Clay Fisher (1912–1991)

When his two brothers leave home to fight in the Civil War, 9 year old Bubba McCalister is declared too young to assume the man's role on the family ranch. The family moves to town and because of their weak financial situation must live on the charity of others. When they receive letters indicating the brothers are coming home from the war, the family heads back to the family ranch.

Only days after they get there, a party of renegade Confederate soldiers on the run from Texas lawmen and the show more military police capture the brothers and head to the ranch. They take all hostage and eventually kill the elderly ranch hand plus one of their own who did not agree with the plan to use the women as sex slaves on the journey to California. Meanwhile Bubba has escaped their clutches and gives chase on foot. Eventually catching a horse, he catches up to the renegades and starts to eliminate them one by one using tricks and deception while also distracting them from their plans for the women. Eventually he saves his family with the assistance of a black man who has been forced to work for the renegades. Be prepared for much violence vividly described.

The novel reminds me of Louis L'Amour's novel, Down the Long Hills, about a 7 year old boy who escapes with his younger sister from an Indian using tricks and knowledge his father had taught him because Bubba is only 13 when he takes on the party of criminals. Both scenarios stretch credibility but make crackling good stories. show less

Heard as an audiobook at the same time I was reading Bruchac's Geronimo. The story is told by a teen boy, who becomes a man over the few years the story covers. The events show the many times Joseph did not want to fight, that the tribe had had good relations with white immigrants for years before the government started insisting they stay on a reservation instead of their usual annual journeys between locations most suitable for harvest & living over the seasons. Does mention actions of show more some hot-heads among the younger men of the tribe who made trouble, though it was in response to some hot-headed action of whites first.
The Nez Perce were often referred to by their native names, sometimes translated into English. I got the sense that a lot of the tale came from oral history of the Nez Perce themselves. They distinguished between the different Army leaders, trusting some, and describing different military manuevers. They recognized some interpreters who were more trustworthy. They would name the leaders who would be present at different councils, those who would lead different parts of the expeditions, those who were exceptionally brave or whose actions made the situation worse. One thing that led to their capture was they didn't consider the rapid communication provided by telegraph, so their assessment of their ability to flee to Canada didn't consider military units which could come in front of them, only the ones behind. The Nez Perce mourned every member who died, the numbers of women and children who were killed or wounded. Every loss was felt. show less

The Tall Men by Will Henry is a true American western, dealing with cattle drives, Indians, and the hard men that live their lives under an wide sky and open prairie. Put these tall men together and add one female, the only survivor of a wagon train, and you have the recipe for mounting jealousy and tension.

After the Civil War Ben Allison and his brother Clint returned to Texas to find cattlemen were not needed. The market for beef had dropped so low that there was no money to be made show more shipping cattle to the eastern markets. With their livelihood all but gone they took to drifting and became outlaws. They were about to rob wealthy Montanan, Nathan Stark when he gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. He had the money to buy cattle in Texas, they had the expertise to drive that cattle north to the mining camps of Montana where there was a guaranteed market. Ben jumped at this chance to go straight and get back into the business he loved. Thus begins the adventure and the fact that their route took them into the heart of the angry Sioux nation meant that confrontation was inevitable.

Author Will Henry was a master at his chosen genre and The Tall Men is a page-turner of adventure. And whether these men are battling a Texas blue northern on the plains, or the Sioux at a river crossing, the reader is guaranteed a fun and lively read. show less

Buck Burnet is a leader, natural-born, and developed by life in Concho County, West Texas. He leads six friends on an odyssey to Richmond to repel what they have heard of as the "Yankee invader." They don't make it to Richmond, but most do make it to Shiloh.

Along the way they learn that the war means different things to different people.

The culture of West Texas is not at all the same as the culture of the Old South.

They are enscripted into the Confederate Army regardless. It happens show more quick.

Then things move fast.

Braxton Bragg is brought to life on these pages. Johnston and Grant become personalities you know. Shiloh Church becomes a place carved into the interior wall of your heart.

Will Henry's English is so good and so vivid, the reader comes to understand the main truths of the Battle of Shiloh, without reference to a map.

This reader loves maps, including historical ones, but will reference internally Will Henry's prose on all future occasions of study of maps of Shiloh.

Please, bibliophiles, check this volume out of as many libraries as possible, before the librarians throw out all the copies for being OLD and "UNPOPULAR," because the cover is old and worn. show less