Rustlin' Along the Brazos
New York, New York: Vantage Press, Inc., 1980. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. [6], 166, [2] pages. DJ has some wear and soiling and is in a plastic sleeve. Ex-library with the usual library markings. Inscribed by the author, Al Klement, on the front free endpaper. Inscription reads: With best regards, in all humility, to the congregation of Temple Emanuel. Al Klement. This inscription is covered over with clear plastic tape. This is a work of fiction. The names of the people are entirely fictitious, although some come close to being real, and people like them did exist. The place names are real with one or two exceptions, and the names are modern, as some have changed over the years and some are called by more than one name. The author has taken an author's license in order to make a story, but generally, have used true historical facts with regard to ethnic origins and migrations of people. All of the ethnic groups settling in Texas in the 1860s and 1870s and those before had their problems with prejudices, but people working to stay alive and wanting a better life put a bunch of prejudices aside and became neighborly if not always friendly. Of course, there were and always are exceptions. Steeped in historical realism and the vernacular of the West, this is a novel of post-Civil War Texas that tells a gripping story of frontier justice. The men of the Flying Y ranch and of the neighboring township are faced with the menace of a shadowy band of rustlers, masterminded by an insidious boss. How they close ranks and rise to meet the threat is, in miniscule, the story of how the law became a viable force on the frontier. Born and raised along the Brazos River, about which he writes in this book, Al Klement became quite familiar with the subject through his family history of farming and ranching. He frequently traveled around the area with his father, a wholesale grocer who was known by all the farmers and ranchers therein. At age eleven, he spent a weekend on a cattle drive. Rustlin" Along the Brazos does not teem with classic showdowns, blazing gunfights, and heroes riding off into sunsets. Instead, it offers something much better: The Way the West really was. Al Klement's feel for historical realism and his ear for authentic dialogue are so superb that the reader vicariously feels the rhythm of daily life back then and there, and shares the deepest hopes and fears, the happiness and heartache of the people who lived it. The author was a distinguished and award-winning environmental scientist, a graduate of West Point, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the University of California at Berkeley. He served in the Army from 1945 to 1957, including service during WWII and the Korean War as well as service in occupied Germany. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Cattle Rustling, Rio Brazos, Texas, Flying Y Ranch, Law Enforcement, Justice, Western Fiction, Cowboy, Western Genre, Dialect, Frontier, Civilization, Ranching, Vernacular
[Book #83046]
Price: $150.00