Western Books

The I Ching (pronounced "yi jing"; it means "Book of Changes") is an ancient Chinese divinatory oracle, as well as a classic account of the philosophy of ancient China. The text contains 64 different "situations", each represented by a figure of six lines (called "hexagrams"). The trigrams making up the hexagram can be either Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, or Earth. A question can be directed to the I Ching by the consultant, and an appropriate hexagram is derived either from the method described in this book (flipping coins) or through the traditional method of casting yarrow stalks. The hexagram is considered to be appropriate to your current situtation and suggests advice on the course of action that you should take. On its own, the I Ching is interesting, though somewhat archaic and obscure if you are trying to really gain a deeper insight into its meanings. Many other commentaries on the I Ching are also available (I recommend Carol K. Anthony's "A Guide to the I Ching", as well), but I find R. G. H. Siu's book particularly enjoyable.

Unlike many other I Ching commentaries, "The Portable Dragon" can either be used for further explanation for using the I Ching as an oracle or read (with great interest) from beginning to end. The full, translated text of each portion of the I Ching hexagrams are given, along with passages from literature relating to the concept involved. Poetry and prose from all around the world is included to better illustrate the examples of each situation. A variety of authors, from well-known to fairly unknown, are represented nicely in this collection. In "The Portable Dragon", even someone who isn't planning to use the I Ching as an oracle can gain a lot of insight on philosophy and simply enjoy good literature.

This book deserves all the praise it has received elsewhere. While the basic pattern or cycles involved are based on the format of the classical Yi Ching, it was a stroke of genius to 'flesh out' the various archetypal situations depicted in the line-texts, with quotations drawn from the world's literature (most reviewers have stressed 'Western' literature, but in fact,
many quotations are drawn from 'ethnic' sources (e.g. Chinese, African, Eskimoo etc. - in English translation).

Initially, I was disappointed with this book - after acquiring the Ist ed. years ago. A review had led me to believe that it was an anthology of Yi-Ching studies/commentaries, leaving me shocked to discover otherwise - a plethora of quotations - drawn from sources spanning many cultures, many centuries. As befits all oracles (usum ad delphi)the original Chinese text mostly rules out once-and-for-all, black and white definitions. The few exceptions being where and when a single 'yes' or 'no' type answer suffices. But by and large, the terseness of the Chinese text survives translation - leaving an open-ended spread of semantic possibilities - without which the intuition cannot come into play. Still, short of writing in a stilted 'pidgin' Chinglish, translating the Chinese glyphs into English (or any other Western language) necessarily involves making a choice of syntax, with tenses not there in the original. The Chinese text has a compression rather like newspaper headlines, or even an encrypted code. So, from that point of view, reducing any given line text to a black and white definition, has its price.

Be that as it may, R.G. Siu is a wonderful soul. He searched the very heart of humanity - in all its richness, triumph and tragedy - and 'just-so-ness' - when selecting his quotations, obviously a labour of love. Many, many times, I have found myself deeply moved - by the appropriateness of the quotations he has 'matched' with the Chinese line texts, resonating in real life situations - the very diversity of the sources increasing my sense of being a man among mankind, reminding me that others have known the same joys and woes, painful decisions, or even the fact that the only thing to do. . .is to wait, and let life itself produce the 'answer' to seemingly intractable situations. In fact, many of those quotations have embedded themselves in my unconscious mind, and - rather like seeds, they have re-activated themselves, speaking to me - without consulting the 'Yi' at all, which is most remarkable.

Nobody has written (or should we say 'composed') another book like it, and nobody ever will. It was a 'one-off' - a flash of inspiration, something about the 'New World' - what happens when a Chinese-American scientist with Taoist feeling and imagination finds himself looking at the Yi Ching in a 'melting pot' culture. Ten thousand people could have endeavoured to do the same thing - without the same success. The outcome could have been a hope-lessly disjointed project, but Ralph Liu's genius fused it with life - and feeling. There is something about the Chinese text and its glyphs, which has a beauty of its own. But in many cases, the nuance of some lines is not clear, minus insight into the Chinese background. Liu's text transposes these archetypal situations to a truly universal context and amplifies them in unexpected ways.A most remarkable book, by a remarkable author.

EXCELLENT BOOK, WORTHWHILE READING. PICK AND CHOOSE SECTIONSTO READ AND REMEMBER. I RECOMMEND VERY HIGHLY.

An enlightening look into eastern philosophy, through the eyes and voices of the most famous western philosophers, politicains, rebels, poets, bards, playwrites, martyrs, & fools. A journey all should take. Every page reveals words an philosophies to live by, some obvious, some a tangled maze of stories and morals. Learn from it , and then throw it away and LIVE!

This extremely well read editor has substituted mostly Western literature for the exegesis of the lines. Like in the original, these new texts are provided as mirror on which to reflect your question and search yourself for an answer, but with Western content in a Western context. This is a very avant-garde take on the I Ching. I have used it with other commentaries of the I Ching and have found there to be insight in the literature chosen to represent the line's meaning.

It is also a fine collection of literary snippets from a variety of authors you couldn't hope to read in this lifetime, except in this format. They are truly pithy sayings, in the truest sense of that word. It is very similar in content to The Practical Cogitator, but The Dragon is much more playful. Great for reading on the can, almost as good as those little space fillers in the old New Yorker.

I read a lot of westerns but I enjoyed this one the most! I laughted and laughted as a goverment that hasn't changed in all these years tries to steal the indians land, push a railroad down their throats and fight as dirty as anyone on earth. Reminds me of the goverment we still have today!

I loved this book! Will be looking for the movie. want one of those Catahoula cur dogs too!

