If you want to know the story of Montana, this is where you start. It's written by the best journalist-writer who ever lived in the state (excluding Bud Guthrie, of course, who chose fiction instead). It must be understood that it is not a "definitive history" as Howard himself stated, but a personal narrative of what matters. In the past two decades, a cottage industry of Howard-bashing has emerged in Montana, by historians eager to establish their own reputations. Yes, some of what Howard wrote was incorrect. Other aspects of his writings now seem outmoded (the colonial economy thing). But to say modern history proves Joe Howard was wrong is like saying Lewis and Clark are disproven by Rand-McNally. Howard was the visionary who showed the way to what Montana should and could be. But 50 years later, this remains the best non-fiction book that will ever be written about Montana.

I first read this book back in the early 60's when I was stationed in Montana. I found it full of facts that you don't find in history books. The characters are real and believable; makes you wish you had a time machine to go back and witness the action. A must for history buffs.

A. B. Guthrie may be the most underrated 20th-century American writer and the first Big Sky trilogy is in there with _Moby Dick_ as an epic of disaster.

_Fair Land, Fair Land_, begins with Dick Summers deciding he doesn't like the Oregon to which he led a group in _The Way West._ Heading back to what is now Montana, he is joined by Hezekiah Higgins for reasons that are less than clear. Both marry Native American (Blackfeet and Flathead, respectively) women and live more in Native American than in Anglo Wild West society, though they cater to a boom town of gold-miners for a while.


Through the first two-thirds of _Fair Land, Fair Land_ dark cloud gather and darken and pile up around the memory of Boone Caudill, the tragic brooding hero and monster of _The Big Sky._ And after the long-fated confrontation with him, other thunderheads form.


Most of the book is elegaic fora wilderness being rapidly destroyed (the span of time of the novel is from 1845 to 1870) with an ending that is positively apocalyptic.


Although the Blackfeet woman Teal Eye is the vortex of this novel (and of the last half of _The Big Sky_), the frequent accounts of hunting and the amount of killing make this, I guess, a "guy book," albeit one that easily could be argued to be about lethal aspects of masculinist conceptions of the physical and social worlds.

I like this book for the mere fact that it does what other writing guides fail to do: be succinct. Most books spend page after page trying to impress upon you how a good book should be written, while this book just comes along and says the same exact thing in two or three sentences. Each chapter covers the most important elements of fiction, and the longest chapter is a mere four pages long. Highly recomended, sadly out of print.

I have read The Big Sky three times, and scanned it many more. Having grown up in Browning, MT, this book really takes me home. What sets Guthrie's work apart from other writers of the mountain man genre, is character development. The way characters like Jim Deakins, and Boone Caudill, and Dick Summers, become complete people, is uncanny. The internal dialogues each carry on is fascinating. Jim's thoughts about god are succinct, and( I feel) right on the money. Boone Caudill is a misfit in any society, and the only way he could possibly live and let live, is utterly on his own. He becomes "broody" when in the company of others, and is nowhere near likable. His demeanor is completely opposed to that of Jim Deakins, who is carefree, and refuses to take anything too seriously. Boone's words, upon their meeting, "A man would have to be willing to stand by his partner, come whatever" (a paraphrase), turn out to be very ironic. Dick Summers is really the main character, as his saga continues through "The Way West", and "Fair Land, Fair Land". He is the balance between the two, and the glue that holds the partnership together. This book chronicles the heyday of the fur trade, and signals the end of that era, and the open west. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, be it for it's accurate descriptions of the time, or it's sociological implications. It is not just another mountain man story.

