Within the first few pages you are caught up wanting to know more about this wonderful odd-ball character Flap and what will happen as he, a Native American, tries to reclaim the land where Phoenix, Arizona now stands for his people according to a long lost, but firm agreement. I have read this book five times and now that I see it is being republished, I just started it again.

Would recommend this book as a positive have to read. Next to The Cowboy and the Cossack, there hasn't been any books available for some fantastic reading and belly laughs to go along with the events that unfold (no hints to give away the story, just read no matter what your preference for reading is. Just wish I could find the movie that was made with Anthony Quinn, remember it and one fantastic piece of art, period. This book is definitly worth the price, I have two, honest, and would not part with either, as One is a first print, Untouchable.

FLAP IS THE BEST IN ALL OF US AND THE WORST IN ALL OF US. I LAUGHED TILL I CRIED AND I WAS SO SADDENED TEARS FILLED MY EYES WHILE READING THIS BOOK. FROM KNOCKING SOMEONE ASS OVER TEA KETTLE THOUGH A WINDOW, TO LASSOING A HELICOPTER THIS BOOK IS FULL OF DRAMA AND ADVENTURE. I READ THIS BOOK AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES AND EACH TIME IT GOT BETTER. I LET SO MANY OF MY FRIENDS READ IT THAT MY BOOK FELL APART. EVERY LIVING HUMAN BEING SHOULD HAVE A COPY OF THIS BOOK. THE LANGUAGE IS A LITTLE ROUGH FOR THE DEVOUTE CATHOLIC WITH ALL THE G.D. WORDING, BUT THE BOOK AS A WHOLE IS A MASTERPIECE.

This book is a perfect story. It is a romance, but a true biographical one that avoids the pitfalls of less realistic romances, and sticks to the heart of love--enduring one horrible thing after another (depression, health issues, death, war), and always relying on each other to muddle through. The characters are warm, strong, and very human. The respect with which the couple treats each other is an inspiration and gentle lesson to each of us. Since this book is hard to find I found two copies . . . so I would be willing to lend one.

Can't rate it high enough!! 5 stars is way to low! A memoir desguised as a novel. It's not until you're well into this Classic that you realize he's telling the story about how his parents met and fell in love. You think you've had it rough, read this one! First read it 15-20 years ago and lost track of my copy. Been looking for it. Ordering a new one right now! Timeless classic of two people head-over-heels in love surviving through the depression. This one'll get ya right where ya live!! If you see it in a used book store(it's out of print) pick it up, run to the check-out, race home and cancel your plans for the rest of the day! Thank God for Amazon.com that I've found it again. If I could find a woman like Orlean, I'd marry her in a minute. Why Clair Huffaker isn't a more well known author, I have no idea. He is a natural. I'd like to meet him.

I read this book for the first time when I was a junior in highschool back in 1978. I absolutely adored the story and read it more than once. Unfortunately I lent it to a friend and never saw it again until now.

A friend insisted I put aside my latest novel to read The Cowboy and the Cossack. That was the last we saw of each other until I finished the book. My oh my....what a story. From page one I was there....with all those cowboys, all them Cossacks, and all those rambling, rambuncous cattle. A must read for all generations. Who is Clair Huffaker? I am trying to find everything else written, all out of print....

I can only echo what the other reviewers have said. I discovered it as a teenager, and absolutely fell in love with it: the humor, the unforgettable characters, the wisdom, the grace. I could go on indefinitely. It remains the only western I have ever read, as I do not believe any could hold a candle to it. I'm thrilled to see other readers cherish it as much as I do. Because it was hard to find, I squirreled away several copies, to be loaned out to only the most trusted of my friends. Perhaps a half dozen of my friends and family have read it and every single one, from Yale snobs to German dressage trainers to former Marines, have all, unequivocally, loved it. It is a great book. I hope they never make a movie of it, although I heard a rumor...Run, don't walk, to the nearest opportunity to get your hands on this little-known masterpiece.

I first read this book as a teenager. To this day (22 years later) it remains my all-time favorite. The story presents some of the richest characterizations of human beings to be found in written word. It combines the best of adventure, history, humor, sorrow, friendship, fraility, and love into a riviting story.