This is the kind of western I always look for but hardly ever find. Ralph Cotton tells it like it is when it comes to the government and what they did to the sioux indians. Once I started reading it and seeing the war from both sides, I realized this was no ordinary western. Sometimes the language is a little strong but that's easy to overlook for a person who enjoys real life like stories

I didn't think another western could top While Angels Dance, but Powder River does. It is more like watching a Sam Peckinpaw movie than reading a book. Cotton is one heck of a writer with a lot to say. These are the kind of westerns that I've been looking for

After reading Cotton's first book I couldn't imagine another one being that good. But Powder River even tops the first one. It's more like watching a Sam Peckinpaw movie than reading a book. Finally, a western writer with something worth saying

When I read Cotton's first Jeston Nash novel, I thought it was the best non-Louis Lamour western I'd ever read. Powder River's content is less graphic than his first, and even more entertaining. One almost begins to feel sorry for Jeston; but luckily the misanthrope manages to let his true greedy nature show through. The two anti-heroes (Jeston Nash and Quiet Jack) are the biggest thing to stagger out of the west since US Grant!

It's impossible for us today to imagine what a frightening proposition it must've been in the mid-19th century to sell your eastern farm or business and prepare to head west to start a new life. Maps were unreliable, distances were staggering, and stories about wild animals and Indians sobering. It wasn't quite like stepping off the edge of the world, but it probably seemed like it to many greenhorns.

So in 1859, Captain Randolph Marcy, under orders from the Department of War, wrote The Prairie Traveler. Marcy, who would later serve as a Brigadier in the Civil War, was an accomplished traveler in the west, and his guidebook was packed with useful information for the determined but inexperienced pioneer taking either the northern overland trail to Oregon or the southern Sante Fe one to California.

The book is great reading--and, not infrequently, helpful even today for the camper when it comes to advice about improvising shelter or lighting a fire from damp wood. For the mid-19th century reader, it provides essential tips on provisions, wagon-packing and animal-care, first aid (large doses of whiskey are the best remedy for rattlesnake bite), identifying good water (alkaline ponds are surrounded by yellow-reddish grass), improvisation (red willow bark is a good substitute for tobacco), collapsible camp furniture, and gun safety. The food section is especially interesting. Marcy recommends carrying lots of dried vegetables (one ounce of dry vegetables, when wettened, equals an entire ration), "cold flour," a concoction of flour, cinammon, and sugar which, when mixed with a bit of water, provides a pick-me-up (not unlike today's energy bar), and jerked meat (no need for salt; the prairie sun will dry buffalo strips in short order). He also provides a rather gruesome recipe for pemmican (powdered buffalo meat saturated in raw buffalo fat, sown up in a hide bag with the hair turned outwards).

Marcy distrusts and indeed actively dislikes Plains Indians, although he admires Delawares and Shawnees, and writes quite warmly of a Delaware friend of his named Black Beaver. So he spends a fair number of pages warning prairie travelers to be wary of approaching Indians. To better prepare them, he teaches the rudiments of sign language, teaches how to track Indians (scattered mustang manure rather than whole mustang manure indicates Indians on the move rather than just a wild mustang herd), and gives detailed instructions on how to sleep with cocked and primed rifles. It never seems to occur to Marcy that Plains Indians were a diverse group, or that their animosity might've had more to do with the white pioneers' presence than with the natural meanness he attributes to them.

A fascinating read!

Read this book and you will view things a bit differently on your next drive. As you effortlessly drive across a bridge over a river at 65 MPH, your thoughts may well travel back to Captain Marcy's advice on how to cross a river with wagons pulled by mule-team.

This book is essential to any author, movie director or Living Historian who wants to "get it right". THE PRAIRIE TRAVELER is chock-full of information about overland travel in the mid-19th century, and covers almost any possible, practical, useful subject related to wilderness travel. Although it is written in 1850's American English, it is actually a fairly easy read with very little "culture shock".

For those of you with the cerebral agility to remove the mental straight-jacket of "Political Correctness", THE PRAIRIE TRAVELER will accurately picture the Frontier society as it existed at the time. It was a very good society in most ways, with the limitations that 19th century people were born into and educated with. Those pioneers did advance themselves, bit-by-bit, away from the limitations they were born into, and the result is the 21st Century America we live in today. We stand on their shoulders, advanced as far as we are today, because of the small advances they made in their generation.

A 21st century man condemning a 19th century man for being the product of his times reflects the mental and educational limitations of the 21st century man.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and bought some for friends who like history. The reading is easy, though you will find a dictionary helpful with some of the archaic words. I have relatives who crossed the prairie in 1848 to California; I have a much better understanding of what the trip must've been like.
For those who love American history, esp. the old west I highly recommend this book

A good insight into the mind of an inhabitant of the new world in the 1800s. Very unpolitically correct to the point of being amusing (section on 'Indians'). I read this book on a long camping tour and liked in a lot. There are some sections that are more like lists, and arenot as interesting, but you can skip over them.

A fascinating assemblage of facts and information for the overland emigrant of the mid-1800's to successfully complete the long, arduous journey to the west coast. Captain Marcy includes everything one can possibly imagine: from types of wagons, livestock, food, provisions and medicines to fording rivers, selection of campsites, types of saddles, packing, tracking, guides, guards, etc. and habits of Indians. The itineraries at the end of the book detail the mileages, availability of water, grass, wood, road conditions, etc. along several different routes to the Pacific. With our many modern day conveniencies traveling across the country, we tend to dismiss the hardships and sacrifices our pioneers endured while traversing the continent. This little book puts it all into focus.