The Big Sky, by A.B Guthrie,tells the too-real-to-be-fiction story of Boone Caudill, Jim Deakins, and Dick Summers. The great description of the area, Northwestern Montana, is 100% accuate, from the indian tribes found in the region, to the local dialects of the men. Guthrie wrote this story as if he were actually in the place of the men, and if everything actually took place in the story. Boone is the stereotypical "mountain man" of the story, the rough, rugged, hard nosed hero. His best friend, Jim Deakins, is the anti-Boone character. Jim can also be considered a mountain man, but his personality is completly different then Boone's. Throughout the book, the characters come to life, where the reader becomes concerned and scared for Boone, Jim, and Dick through their trials. The tone almost throughout the entire story is Paranoia. Thsi is true, because Boone and Jim start to realize their paradise in Montana is becoming new stomping ground for people coming west to settle. Boone then becomes paranoid of people around him, where he finally isolates himself in the woods, with no human contact beside a few blackfeet indians. Boone also becomes weary of staying inside a house, or any space where he is not outside in the free land. He becomes depresed if he is taken out of his habitat for a great period of time, perhaps because he is paranoid that he won't be able to stay in nature any longer if he is stuck outside it. This becomes clear when his father dies, and he travels back to Kentucky. He describes his feelings of Kentucky as follows "He had felt at home outdoors. It was as if the land and sky and wind were friendly, and no need for a pack of people about to make him easy. The wind had a voice to it, and the land lay ready for him, and the sky gave room for his eye and mind. But now he felt different, cramped by the forest that rose thick as grass over him, shutting out the sun and letting him see only a piece of sky now and then, and it faded and closed down like a roof. THe wind was dead here, not even the leaves of the grat poplars, rising high over all the rest, so much as trembled. It was a still, closed-in, broody world, and a man in it went empty and lost inside, as if all that he had counted on was taken away, and he without a friend or an aim or a proper place anywhere."(page 357) Overall, this book is a great book if you love reading a passionate story about a man and his one true love, nature. Boone represents the man with the call of the wild in his soul, and his struggle to keep what he has while he can. Living in Montana, this book is also an interesting story that depicts the lives of people living where I now call home in the 1830's.

The Big Sky is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. In my opinion it is better-written than its sequel, The Way West, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Both books are really great! The characters in the Big Sky are well-developed. The descriptions of both the people and the country in which they live are very well done. Guthrie has a real knack for pulling the reader into the story. This book was extremely hard to put down. Boone Caudill, Dick Summers, and Jim Deakins are the stuff of which legends are made. I am so glad there are 6 Big Sky novels. I am currently reading the 3rd one, Fair Land, Fair Land, and so far it is every bit as good as the first two. If you enjoy reading about the early West you will definitely go for The Big Sky and its sequels. Enjoy!!

Basic Review

I was told to read the way west as a highschool [kid]. I'm glad I did! I havn't read The Big Sky the first in the series I only knew that is was a series after I read the way west but I still eaisly followed. Guthrie is an author that convey feelings and messages is little words a compelling gift. He also has a way with discription and makes understand the characters personality and way of thinking completely. I have long since been interested in the Oregon Trail and life of the pioneers and will gladly read the whole series. This book tells the harsh truth but without sentiment meaning it didn't bring tears to my eyes but made me stop and think. By the end of the book I was thankful for modern times though it made me reflect on modern families.

About the Book

The book starts out telling the story of Lije and Becky Evans and son Brownie after they get "the fever". They decide to go west to Willamette Valley Oregon to help settle the territory for America (joining a wagon train with people of different backgrounds and storys). Dick Summers and ex-mountain man agrees to go along and piot the train it encreasingly becomes his story. He falls in love with the mountains and old trails once more they don't understand it is part of him and at first envy how he knows and can do everything with little. If it were not for him the train would of gone through more trials and hardships than it did. He becomes best friends with them and there is a sence of loss when the mountains reclaim him. I want to know what happens the Evans family Guthrie wrote it that way and I was amazed I would like and appreciate a book written in 1950. I recomend this to everyone and history buffs finding it hard to get good books on the Oregon Trail before 1850+. The Way West had found a place in my heart and I declare it a classic by my standards for teens to adults. I know that everyone will approve and enjoy this book. It took me a while to read but once I got started I couldn't put it down!

This book changed the way I read novels. I used to read mostly fast-paced books with lots of excitement, "page-turners" that propel you towards the ending. Although The Way West has a good story line, it did not develop in the way I expected. I kept waiting for the Indian attacks and shoot-outs, standard fare for a novel about a wagon train, but they never quite came. In the meantime I started to appreciate the way the author got into the minds of the characters, how well he described their lives and journeys.
This book is not so much about telling a story about a wagon train as telling the individual stories of the people in it. The book describes their day-to-day lives, their attitudes and motivations, and gives insight into the times in which they lived. The landscapes of the early west are painted beautifully. Guthrie does all of this in a writing style which is very readable.
Most novels today use techniques to keep you on the edge of your seat, so that when you finish a chapter you want to dive into the next. They manipulate the reader and compel you forward to the finish line and - if the author is crafty enough - to the next book in the series. This is much more about selling books than creating art.
I found that when I reached the end of a chapter in The Way West, I was often inclined to return to the start of the chapter and read it again. After reading this book, I started looking for books of greater substance, that create lasting images. Guthrie's other books fit the bill nicely.
The Way West is a beautifully written book. Slow down and enjoy it.

