In 1970, while wheelchair bound, estranged from his immediate family, and failing in health, Lyman Ward begins writing a novel based on the experiences of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward. His grandmother was a refined woman from New York, an artist and journalist who enjoyed high art and sophisticated society. She married Oliver Ward, a down-to-earth mining engineer whose work took them to California, Colorado, Mexico and Idaho in the late 19th century.

Susan Ward documented her life on the frontier through extensive letters and sketches. Lyman is a historian, but soon realizes his original intent to chronicle the history of his family is actually a novel about a portrait of a marriage. He explains his work to his son this way:

"What interests me in all these papers is not Susan Burling Ward, the novelist and illustrator, and not Oliver Ward the engineer, and not the West they spend their lives in. What really interests me is how two such unlike particles clung together, and under what strains, rolling downhill into their future until they reached the angle of repose where I knew them. That's where the interest is."

Years after I first read this book, I could still picture the locales; the muddy Colorado mining town, the heat and color of Mexico, and the dust and sagebrush of Idaho. Stegner based Susan Ward's letters on the real-life letters of Mary Hallock Foote, going as far as to quote lengthy passages from them in his novel. Combined with Stegner's careful prose, the result is a novel with an unforgettable sense of place. If you enjoy Elmer Kelton, Larry McMurtry, or John Steinbeck, try Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose.

Yes, it's poetry month once again. Ifquatrains, haiku, andfree versehave you crying in your coffee, tryTall Tales of the Wild Weston for size. The wild west is the setting for this collection of kids poems celebrating a great American tradition -- lying. And let me tell you, lying ain't easy! There's an art form to it.Even when I most expected to be duped, these poemsleft megrinning. Eric Ode has tapped into a long tradition of truth-stretching and exaggeration to tell the stories ofcolorful characters like Rusty Rose (who takes a bath but once a year -- to spare his poor horse the misery of his smell!); Mulligan Martinson Marley McGraw (the smallest cowboy in the West); and Isabelle Grady (chili cooker extraordinaire.) This is a place wherehorseflies get so big,upon getting swatted they reply with,"I've got an awful itch. Would you try that once more? This time to the left and higher."

Eric Ode is anauthor, songwriter, and poet. He lives in Sumner, Washington. His poems are great for all ages. Especially adults!

I fell in love with Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, her autobiography about growing up in Africa during the Rhodesian civil war. Fuller's talent lies in illustrating average human lives under extraordinary circumstances. "Like all westerns, this story is a tragedy before it even starts because there was never a way for anyone to win against all the odds out here."

Throughout high school, Colton was bullied and grew fiercely independent. He cultivated a tight-knit group of friends, and amused them with his endless energy and fearless determination. He was an avid sportsman, excelling in riding, hunting and fishing, and would shock his family with extreme tales of adventure mishaps. He seemed to thrive on close calls with nature's extremes.

Colton H. Bryant's family always worked in oil, and it was assumed he would follow in the tradition. Upon graduation from high school, Colton settled down with his new bride, and began to start his own family. Like most of the local breadwinners, he found work on an oil rig. It provided solid income, but was physically demanding and exhausting.

In 2006, Colton's life was cut short at the age of 25, when he fell off his rig, supposedly due to his company's lack of safety enforcements. Around this time, approximately 35 oil workers in Wyoming lost their lives, while the oil companies pulled in record profits.

Fuller interviews Colton's inner circle, and pieces together a handsome story of a young man, and the friends and family that adored him.

The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, is a beautiful, eloquent story of a charismatic man's life cut short. The Western undertones will appeal to fans of Annie Proulx and Pam Houston.

Life turns sweeter for the Milliron family as Rose takes over the household and Morrie takes over the education ofandnbsp;a roomful of children, grades 1 through 8, from an assortment of backgrounds.andnbsp; Morrie, despite his lack of teaching credentials,andnbsp;uses his wide-ranging intellect,(including expertise in astronomy, Latin, birds, and English recitation) toandnbsp;make his lessons lively.andnbsp; His encounters with recalcitrant farm boys andandnbsp;feuding familiesandnbsp;areandnbsp;the stuff of gripping drama.andnbsp;

Paulandnbsp;thrives under Morrie's tutelage, andandnbsp;is completely enthralled by Rose and her brother until the day he discovers the dark secret in their past that brought them to Marias Coulee. Will theandnbsp;whistling season come to an untimely end?andnbsp;

Ivan Doig's eighth novelandnbsp;paints a nostalgic and vivid picture of life in rural Montana in the early 1900's.andnbsp; We learn about the challenges of dryland farming, the hard conditions of life during drought and poverty, and the beauty of the western landscape, told in lush, gorgeous prose that contrasts withandnbsp;such a dry, spare life.andnbsp; Richly painted characters people the finely drawn setting in this highly readable tale.andnbsp;andnbsp;I wishedandnbsp;I could have been a student in Morrie's one-room schoolhouse.