Hey, this is one great story! Rule Cordell is a fascinating character, one I hope we get to read more about in future books by Cotton Smith. It captures the agony of the end of the Civil War in a way that is as moving as Cold Mountain. No lie! Powerful stuff. I wanted it to go on and on.

This was a very moving book! There is so much change on many levels. I didn't want to put it down! If you need a good Christmas or birthday gift idea - here it is!

This book hit me hard. I'n not a "western" fan as such, but this was recommended to me by a friend, who had read it three times already. You shouldn't miss it! I hope there's another Rule Cordell book in Cooton Smith -- or two!

Pray for Texas was excellent...from the colorful characters to the fast-paced storyline. I was riveted! I would recommend this book to anyone --western buffs or not!

I really enjoyed Pray For Texas adn thought the writing was as good as, if not better than "Cold Mountain" and "War to Live on." The characters in this book will stay with you and you may not feel the same way about the Civil War again. Quite a feat of writing. Looking forward to the next book from Mr. Smith

I have received the item in a good condition. Else, product features were available as mentioned on website. This is for the first time I have dealt with Amazon people and I find it worth dealing in future also. Regards, Pranav Darji.

James has been rightly credited as the father of Psychology, and this was the work that launched psychology into a field of its own. When it came out some 100 years ago, The Principles was criticized as "un-systematic." James would have taken this as a compliment. It is exactly because this book is not an elaborately contrived system that it remains fresh as a morning flower. Full of details and insight, it is perhaps the most epic and insightful psychological work every produced. That said, The Principles doesn't quite stay within the bounds of psychology. As you will see from the citations (which are voluminous), James was also well read in the humanities, from abstruse philosophy to literary fiction. But then, James was living in a time when Philosophy and Psychology were not distinct disciplines. Not a problem if you enjoy philosophizing. For its breadth, scope and penetrating insights, this book might never grow stale.

This book is a beautiful classic. James is unafraid to tackle the perplexing questions about consciousness. He is also unencumbered by simplistic theoretical assumptions or restrictive definitions of science, but he holds to a high standard of clarity and steers for the truth.

This book is a brilliant catalogue of the phenomena that must be explained by the various brain and psychological sciences. While the behaviorist movement that came after James led to important advances in scientific method, in terms of objectively establishing empirical results, it also led to a massive denial of mental phenomena that cannot at present be explained purely in mechanical or behaviorial terms. Because subsequent generations have denied the phenomena, or written them off as "illusions" or "folk psychology," as is still common today, this book is a precious trove of unbiased insights about the mind.

I would thus agree with the other reviewers that this is a great book. However, while they seem to claim James for functionalism, (which is I think the dominant framework for understanding mind in contemporary cognitive science--holding that implementing certain functions such as self-representation and planning, are what makes a system conscious, no matter what it's made out of) I suggest that much of James' critique of what he calls the "mind-stuff theory" and the "associationists" is equally devastating to what is now called functionalism. For example, people still talk about patterns of brain actvity as if they had objective, ontological reality. But we can completely describe the brain at the level of molecules without reference to patterns, so the pattern is not an intrinsic, necessary way of interpreting the activity of the physical brain system. Similarly, having the idea of A and the idea of B does not imply having the idea of A+B. James makes this basic point in multiple ways in his book. It seems more or less equivalent to the point articulated in recent times by John Searle, that "any physical process you might find is computational only relative to some interpretation," ie some observer (in "The Mystery of Consciousness" p.16). When expressed in Searle's modern language, it is more clear why the distinction between real objective properties of a system and its extrinsic observer-dependent properties, is a big problem for contemporary functionalism.

In any case, I highly recommend this book to any serious student of psychology. It's not for boneing up for psych exams or grant proposals, but for patiently ruminating on and savoring.

This 1400-page work in two volumes, published in 1890, is probably the best single survey of psychology ever written.

The work is of imposing size, but James covers such a wide field, so thoroughly and so engagingly, that to my own surprise I read both volumes cover to cover, back to back. The two volumes comprise 28 chapters, including "The Functions of the Brain", "Habit", "The Stream of Thought", "Attention", "Association", "Memory", "Imagination", "The Perception of Reality", "Reasoning", and "Will"--to name just a few that I found the most fascinating.

James's reasoning is sharp and subtle, his writing clear and vigorous. The qualities of his own mind, which come through in the prose, are astonishing: he is both skeptical and open-minded, deeply versed in the existing literature, and an original and fearless thinker. He must have been a fantastic prof.

I was a little afraid that the age of the book would make it antique, with fusty 19th-century notions that have long since been disproved. Not a bit! With few exceptions, the material is as fresh and relevant today as it was in 1890. Even the material on brain physiology and function, an area where the 20th century can claim to have made some progress, was sharp, perceptive, and interesting.

The advent of Freud, Pavlov, and others in the 20th century seemed to push certain theoretical ideas about the mind to the forefront, putting other, older ideas in the shade. My prejudice was that they had made 19th-century psychology irrelevant. I was wrong. There were many able minds studying psychology long before Freud, and their findings and views are well worth knowing. Among other things, James's book is a treasure-trove of psychological thinking up to the time of his writing, including many extracts by other researchers, both those he admires and those he is critical or dismissive of.

James, of course, was not merely a psychologist; he was also a philosopher. If I had to give a single reason why I think this book is excellent, it would be that James fearlessly tackles questions lying at the boundary of what today are seen as distinct disciplines. Here you'll find penetrating, persuasive insights into the nature of reasoning, logic, and the will, as well as the origin of aesthetic and moral ideas. James is as thoroughly versed in the works and ideas of Kant, Hume, Berkeley, Locke, and Mill as he is in those of his fellow psychologists. He confronts the thinking of the greatest minds with complete confidence, using his laserlike intellect to discover their obscurities and contradictions. He is their peer.

