The range war of '82

Format:

Book

Title:

The range war of '82

Author:

Wolfe, Ethan J. author

ISBN:

9781432830724

9781410485472

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

Waterville, Maine : Five Star, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015.

Physical Description:

269 pages ; 23 cm

Summary:

Wyoming is on the brink of statehood. Leading the charge is Jefferson Parker, the richest cattle baron in the territory. Backed by the Cattlemen's Association, Parker knows that the quickest way to achieve the goal of statehood is through the cattle business. Standing in Parker's way is a group of farmers who, by their very existence, threaten the open range and the way to statehood. So Parker offers to buy out all the farmers in the territory. His offer is rebuked. Leading the farmers is the Johansen family. James Johansen, his wife Sarah and their young son Seth are determined to make a go of their small farm. James bands the farmers into a unified group and they hold off Parker and his allies. Until the mysterious gunfighter Cord arrives in town, hired by none other than Parker. Cord's assignment is to help Parker broker a deal with the farmers to buy out their land. Cord is as persuasive with words as he is with a gun, and the deal might have worked except for Parker's hotheaded son who interferes and forces Cord to kill him. Thus begins the range war. Farmers on one side, Parker on the other, Cord caught in the middle.

Subject(s):

Farmers -- Wyoming -- Fiction.

Ranchers -- Wyoming -- Fiction.

Cattle trade -- Wyoming -- Fiction.

Farmers -- Fiction.

Wyoming -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction.

West (U.S.) -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Wyoming -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction.

West (U.S.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	W WOLFE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	Wolfe, E.	Searching... Unknown

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Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Ranchers battle farmers for control of the Wyoming Territory. Since there are plenty of places from Ohio to Idaho for farmers to work the land, it doesn't seem right to Jefferson Parker, the pre-eminent rancher in the up-and-coming town of Brooks, that he has to watch while they buy parcels of land much better suited for grazing cattle. He's determined to consolidate his ranch and his power to influence the railroads to build a line to Brooks and the federal government to grant Wyoming statehoodby buying up the little farms around him if possible, by more drastic means if necessary. The latter include bringing in a hired gun named Cord to sweet-talk, bully, or murder the farmers, whose leader, Wisconsin transplant James Johansen, isn't about to pull up stakes again. The stage seems set for a remake of Shane, with Cord in the Jack Palance role. But Cord, who claims that "mostly I sell my gun out to stop killing," is a lot more nuanced than Palance's Prince of Darkness. He rescues former slave Mal Jones when Parker's bullying son, John, attacks him; he rides hell for leather to bring Johansen's son, Seth, to a medically trained barber when the boy has an attack of appendicitis; he suggests that Johansen set up an irrigation system to help him over droughts and helps him lug heavy irrigation barrels out to his fields. Clearly, the race is on between Parker's sense of Manifest Destiny and Cord's conversion from gunslinger to messiah. Wolfe (The Last Ride, 2014, etc.) plots as schematically as a scriptwriter, shaping scene after scene to make one point at a time. But his command of his story keeps the pages turning as fast as that ride to the barber. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Parker, a rich cattleman and would-be politician, wants statehood for Wyoming Territory and the governor's office for himself. He lines up every cattleman but can't persuade James Johansen, a peaceful farmer, to leave. Johansen rallies every farmer to their existential threat and secures membership in the national Grange. Parker raises the bar on ruthlessness, first shutting off markets for the farmers. Then he hires Jesse Cord for the promise of 250 of his best cattle, which Cord, a famous but aging gunman, wants for his retirement on a California ranch. Cord is formidable but tries to play peacemaker until Parker's hotheaded son begins firing crops and shooting farmers. The familiar, though sturdy, western plot is enlivened considerably when Cord falls in love with Johansen's wife, Sarah. The love story is appealing, but Wolfe ties it to a frame in which Jesse and Sarah's son, in 1930, films the movie of Cord's heroism during the range war. It's a clumsy device, but this is otherwise quite an agreeable outing for the veteran Wolfe.--Mort, John Copyright 2015 Booklist