Fred Grove était un auteur américain important, surtout connu pour ses romans western. Ses œuvres exploraient souvent de profondes questions éthiques et les complexités de la vie dans la frontière américaine. Grove était acclamé pour son style réaliste et sa capacité à capturer l'esprit de l'époque et la nature humaine.
n 1860 Missouri, young Daniel Wade purposely avoids all the militia factions cropping up around him. One group has allied itself with the Southern causes in case secession from the Union occurs. Another group is committed to protecting the Union. When the Civil War finally comes to his doorstep, young Daniel decides to throw in with the Union forces - a decision that costs him dearly.
In a sudden ambush in a deserted valley, Walt Durand's horse is shot out from under him, and he's drawn into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse against four men who want nothing more than to kill him in cold blood.
"In a sudden ambush in a deserted valley, Walt Durand's horse is shot out from under him, and he's drawn into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse against four men who want nothing more than to kill him in cold blood"--
Horse trader Dude McQuinn is on the move with his two sidekicks, Coyote Walking and Uncle Billy Lockhart. Dude is the good-looking front man, who talks as fast as his horses can fly. Coyote is the whip-smart jockey with Comanche breeding and a college education. And Uncle Billy is the horse doctor, the grizzled veteran of the quarter horse circuit who can fix anything — including a race.
The five-time Spur Award-winning author presents this novel of a former Civil War soldier who vows to end the reign of terror a murderous band of renegades has been exacting on his Tennessee hometown. Now in larger, easy-to-read type.
Dude McQuinn is at it one more time. He's got himself one hell of a horse. A real flyer named Judge Blair. Better than that, he's got the smoothest snake-oil salesman in the country, Billy Lockhart, as his trainer; and he's got his old Comanche pal, Coyote Walking, as his jockey. Best of all, he's got a sucker. A feller willing to lay two to one that Judge Blair will finish second in a two-horse race.
After Victorio's death, the Southwest had simmered down. Without their chief, the Warm Springs Apaches abandoned the murderous campaign against the blancos and the Mexicans who had invaded their tribal lands, and serenity had returned to the arid territory. But bitter memories lingered . . .
As novelist Elmer Kelton once observed, Fred Grove's Osage and Sioux heritage and his lifelong love of horses bring to his stories a unique point of view and rare authenticity. Certainly few writers can match him when it comes to Western excitement and sheer storytelling ability. Western Writers of America recognized this when they awarded Grove a total of five Spur Awards, two of which were for stories collected in this landmark volume. But "Comanche Woman" and "When the Caballos Came" are only the most famous of the twelve stories presented here. Each story is a slice of Western history, peopled with characters that live and breathe. Allow yourself to be transported back to the Old West at the hands of a master wordsmith and brilliant storyteller.
"Evan Shelby, West Point graduate, distinguished cavalry officer, and tuberculosis victim. Discharged from the army, Shelby settles in the New Mexico Territory where, with the help of a doctor who shares his malady, he is well on his way to being cured. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between local ranchers and a Texas cattle company with plans to move into the area, buy up the small ranches, and set up an enormous spread"--Amazon.com.
"There were few horse breeders in the West to equal Lee Banner: the man was a born horseman who took any job he could find to keep his small Oklahoma spread going and to help him fulfill his lifelong dream of seeing one of his two-year-olds in the All-American Winners Circle. A few years back Banner was certain he had a winner in Land Rush; then in mid-season the black stallion went down in a three-horse tangle on a muddy track. It had been a costly, bitter blow, but now Banner had a young filly that showed the same promise. It would take every last cent he had to qualify for the All-American Futurity at Ruidosa Downs, and every bit of faith he could muster. Lee Banner wondered if he wasn't crazy to dream again ... and knew he had no choice. A colorful, quick-stepping novel that captures all the drama and excitement of quarter-horse racing in the West today."--Back cover