At the same time, James is humane and folksy in his style, often making references to his own experience, domestic life, and the little experiments he often performed on himself or his students. He writes with candor, humanity, and honesty. Time and again he comes to conclusions or makes observations that cut to the core of human experience altogether.

Technically this is a textbook surveying psychology, probably for a first-year introductory course. It bears almost no resemblance to the dry, cautious tomes that usually fill that role. It is an impassioned work by a learned, deep, and original mind explaining his own conclusions on this vast and elusive topic, based on long study, experiment, and careful thought. It is one of a kind. If you're interested in the human mind, this book is for you.

Why would anyone want to read a book about psychology that was first published 113 years
ago? One answer is the rationale for reading any psychology book: that it
provides insights into psychological issues not available elsewhere. Although
many psychologists of the late 19th and early 20th century probably started their career by
reading this book, it is not appropriate today as an introduction to psychology. Too
many of James's viewpoints are antiquated, and his facts, outdated or incorrect. Neither
is it the book to read if you are looking for contemporary psychological views
or a compilation of psychological knowledge. Recent textbooks are better for these purposes.
Yet, the word most frequently used to describe James's Principles of Psychology
is probably 'monumental' and rightly so because not only is this a lengthy work (~1400pgs),
but it also is the culmination of a long line of philosophical thinking about the Soul,
Self, Mind, Matter, and related topics that began with the pre-Socratic Greeks
and continued through the 19th century, when positivist philosophers and experimentalists
began to explore psychologically relevant philosophical questions in more concrete terms,
invoking a scientific method and rejecting metaphysics. At the end of the 19th century, a
seeming riot of discussion about the meaning of life, the nature of consciousness, mind,
ego, evolution, and related subjects dominated the scientific and popular culture.

At this point in history, William James, an American trained as a physician and employed
as a Harvard professor, examines the various philosophies of the previous two millenia, picking
out those aspects relevant to psychology, comparing and sorting them to reveal their value
as unambiguous theories that might be tested by research, and reflecting on how the evidence
stacks up in their favor. He also advances his own, original conceptions on various issues.
His work is not the first to collect speculation and evidence into a coherent
psychology, and there are many previous works with "Psychology" in their titles,
but James's efforts would galvanize an American discipline of psychological science that
would eventually become a dominant intellectual force.

James defines psychology as the "Science of Mental Life" and describes the
stream of consciousness as "the ultimate fact for psychology." Out of his viewpoint,
the school of functionalism in psychology developed, where the mind is conceived as a
useful organ that evolves according to natural selection and grows according
to discoverable rules. His orientation towards physiological and behavioral data
eventually diminished the then dominant psychological
method of introspection that James himself uses so frequently with great effect.
Subsequent viewpoints in psychology, such as behaviorism, though taking part of their
inspiration from functionalism, reject James's definition of psychology, so that
by the end of the 20th century, most psychologists with an empirical orientation may
call themselves "behavioral scientists," but certainly not "mental scientists."

Reading this book can be disconcerting, perhaps because of his period style or
Victorian sensibilities, or the frequent, unglossed short quotes and phrases in German, French,
and Latin because he assumes the reader has at least these minimal language skills.
Perhaps also, it is because James is not only conversant with the giants of philosophy
and experimental technique who preceeded him, but seemingly, with virtually every
published sentence to date bearing on the subjects of concern, and in veritable fractal detail,
producing a tour de force in erudition. His is not the style of current psychology
journals and textbooks, but fortunately he does translate into English many long passages
he quotes from their original sources. Yet possibly the most disconcerting aspects
are the subjects that James raises in this book.

The new mainstream psychology after James rejects many topics as unsuitable - even for
discussion - that figure prominently in the intellectual history of philosophy
and psychology. James's view that the concept of Soul should be eliminated in
scientific works is one point on which later psychologists heartily agree, but they
also, to a large extent, throw out other concepts of central concern to James, such as
mind, emotion, will, and feeling. Rare pleas by scholars
with varying backgrounds (e.g., Ornstein, Tomkins) urge students of psychology to
revisit issues discussed by James and address the larger questions contained therein, but
such exhorations echo mostly in halls of learning emptied by Vita enhancement pressures.
Renewal of interest reappears lately for some of the suppressed topics, cast into such areas as
cognitive psychology or emotion theory, but James's idea that the mind is a core
concept remains foreign to virtually all contemporary psychologists, and much of his
emphasis seems uncomfortable from today's viewpoint.

The reluctance among psychologists to embrace such philosophical and scientific issues
concerning the mind is remarkably not shared by some physicists, mathematicians,
biologists, computer scientists, and other scientists who in recent works have implied
that psychologists may be irrelevant to elucidating such issues, if not muddle-headed,
scientific dwarfs. This twist is ironic because psychologists restrict their
vocabulary and investigations partly to ape their conception of these "hard-core" sciences.
It is not clear whether psychology will survive the choices that psychologists have
made about their subject matter, or whether psychology departments will inevitably be
diced and parsed into their appropriate slots in departments of computer science, biology,
medicine, statistics, and physics, but certainly, the end of psychology is nearer if
tomorrow's students of psychology fail to study James's Principles of Psychology.

James's work is the jumping off point for much of what forms 20th century psychology:
habit, association, attention, memory, imagination, object and space perception, etc.
His thoughts about emotion, feelings, the self, consciousness, and other topics remain important
for today's theoretical views. On the other hand, this work predates psychoanalysis
and does not include an organized account of abnormal psychology, human communication,
and other topics raised in most elementary surveys of psychology. The context in which
James puts scientific psychology is probably the most important lesson of this book.
The Dover edition is unabridged, the only form of this work that should be
considered by the serious reader.