This sequel to The Big Sky continues the story of Dick Summers. It would be very beneficial to first read The Big Sky. I actually found The Big Sky more interesting and if possible, better-written, than The Way West. Both books are extremely interesting and hard to put down. The Way West tells the story of a wagon train on its way to Oregon. Dick Summers, an experienced mountain man, agrees to lead the group to Oregon. This takes place in the early days of the Oregon Trail when men were still working out the exact route they would take. There are six Big Sky novels of which The Way West is the second. I am currently reading the third book in the series, Fair Land, Fair Land. It is every bit as good as the first two. All of these books are historically accurate and, once again, very hard to put down. I highly recommend The Way West!! Enjoy!!

In his 1967 novel, Flynn uses the classic western myth of a trail drive to show how a man can, and cannot, return to a road not taken in his youth. Lampassas planned to test his courage by joining a trail drive north. But the young woman he admired convinced him that love and a home would be a better dream.

Years later when his wife dies and his son faces a life as a storekeeper like his father, Lampassas knows he has little time. He sells his store, surprises his son with a full-blown plan for a trail drive, and sweeps them off to follow his recaptured dream. He assembles a bedraggled crew of misfits and rounds up 2000 range cattle for the great adventure. Unprepared, under-capitalized, and unwilling to give up, this group of dreamers loses their horses and wind up "walking" the cattle to market. Arrival at the railhead proves disappointing since there has been no market for cattle for fifteen years, and the cattle are too scrawny by then to be worth anything except their hides. But the dream will not die.

Written almost 20 years before LONESOME DOVE, this novel captures the lure of the drive, where every man faces tests of courage and manhood, where every disaster can only be the prelude to success just over the hill.

With respect for his characters' quest, empathy for their refusal to abandon their dreams, and wry and hilarious humor, Flynn captures the American passion to be going somewhere, to be "satisfied for a while just to be on the trail." Readers who catch a glimpse of their own roads not taken will find themselves rooting for Lampassas and his motley crew to reach the trail's end, no matter what they find.

Set in upstate New York in colonial times, Cooper here tells the story of the stolid colonial scout Hawkeye, nee Natty Bumppo (don't ask), who, with his two Indian companions Chingachgook (the Big Snake) and his son Uncas (apparently newly come to manhood), stumble on a party of British soldiers conducting two fair maidens to their father, the commander of British Fort William Henry during the French and Indian War. Under the watchful eyes of the young British officer who has the girls in his charge and led by a Huron scout, Magua, the party appears, to the indomitable Hawkeye, to be at greater risk than they realize as they trek through the wilderness toward the safety of the girls' father's garrison. And, indeed, Hawkeye's judgement is soon proved right as the scout Magua treacherously betrays the hapless girls in repayment, it seems, for a stint of corporal punishment inflicted on him previously by their absent parent. Since the Hurons, Magua's native tribe, are culturally akin to the Iroquois who are the herditary enemies of the Algonquin Delawares, from whom Chingachgook and his son hail and among whom Hawkeye has made his home and friendships, a natural antagonism has arisen almost at once between Hawkeye's party and the Huron and this proves salutary, when danger finally strikes. The tale quickly becomes a matter of flight and pursuit through thickly overgrown primeval forests, over rough mountains and across broad open lakes as the beleagured travelers first elude and then flee the dreaded Iroquois (allies of the French) who have joined the renegade Huron in an effort to seize the two girls. After a brief respite within the safety of William Henry however, the tables are once again turned as Magua's perfidy puts the girls once more at risk. And now the story shifts to a manic pursuit of the fleeing Magua who means to carry off his human prey in order to finally have his revenge on the girls' father, on the British and on the Europeans, generally, whose presence in his native country he blames (not altogether unjustifiably) for his myriad travails. Written in the fine tradition of the 19th century romance (which, of course, is what this book is), Cooper picked up where Sir Walter Scott (the venerable founder of this novelistic tradition) left off, creating a rich historical tale of adventure, nobility and marvelously sketched characters set against a brilliantly detailed natural landscape. If his characters are less keenly drawn than Scott's they are no less memorable for, in the quiet nobility of the scout Hawkeye lies the strong, silent hero of the wilderness which has become the archetypical protagonist in our own American westerns. And the Indians, Chingachgook and Uncas, are the very prototypes of the noble savage, so much used and over-used today. This is a tale of action first and foremost without much plot but so well told that you barely notice, as our heroes flee and pursue their enemies in turn until the very quickness of the prose seems to mirror and embody the speed of the action. Nor is this book only to be read for its rapid-fire rendition of flight and pursuit, for it touches the reader on another level as well, as the bold young Uncas moves out ahead of his comrades to place himself at risk for the others and the woman he loves. Although we never see Uncas at anything but a distance and never get to know the man he is supposed to be, he is yet a symbol of that people of whom he is the last chiefly descendant, the Delaware Mohicans. Nobly born into the finest of Mohican bloodlines, Uncas faces his final trial with heroic energy and resolve in order to defeat the nefarious and twisted Magua. Yet this struggle is also the final footnote in the story of a people, marking the closing chapter for all those Indians who, with the Mohicans, have seen, in Cooper's own words, the morning of their nation and the inevitable nightfall which must follow. -- Stuart W. Mirsky (mirsky@ix.netcom.com

