George S Reeves

There is much of this book that is very familiar to me. The ups and downs of the weather patterns in South Dakota still occur today, so reading about a winter where the snows come, the Chinooks melt them and the snows come again feels as real to me as it was to George Reeves when he lived them in the 1930's and 40's.

There is a lot to admire in Reeves, he is hard working, stubborn and determined to keep his land even under threat of snows, rain, hail and baking heat. As a sheep ranchers as show more well as a farmer he is battling the Dust Bowl weather, the grasshopper invasions and the lure of easy money from the Government that usually has strings attached the stretch long and deep.

Politically we probably couldn't be more different yet what we share in experiences are very similar. No, I'm not a farmer nor a rancher -- I'm city born and bred but the character of the people and the land that feeds him also feeds me. I know people like him, I understand the lure of the land and the heartbreak of it turning on you.

Fascinating story of a young man who spends over twenty years getting real life experience so he can become a writer with something say. He says it with gusto. Highly recommended. show less