Readers lacking a sense of irony may be dismayed to discover that the Real Wild West was only loosely hitched to reality. Spurred by the imaginations of Charles Miller and his three sons, our perception of what is the west sports the distinct brand of the 101. Take heart, though, because on the Miller Brothers' 101, the west was most certainly wild.

Possibly outlaws and certainly mavericks, the Millers rounded up some legendary talent to work their ranch and perform in their touring shows. The 101 herd of entertainers included Geronimo, Will Rogers, champion cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, Annie Oakley rival Princess Wenona, and such film legends as Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Yakima Canutt and Hoot Gibson. Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, famed for inventing the rodeo event steer wrestling spent a long career at the 101, and Buffalo Bill Cody spent his final year with the outfit.

While tooling a longstanding image of the west with their Wild West productions, the Millers also saddled up to motion pictures, oil production and an outstanding crop and livestock operation. Their story is a rodeo itself, made all the more interesting by the hints that white hats did not cover the heads of all of the 101 cowboys and cowgirls.

When the last little doggie was wrangled on the 101, the Miller Brothers' legacy did not ride off into the sunset, but continues to stampede through the dreams of would-be cowpokes everywhere. I'm not a regular patron of movie theatres, but I cannot wait until this saga makes it to the big screen!

This book goes a long way in explaining why there was so much written about the Wild West and why so much embellishment took place.Throughout history there has been all kinds of spins put on the people involved and what really occurred.Why would anyone expect anything different during the expansion of the West,particularly after the Civil War? In dramatic times of history,be it the Wild West,WW2,Crime in Chicago etc.people are craving for an understanding of events as well entertainment,and that is what we are given by the writers and the media.
Personally,I enjoy both the factual as well as the fictional
aspect of these times.
One character who often appears in books is Ned Buntline.He was a real person by the name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson,and this book does a pretty good job of telling us who he was and some of the things he did.Somebody must have written a book on him;it would be a good read.

This book was a welcome source of information on the Carson & Miller families whose genealogy I have been researching. Michael Wallace did an excellent job of getting his historical facts straight and offered some additional resources for my search for family history.

The easy style presented an engrossing story of a family moving through history from the 1850's to the 1930's and adjusting (not always easily) to the changing moores of society.

My father was a cousin of the Miller Bros. and told us children stories of his childhood in Oklahoma and attending the shows at the 101. My sister & I recently visited the old 101 ranch site and were sad to see that little is left. The Miller house in Winfield, Kansas is still standing in beautiful condition and is a private residence.

Michael Wallace is an excellent storyteller. The book gave life to my genealogy and made me feel in touch with the characters and the times. Anyone with an interest in western history would enjoy this story of a dynamic family who helped shape our images of the old west.

One terrific book -- a majestic recreation of the figures that helped define the old west and western entertainment.

If you like history and the stories of the old west, buy this book. I really enjoyed it.

I read this book because it was highly recommended. I am glad I read it. It was easy to read, easy to follow; it had great character development, great detail. Just when I thought I knew how it was all going to end -- nope, it took a turn I wasn't expecting. Congratulations to the author! I hope he considers writing more.

Workin with him for quite a few years, I'd been hearin about this book from Snork (Steve From) for a long time, and when he finally got published I couldn't wait to read it. This is one book that once I picked it up, I counldn't put it down. Not just a great story of the rodeo circuit, but a book that will have everyone-young or old, from the country to the city-holdin on for the next ride. The Reincarnation of Bennett McKinney will make you laugh, cry, and waitin on the best. The movie's gonna be great! Waitin on book 2.

This coming from someone who never reads this type of book, but got it on a high-recommendation, it is simply wonderful. The narrative makes you feel like you there, description are colourful and the story itself keeps you hooked. When is the next Reincarnation???

America got a new star! So I think about Steve From. Kind and wise book. Thank you!

My husband brought home a book that one of his counter parts at work had written about Bennent Mckinney. I picked the book up thinking I would read it as long as it held my attention. To my pleasure and surprise this book written by Steven From was very entertaining. He had me laughing and swearing in the first couple of chapters. I'm not really what you would call a cowgril and most generally read romance with some supense. But like I said , I thought I would read until I became tired of it. The book was very well written and kept me turning the pages to see what would take place next. I liked it because it was written on a cowboys point of view, and it let you into the mind of the cowboy for a better understanding why they do what they do. I came away with repect for the bullrider and the bullfighter. Can't wait for the movie. Teresa Laflan

Beth Williamson's Malloy Family series takes a bit of a detour in this third instalment as we follow Nicky Malloy's favorite bandito, Hermano. Homesick and lonesome, he decides that 15 years of rough living have taken their toll and that now is the time to revert to his real name, Malcolm, and to return home to make peace with his father. Dad's ineffectual parenting had left Malcolm at the mercy of his virago of a stepmother, and her no-good son, Malcolm's sadistic half-brother, Damasco.

Meanwhile, Malcolm's childhood friend, Leigh is also finding life to be no bed of roses. Having taken control of her late husband's ranch, she continually has to ward off Damasco's unwanted attentions, certain in the knowledge that he is responsible for the loss of her cattle, leading her toward financial ruin.

I must admit to being a little apprehensive at the thought of reading a book largely about Hermano/Malcolm. His previous appearances in this series had not left me enamored, mainly, and this is not a criticism of the author but rather my own lack of forbearance, because of the repetitive utterances of Spanish words and phrases that litter his speech and thoughts. I suppose several years posing as a Mexican bandit is difficult to shake off. He accidentally loses his accent a couple of times in front of Nicky's husband. I just wish he'd lost it entirely for the start of this novel.

