endeavor.

SWEET GRASS is an engaging frontier romance that brings to life Big Sky country in a realistic manner to include pollution, strip mining, and unsafe working conditions. The story line vividly describes late nineteenth century Montana through the interactions of the ensemble cast. Though Gunnar never provides a strong rationale for why he asked Lili to marry him or how he knew so fast her change in status, readers will appreciate this colorful Americana tale.

Harriet Klausner

This book tells the tales of three sailing ships built in Newburyport, MA. From their begginings throughout their journeys, the reading takes one from New England around the world. Teaching about Newburyport history this book focuses on maritime history and the sailing of captians around the world for trade. A great first hand account of life at sea in the 19th century.

Bevis clearly presents both his own expertise on Western (specifically Montana-based) literature and the theories of the writers he presents. Reading this book will remind you of all the wonderful aspects of the books he analyzes and make you yearn to read those you haven't yet. Bevis is certain to present multiple opinions on a work, while still admitting his own preferences in a lyrical, charming fashion that surprisingly never seems to undermine his critical thoughts. The analysis of A River Runs Through It, one of my personal favorites, is refreshingly honest in its attack, even while the author unabashedly displays his own love of the work.

For those looking for modern commentary on the "sporting life" or a journey into the mind of men who have trouble with modern gender issues then this is a good place to start. McGuane seems to be trying to fill Hemingway's waders (particularly "In Our Time") with this collection; he certainly conveys a similar tone.

If you have a background in hunting and/or fishing then these stories will likely appeal to you. If not, there is still one story worth reading simply because it aptly demonstrates why we need to abandon the myth of the male who expresses no emotions for fear of showing his weakness.

Unfortunately it appears to be out of print but it is worth tracking down.

Truly, it depends on your what you are looking for in the hot springs area. It is great in terms of what you can find in Montana and Wyoming, less what is available at the Yellowstone National Park, which is a bit odd to read. In any case, it has an abundance of detail about what is outside the park both in Montana and Wyoming. If you are looking for something outside of Yellowstone National Park, I do highly suggest this book.

Having grown up in Butte Montana and being very familiar with Ms. Finns work, I cannot say enough about how valuable this book is in terms of telling the long-untold story of women in the mining community.

Her intense and thorough research is extraordinary and her heartfelt personal connection to the subjects she deals with make it an engrossing book. I recommend it to all who would understand the universal plight of women creating culture in a society which chose to largely ignore them - a society that could not have existed without them and their heroic efforts.

Like all the Sharp books, this one rocks! Nothing like a good, fast-paced read in the grand, old-west tradition.

While the Mann Gulch fire is only one chapter of this book, it was my main interest. Having read other accounts, it was nice to hear the voice of someone actually involved. Cooley writes well and in an enjoyable, straight-forward manner. I've enjoyed other books on this incident but this added something extra that I'm finding hard to describe. Other accounts of this incident include Noman MacLean's "Young Men and Fire" and "A Great Day to Fight Fire: Mann Gulch, 1949" by Mark Matthews.

Other chapters provide an enjoyable read as well for anyone interested in wildfire fighting and forest rangering in the mid-twentieth century.

Montana is indeed a state of extremes. Temperatures can go from seventy below to a hundred-and-ten in the shade. Montanans historically elect Republicans at home and send Democrats to Washington DC. Western Montana was built on mining and lumber. Eastern Montana was, and is, farming and cattle. K. Ross Toole also wrote "Montana: An Uncommon Land." Since their publication, every book on Montana references one or both of these two books.

True to his subtitle, Toole writes about matters of such scope that they polarized people, leading to tension and conflict. He talks about the boom and bust that drew homesteaders to the state and then drove them away. He portrays the strife between management and labor, as well as manager against manager, which lead to the "War of the Copper Kings." Montanans sent young men to the World Wars in record numbers and mounted an inquisition of unprecedented proportion wherever they sensed even a hint of disloyalty. Economic pressures created both millionaires and paupers. The combatants in these epic struggles furthered their positions by employing the press, the universities, and whatever else was at hand.

Each of these clashes had consequences reaching far beyond the borders of the state. Corporations such as Anaconda, Standard Oil, and most of the national railroads took part in the battles. Many of them emerged severly wounded. Politicians rose and fell. Fortunes were made and fortunes were lost. By shining a spotlight on the differences that made a difference, K. Toole has helped to clarify the forces that molded history.

Admittedly, "A State of Extremes" is dated and looks at Montana history from a restricted perspective. For a more balanced view of Montana history, you can turn to "Montana: A History of Two Centuries" by Malone, et al. However, do not deny yourself the pleasure of enjoying K. Ross Toole's books.

This is like an encyclopedia and a yellow pages of Yellowstone in one volume. The book definitely is getting space reserved in the car for the trip. There are better books for planning what sites to see, but this one has the best accumulation of information about the park.