Set in upstate New York in colonial times, Cooper here tells the tale of the stolid colonial scout Hawkeye, nee Natty Bumppo (don't ask), who, with his two Indian companions Chingachgook (the Big Snake) and his son Uncas (apparently newly come to manhood), stumble on a party of British soldiers conducting two fair maidens to their father, the commander of British Fort William Henry during the French and Indian War. Under the watchful eyes of the young British officer who has the girls in his charge and led by a Huron scout, Magua, the party appears, to the indomitable Hawkeye, to be at greater risk than they realize as they trek through the wilderness toward the safety of the girls' father's garrison. And, indeed, Hawkeye's judgement is soon proved right as the scout Magua treacherously betrays the hapless girls in repayment, it seems, for a stint of corporal punishment inflicted on him previously by their absent parent. Since the Hurons, Magua's native tribe, are culturally akin to the Iroquois who are the herditary enemies of the Algonquin Delawares, from whom Chingachgook and his son hail and among whom Hawkeye has made his home and friendships, a natural antagonism arises almost at once between Hawkeye's party and the Huron and this proves salutary, when danger finally strikes. The tale quickly becomes a matter of flight and pursuit through thickly overgrown primeval forests, over rough mountains and across broad open lakes as the beleagured travelers first elude and then flee the dreaded Iroquois (allies of the French) who have joined the renegade Huron in an effort to seize the two girls. After a brief respite within the safety of William Henry however, the tables are once again turned as Magua's perfidy puts the girls once more at risk. And now the story shifts to a manic pursuit of the fleeing Magua who means to carry off his human prey in order to finally have his revenge on the girls' father, on the British and on the Europeans, generally, whose presence in his native country he blames (not altogether unjustifiably) for his myriad travails. Written in the fine tradition of the 19th century romance (which, of course, is what this book is), Cooper picked up where Sir Walter Scott (the venerable founder of this novelistic tradition) left off, creating a rich historical tale of adventure, nobility and marvelously sketched characters set against a brilliantly detailed natural landscape. If his characters are less keenly drawn than Scott's they are no less memorable for, in the quiet nobility of the scout Hawkeye lies the strong, silent hero of the wilderness which has become the archetypical protagonist in our own American westerns. And the Indians, Chingachgook and Uncas, are the very prototypes of the noble savage, so much used, and over-used, today. This is a tale of action first and foremost without much plot but so well told that you barely notice, as our heroes flee and pursue their enemies in turn -- until the very quickness of the prose seems to mirror and embody the speed of the action. Nor is this book only to be read for its rapid-fire rendition of flight and pursuit, for it touches the reader on another level as well, as the bold young Uncas moves out ahead of his comrades to place himself at risk for the others and the woman he loves. Although we never see Uncas at anything but a distance and never get to know the man he is supposed to be, he is yet a symbol of that people of whom he is the last chiefly descendant, the Delaware Mohicans. Nobly born into the finest of Mohican bloodlines, Uncas faces his final trial with heroic energy and resolve in order to defeat the nefarious and twisted Magua. Yet this struggle is also the final footnote in the story of a people, marking the closing chapter for all those Indians who, with the Mohicans, have, in Cooper's own words, seen the morning of their nation and the inevitable nightfall which must follow. If you give this book a chance and bear with some of the heavy nineteenth century prose, it will prove out in the end. An exciting and worthwhile read.