The romantic aspect is handled neatly and, as she has done in previous titles in this series, Beth Williamson employs the effective device of rapidly changing the point of view of the leading characters so that both male and female perspectives are explored. The erotic content is sizzling hot. My only complaint is that there was not more. This novel also boasts the sexiest cover of the seven in the series: half-naked girl, hand and arm coyly placed over her breasts while in the foreground, a cowboy's hand is ready to grab his gun. Nice!

Although this novel appears in the Malloy Family series, I did wonder if it really belonged here as opposed to being a stand-alone novel. However, various Malloys appear in the proceedings and Malcolm's close friendship with Nicky Malloy places him, as she says, as part of the family. The importance of family, blood tied or not, is this story's constant refrain.

This is another highly entertaining read from Beth Williamson. It's more serious in tone than the first two books in the series. The Bounty (Malloy Family, Book 1) and The Prize (Malloy Family, Book 2) had more humorous situations in their stories. Nevertheless, `The Reward' is an enthralling and spicy tale.

Hermano has spent the last 15 years running from who he is and where his roots are. It is now time for him to return home. The outlaw Hermano is actually Malcolm Ross y Zarza, the illegitimate son of a Spanish rancher and his Scottish cook. Malcolm had to leave his home, Rancho Zarza, fifteen years ago in order to escape his father's vindictive wife and her gopher, his half brother Damasco. Figuring it is time to exercise his demons, Hermano/Malcolm heads towards home to find his mother and have it out with his father. It is also time to claim Leigh Wynne, the woman he loves; the woman he left behind.

Cattle rustlers, thieves, and other parties wishing her ill are slowly driving Widow Leigh Wynne O'Reilly bankrupt. Almost at her wits end, Leigh notices a new ranch hand. Malcolm, the only man she has ever loved, is back after 15 years! Leigh welcomes him back with open arms. She enlists his help with her ranch and to find out who is behind the attacks. What they find changes their relationship and lives.

With Leigh and Malcolm working as a team, things come a head and an all out range war is imminent. Will they be able to handle the fight on their own or does Leigh have something, or rather a certain family up her sleeve?

The Reward by Beth Williamson is the story of Hermano/Malcolm, Nicky Malloy's outlaw friend from the two prior Malloy family novels, The Bounty and The Prize. Thrilled beyond words that Malcolm had his own story, I was not disappointed. Lovable as an outlaw, Malcolm is scorching hot as Leigh's lover and protector. Leigh's character was strong yet tender and I adored how Malcolm loved her.

As the third book of the Malloy Family series, The Reward truly delivers. I finished The Reward with a happy heart for a story well told. I can't wait for The Treasure, the next book about this wonderful Malloy Family!

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read the entire series and loved each and every book. Not the most erotic - true - BUT some very HOT spots and lots of wonderful dialogue and family interaction. I would recommend this series to anyone looking for true 'calgon take me away' reads.

ALL THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES ARE WONDERFUL, WICKED AND WANTON. THEY ARE GREAT READS.

Hermano was born as Malcolm Ross y Zarza. An incident fifteen years earlier had forced him to leave his home and everything that he treasured. Roja made Hermano realize the importance of family and so he's returning home with the desire to see his mother that he hasn't contacted since he left Millerton and the Zarza ranch.

Leigh Wynne O'Reily took over her husband's ranch after his death two years earlier. She's been plagued with incidents, accidents, and unexplainable events that threaten to ruin her and the ranch. Amidst all her frustration she wishes for the friend she's missed over the past 15 years. Malcolm had been her best friend and her first and only love. Her husband, Sean, had been a friend, a friend who'd married her in order to protect her, but they'd never loved each other.

Hermano snuck out of the Calhoun's home. Nicky, the sister of his heart whom he affectionately calls Roja convinced him of the importance of family and he can see by watching hers just how important they all our to each other. Longing for his home and mother that he hadn't seen in fifteen years, Hermano is going home to Texas, besides, Wyoming is just too cold. It isn't until two days later that Nicky's husband, Tyler catches up with him. Nicky sent him out with a saddlebag full of the things he would need plus a few extras. Tyler is a bounty hunter and he's picked up on Hermano's slip ups in his speech when he's accidentally "lost" his accent. Before the two men part to head their separate ways, Tyler wheedles Hermano's real name and destination out of him.

Leigh inherited the Circle O ranch when her husband, Sean died. She has a fierce pride in owning the ranch and had angered neighbors and even a few ranch hands by treading where few women would dare to tread. Leigh isn't like most women. In addition to the normal risks associated with running a ranch, somebody is obviously trying to scare her or force her into bankruptcy. While enduring the goings on and trying to keep going, Leigh dreams of Malcolm, even though she hasn't seen him in fifteen years. She's tired of having to be so strong all the time and wants her friend back to lean on, like they did when they were children. It isn't until Malcolm arrives on her ranch as a drover looking for work that Leigh finds out her old friend is back, and Malcolm realizes his cover as Hermano is blown when he realizes that not only is the boss of the Circle O ranch a woman, but she's also his childhood friend, Leigh, and she knows who he is regardless of what name he goes by now. Can the childhood friends reunite and vanquish the trouble on Leigh's ranch? And maybe find a little happiness in one another . . . Malcolm struggles hard to keep from claiming Leigh as his woman, will he succeed?