Doig'sandnbsp;sequel,andnbsp;Work Song,andnbsp;follows Morrie as he settles in Butte, Montana. It will be released in June 2010; I can't wait to readandnbsp;it.

When I was a kid in Phoenix circa 1972, I used to love Saturdays because I would always watch "John Wayne Theater" at 2:00 P.M. I'veandnbsp;seen dozens of his movies over the years, spanning "'Neath Arizona Skies" from 1934 to "The Shootist" in 1976. I used to love the simplicity of those westerns; you always knew who the good guys were and who the bad guys were and you could always count on some good fights and lots of action. One of his movies that I managed to missandnbsp;was "Hondo", aandnbsp;westernandnbsp;from 1953 starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page. I've since placed a hold on that one but in the meantime I've done something even better: I just finished the book upon which it's based, Hondo by Louis L'Amour.

Hondo Lane is an army dispatch riderandnbsp;during an Apache uprising in southeastern Arizona.andnbsp;Riding alone except for his trusty canine companion, heandnbsp;comes across an isolatedandnbsp;ranchandnbsp;owned by a beautiful woman, Angie Lowe,andnbsp;and herandnbsp;young son, Johnny, both of whom were long ago abandoned by her husband, who's presumed to be dead. Hondo and the woman share aandnbsp;kiss butandnbsp;he leaves without her in order to deliver his dispatch to the army commander. This mission accomplished, he decides to return to the ranch to protect Angie and Johnny from harm. But things start to go awry: aandnbsp;cavalryandnbsp;column from the fort is massacred; Hondo himself is captured and tortured by the Apache; Angie is pressured by the stern but noble chief Vittoro toandnbsp;take an Indian brave as her husband in return for her safety; and, worst of all,andnbsp;Angie's no-good husband Ed Lowe turns up alive and well and full of ill-intent for Hondo Lane.

All the archetypal pieces are present in thisandnbsp;quintessentialandnbsp;western tale: a tough but honest hero;andnbsp;a beautiful butandnbsp;chaste heroine; aandnbsp;cowardlyandnbsp;andandnbsp;despicable villain; brutalandnbsp;but honorable Indians;andnbsp;brave but naive cavalry officers; lots of fights andandnbsp;battles; lots of austerelyandnbsp;beautiful landscape;andnbsp;evenandnbsp;a wild but loyalandnbsp;dog. Yet as formulaic asandnbsp;all of thatandnbsp;sounds, I found Hondo to be a throughly enjoyable read, dueandnbsp;chiefly to the well-constructed story, well-delineated characters,andnbsp;andandnbsp;L'Amour's fluid writing style. Of course,andnbsp;little in the book strikes me as terribly realistic. From what I've read, life on the frontier wasandnbsp;a whole lot more complicated than a battle between hero and villain, cavalry and Indians, right and wrong...though, toandnbsp;his credit, the author added touches of depthandnbsp;to a number of characters in this book.andnbsp;Still, it's aandnbsp;fairly idealized accountandnbsp;that perpetuates the myth, rather than the truth, of the Old West.andnbsp;

Yetandnbsp;myths have a habit of being comforting and Hondo is definitely a feel-good read, just as most of the old John Wayne westerns were feel-good movies. So if you're looking for anandnbsp;action-packedandnbsp;excursion into the heart of American Mythologyandnbsp;writtenandnbsp;by a master of the idiom, then you better listen and I mean listen good, pilgrim:andnbsp;check out Louis L'Amour'sandnbsp;Hondo!

Appaloosa isn't a typical western although it does have a couple of pretty good shoot-'em-ups.  It talks of relationships with friends, the opposite sex, laws and even talks about the life of an Appaloosa stallion and his harem of mares.   A mighty fine read, pardner.

His Western Crossroads is all about that; the American Southwest is harsh and beautiful, the hero is larger than life, with a hunger for adventure and the women are mysterious and idealized. Dix Van Dyck is a hell raiser, he enjoys fights and he has killed a man in self defense.  After earning the hatred of the new sheriff, Dix decides to head out for adventure and new worlds to conquer.  The title of chapter one is Destination - The World.  However Dix doesn't get very far; he stopped for a meal in the town of Double Bend and saw a beautiful young woman whom the other men in the saloon were avoiding.  She piqued his interest and asking questions, he discovered that she was bad luck.  She had all the good luck and the people who got close to her lost money, horses and sometimes their lives.  Dix decided she was just the adventure he was looking for. Jacqueline "Jack" Boone was intrigued that Dix wasn't afraid of her reputation and saw her as an opportunity for action and adventure.  As they ride off together into the sunset, actually, the adventures begin..there are villains in Jack's past out to get her and that new sheriff that Dix insulted is out for blood.

I must make this disclaimer. Crossroads was written in 1919 and has all the prejudices and beliefs of the times.  The women are either good or bad.  The villains are completely villainous. The Latinos and Native Americans are either noble or foolishly wrong.  But if you can live with this Crossroads is an exciting adventure story and yes even a sweet romance