American West : twenty new stories from the Western Writers of America

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western. But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story's central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Takes the genre to new frontiers.”—The Boston Herald

“This is not simply an excellent collection about the West, each story is a haunting and powerful chapter in the creation of a nation.”—Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of the Anasazi series

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story’s central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.

“If I had to give a friend one book containing the best that today’s Western fiction has to offer, it would be American West.”—Mike Blakely, former president of the Western Writers of America and the Spur Award-winning author of Summer of Pearls

“A welcome addition to any Western collection.”—Booklist

KLIATT

Twenty stories from the Western Writers of America, including Loren D. Estleman, Max Evans, Don Coldsmith, and others, portray many varied characters. Some are based on true stories, like The Guardians, which tells of Indians who guarded the houses of white women while their men were gone to take wheat to a mill. One is about an 18-year-old who becomes a woman on her way west with her new husband. Another tells of the tribulations of a woman in the gold rush era and a female photographer known asMike whose subject is Sitting Bull. All characterize people of the West who were not as well known as the gunfighters and cattle ranchers. A fascinating look at the other West. Category: Short Stories. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Tor, Forge, 368p., $15.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Barbara Jo McKee; Libn/Media Dir., Streetsboro H.S., Stow, OH SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)

A Collection Of Twenty Stories By Various Authors That Take Place In The American West. The Snows Of August / Jory Sherman -- The Guardians / Don Coldsmith -- A Piano At Dead Man's Crossing / Johnny D. Boggs -- Traveling Princess / Lenore Carroll -- Requiem For Rosebud / Ken Hodgson -- Dead Game Man / Sally Zanjani -- The Heart Of The Matter / Max Evans -- River Watch / Lori Van Pelt -- Hewey And The Wagon Cook / Elmer Kelton -- A Woman 49er / Joann Levy -- The Living Land / Janet E. Graebner -- The Last Days Of Dominic Prince / Richard S. Wheeler -- The Two Trail Ride Tricksters / Riley Froh. Laureano's Wall / Mike Blakely -- Going Home Money / Judy Magnuson Lilly -- Thirteen Coils / Loren D. Estleman -- The Purification Of Jim Barnes / Troy D. Smith -- Mother George, Midwife / Patti Sherlock -- Dove's Song / Randy Lee Eickhoff -- Sepia Sun / Deborah Morgan. From The Western Writers Of America ; Edited With An Introduction By Loren D. Estleman. A Tom Doherty Associates Book. Stories of the American west from the oft-overlooked perspective of Native Americans, women, Hispanics, Asians, and Mormons place traditional genre elements of gunplay and gold strikes in a realistic context. A new collection of short fiction from members of the Western Writers of America offers a dramatic and stirring portrait of the American West and the colorful characters who transformed a nation. Reprint. Jory Sherman was a member of the San Francisco community of beat poets that included Jack Kerouac.