If you haven't been reading Beth Williamson's MALLOY FAMILY series, you've been missing out. Each story has been heartwarming and thrilling to read. The characters are larger than life, bold as brass, and women included fight for what they believe in. We first met Hermano in THE BOUNTY, I was intrigued by him then and loved the banter between Tyler and him, so of course, I was thrilled to see it continue throughout THE REWARD. Ms. Williamson brings Hermano's past and present together to allow us to see the development of this amazingly wonderful man and the woman he's loved since childhood. I'm really hoping there will be a fourth book to the series. Ray Malloy needs a wife and mother for his daughter and if there's a man that deserves a good woman than this man is definitely deserving.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

I came across this book recently;but I almost passed it up.It was buried among a bunch of general fiction and I must admit the title didn't jump out at me as a Western.Then ,I next noticed the the cover of three western riders on horses ,looking out over a wide expanse of country.I was admiring the artwork ,when all of a sudden, the name Peter Brandvold caught my attention.Well,that was it;I've read a few of his other novels and found them excellent;so I picked it up.
I noticed that this novel was published in January 2001 ,it was a First Edition, hard cover.What an unexpected find!
Not too much point in repeating the jist of the story as others have already covered that pretty well.
The book is an excellent saga,full of great Old West characters,and jam packed with exciting action.It does such a good job of describing the country around Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico,including the flora and fauna,and the sounds; that you get the feel of being right beside these Romantics as they go through all their experiences.Personally,it brought back some fond memories to me;who lives up north in Canada where deserts,cacti ,canyons,arroyos,and other desert things are limited to books and movies.However;a few years ago I spent 10 days birding the areas around Tuscon,,Tombstone, Nogales,Green River,Sierra Vista,Wilcox,Coronado National Park,Huachuca,Portal and all the back roads and canyons.So,since this is exactly where this story takes place,and since I experienced the many things Peter describes,I can assure you he has done an excellent job of recreating the atmosphere of the desert.The only thing that has changed is the people and the buildings;but even that,only in the built-up areas.
I was really taken by the title;what has Romantics and a Western got to do with one another? Well,you'll find out and agree that Peter has chosen a wonderful title.
Peter has a great ability for creating and developing characters and they appear in other novels.I don't know if Jack Cameron and Marina have already or will again show up in other stories;but it would be nice to hear from them again.
Don't let the fact that this book was published back in 2001,discourage you from reading it.This type of story is timeless and enjoyable as if it were just released.I also don't know if it was ever made into a movie or not,but it would make a really good one.
I really liked the artwork on the cover.Although the artist of a dust jacket is not usually shown;in this case it is.I checked and found he has a 'site' and he seems to do a lot of book covers.Although I like the drawing;I can only assume the girl is Marina,one man might be Cameron ,and who is the other? Also the terrain is more suggestive of plains rther than desert.Anyway; it definitely suggests "Romantics"
It is a little longer than most westerns at 350 pages and more akin to McMurtry's, Lonesome Dove or his more recent Berrybender Narratives.So,if you like a Western Saga as opposed to a short Shoot-Out novel;this will really entertain you.

Of all the western novels I've ever read, this one ranks right up there with the best. Action, adventure, suspense, violence, romance, a little sex, and hidden treasure. The author describes the beautiful, rugged scenery so well that I felt as though I were there. The story has it all, and I don't know what else I could ask for in a western tale.

The is the first Brandvold book I have read. I sure plan on reading many more. It is one of the best westerns I have read in a long time. It is a story of Jack Cameron and his sidekicks who have been hired by Adrain Clark and his wife, Marina Clark to find a hidden treasure. They are chased by Apachies, Mexican soldiers and Gaston Bachelard and his gang. There is a lot of action and the book will hold your attention. I think you will like Cameron's friends, Jimmy, the kid, Bud Hotchkiss, Tokente and She Bear. Cameron is very tough, good with a gun or knife. He also has his tender side. I found myself skimming pages to see what happened next. If you like fast paced westerns you will like this book.

Peter Brandvold develops the characters in this story of gold seekers, each looking for more than gold. From the opening stage holdup to the climactic scene in a cave, this adventure held my attention throughout the well-developed theme of what motivates people and how that motivation plays out in each personality. Brandvold uses the term "romantic" to describe how a person lives his life in hope. Cameron didn't believe in any lost treasures when he first ran into the other gold seekers. His friend Going told him "You've lost your sense of romance" (chapter 20). Later Going told Marina "Well, I guess we're just romantics" (chapter 30) since they both held out hope of a treasure. And at the end of the book the same idea surfaces. All in all, this is a great story. I wish it would be made into a movie.

I could not put this book down...Peter Brandvold brought me to the abandoned Jesuit chapel and I never left my chair. The scenes, the people, the descriptions, all told the gritty tale of treasure hunting in the Sierra Madres. The details of the guns, clothing, and landscape all put you right into the book with Jack Cameron. Thanks, Mr. Brandvold, for taking me to Mexico with you.

This and the others by this author are a fun and enjoyable read--highly recommend them and await more.

In his first novel, Time Trial, Derouin introduced his winsome police detective, David Dean, who was house-sitting in the Colorado mountains while recuperating from a gunshot wound he'd sustained back home in Pennsylvania. Since his peace and quiet was soon shattered by a parade of fascinating characters who dragged him into a plot involving an alleged time machine, you might have thought that as soon as that mystery was solved, Dean would have gone home to Pennsylvania and stayed there. But now, in San Juan Solution, here he is, back in those very same mountains. It seems that he liked the Colorado lifestyle so much, he's returned with his new wife, Cynthia, and his father-in-law, Fred O'Connor, to run a bed and breakfast in Ouray. That could easily have been the happy ending of Time Trial, but since it's the beginning of this new novel, we expect more trouble, and we get it. In fact, before Dean's establishment is officially open for business, his father-in-law has already registered two guests, one of whom quickly winds up dead. So even though Dean has retired from police work in Pennsylvania, there's no way that he can avoid becoming involved in this new adventure. Once again, Derouin's characters think fast and talk tough, and Fred O'Connor is as sharp and colorful an old geezer as you're likely to meet anywhere.