Set in upstate New York in colonial times, Cooper here tells the story of the stolid colonial scout Hawkeye, nee Natty Bumppo (don't ask), who, with his two Indian companions Chingachgook (the Big Snake) and his son Uncas (apparently newly come to manhood), stumble on a party of British soldiers conducting two fair maidens to their father, the commander of British Fort William Henry during the French and Indian War. Under the watchful eyes of the young British officer who has the girls in his charge and led by a Huron scout, Magua, the party appears, to the indomitable Hawkeye, to be at greater risk than they realize as they trek through the wilderness toward the safety of the girls' father's garrison. And, indeed, Hawkeye's judgement is soon proved right as the scout Magua treacherously betrays the hapless girls in repayment, it seems, for a stint of corporal punishment inflicted on him previously by their absent parent. Since the Hurons, Magua's native tribe, are culturally akin to the Iroquois who are the herditary enemies of the Algonquin Delawares, from whom Chingachgook and his son hail and among whom Hawkeye has made his home and friendships, a natural antagonism has arisen almost at once between Hawkeye's party and the Huron and this proves salutary, when danger finally strikes. The tale quickly becomes a matter of flight and pursuit through thickly overgrown primeval forests, over rough mountains and across broad open lakes as the beleagured travelers first elude and then flee the dreaded Iroquois (allies of the French) who have joined the renegade Huron in an effort to seize the two girls. After a brief respite within the safety of William Henry however, the tables are once again turned as Magua's perfidy puts the girls once more at risk. And now the story shifts to a manic pursuit of the fleeing Magua who means to carry off his human prey in order to finally have his revenge on the girls' father, on the British and on the Europeans, generally, whose presence in his native country he blames (not altogether unjustifiably) for his myriad travails. Written in the fine tradition of the 19th century romance (which, of course, is what this book is), Cooper picked up where Sir Walter Scott (the venerable founder of this particular novelistic tradition) left off, creating a rich historical tale of adventure, nobility and marvelously sketched characters set against a brilliantly detailed natural landscape. If his characters are less keenly drawn than Scott's they are no less memorable for, in the quiet nobility of the scout Hawkeye lies the strong, silent hero of the wilderness which was to become the archetypical protagonist of the American western. And the Indians, Chingachgook and Uncas, are the very prototypes of the noble savage, so much used and over-used today. This is a tale of action first and foremost without much plot but so well told that you barely notice, as our heroes flee and pursue their enemies in turn until the very quickness of the prose seems to mirror and embody the speed of the action. Nor is this book only to be read for its rapid-fire rendition of flight and pursuit, for it touches the reader on another level as well, as the bold young Uncas moves out ahead of his comrades to place himself at risk for the others and the woman he loves. Although we never see Uncas at anything but a distance and never get to know the man he is supposed to be, he is yet a symbol of that people of whom he is the last chiefly descendant, the Delaware Mohicans. Nobly born into the finest of Mohican bloodlines, Uncas faces his final trial with heroic energy and resolve in order to defeat the nefarious and twisted Magua. Yet this struggle is also the final footnote in the story of a people, marking the closing chapter for all those Indians who, with the Mohicans, have seen, in Cooper's words, the morning of their nation and the inevitable nightfall which must follow. The book is a bit short on characterization and plotting and the prose is heavy for modern tastes, but the action is richly visualized in the flow of the narrative and the images are compelling. In the end, despite its flaws, this book of Cooper's is, in fact, the classic we have been told it is. -- S. W. Mirsky