Derouin is also an Easterner who moved west, and his love of his new home is so evident in his careful descriptions of the mountains surrounding Ouray that the landscape itself almost becomes part of the plot. All in all, this second David Dean adventure is so lively and intriguing that someday I may have to leave my flatland Florida home and make a visit to Colorado. If I do, however, and someone invites me to take a ride on those winding mountain roads with their breathtaking dropoffs, I'm not going!

Retired east coast police detective, David Dean, is at it again-sleuthing, that is. This time he is accompanied by his beautiful new wife, Cynthia, together with an off-beat ensemble cast of characters led by irrepressible mystery fan, Fred O'Conner, Dean's stepfather. The Deans and O'Conner are the new proprietors of Bird Song, a bed and breakfast in the charming, Victorian town of Ouray, Colorado. When their first guest turns up murdered and the second is missing, David Dean is irrepressibly drawn into a scam that involves a wronged widow, suit-and-tied, pipsqueak attorney, tent-dwelling heir to a fortune and a net-surfing cook with a dog named Brutus. Oh, and a legacy of a hundred million bucks, give or take a million or so.

The reader is drawn into the tale, gently at first, then with increasing speed and complexity, much like riding a carnival carousel, where the painted horses whirl faster and faster. Newer, and more bizarre characters, pop out of the woods and the woodwork with increasing frequency. A crutch-toting, inebriated movie star moves into Bird Song's back bedroom. The widow's fake-French boytoy camps out nearby, waiting to start a new hustle with whichever legally recognized "daughter" gets the millions. And Bird Song fills up with lawyers, heirs and contestants to the will of a man who could not have fathered any of the daughters.

The setting is stunning. And, mystery author Ray Derouin, a part-time resident of Ouray and owner of a toy store there, presents the San Juan country well, giving it a sense of character nearly as strong as protagonist David Dean. "San Juan Solution" is fun read, with lots of action, zany characters and great scenery. It's a good book to curl up on the couch with on a snowy evening.

After fifteen years on the Parkside, Pennsylvania police force, Officer David Dean retires. Almost immediately after that, David marries Cynthia Byrne. With those two radical moves to jolt his equilibrium, David makes it a trio of lifestyle events when he, Cynthia, and his stepfather Fred O?Connor move to Ouray, Colorado where they plan to run Bird Song Bed and Breakfast.

Although the B&B is not ready yet for the public, Fred rents the room of David and Cynthia to a guest and his own room to a second guest. However, someone kills their first guest and their second guest expects to be the next victim. Though the cop can leave the police force, police work never leaves the cop and with a little nudging from Fred, David begins to investigate what happened to his guest.

The mystery of SAN JUAN SOLUTION is fun to watch as it unwinds like the mountain paths that the transplanted easterners trek. The lead trio is a hoot, especially Fred and his ability to manipulate everyone and the support cast provides either trouble or local color to the terrific tale. As with the first tale (see the delightfully wacky TIME TRIAL), R.E. Derouin?s novel pays homage to the Colorado Rockies. Readers will feel as if they are hiking the trail along side of David and Cynthia. Mr. Derouin is two for two with both of his Dean novels being outstanding and a ?tri-quel? needed for fans of the series.

Harriet Klausner

To me, trying to lay aside an unfinished David Dean mystery is like trying to eat just one homemake chocolate chip cookie. It can't be done. This is Ouray, Colorado author Ray Derouin's second mystery in what one can only hope will be another in a long series. For the reader not familiar with Derouin, suffice it to say he is no stranger to the written word. He has written twelve plays, all of which have won national awards. His first mystery, Time Trial: A Mountain Mystery, has garnered wide spread acclaim. Thus, it was with much delight and anticipation that I received San Juan Solution. I thought his first mystery was wonderful, and it was, but this latest offering is off the scale. The protagonist, ex-Pennsylvania police detective David Dean, is back with a new bride and his indispensable, unforgettable stepfather, Fred O'Connor. The setting is the incomparably beautiful Ouray, Colorado and the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. Dean, along with his wife and stepfather, have just opened a bed and breakfast, named Bird Song, and plan to enjoy a leisurely life far away from the crime ridden east coast. Unfortunately for the trio, but fortunately for the reader, Derouin's magic and diabolic mind begins to weave a story guaranteed to please the most avid mystery fan. It seems the first guest of Bird Song ends up alone at the bottom of a mountain side ravine in his car...strapped in the passenger seat. What happened to the driver? one might ask. What driver? A good question and, well, somewhat of a mystery. This, in the hands of Derouin, is reason enough to read on. However, it seems the second guest is missing and there is reason to believe her life might also be in danger. A coincidence you say? Perhaps, but the rapid arrival of a host of characters all making inquiries into the whereabouts of the two makes for spellbinding reading. Oh, did I mention the search for an heir to a fortune, which may explain some of these coincidences? This is vintage Derouin but better, much better, than anything he had done before. Having lived in the San Juan Mountain area of Colorado I can assure the reader that the setting is authentic. In addition, the characters are believeable and the writing style is first rate. It is not until the last few pages that the mystery(s) are solved and, in his wonderful style, the loose ends are tied into a honeymoon bouquet, so to speak. If you haven't met David Dean and friends, this is your best chance. It is a delightful book.