Silhouette on a Wide Land, by Alan Kesselheim

In order to pay his next month's rent, author Alan Kesselheim takes a temporary job driving a truck for a rancher on the High Plains of Colorado. This job turns into a year-long stay, where he learns much about a bachelor's lonely ranching life.

Amid the recounting of the beauties, big and small, of the land, we also learn of the disappointments of life in an unforgiving land. Kesselheim recounts one bad snowstorm on the Plains, which will resonate with most Montanans, especially those from the eastern part of the state.

We also understand the bitterness of unrewarded labor, which led many early homesteaders to leave the land, although they may have also loved it.

This is an evocative narration of the true ranching and cowboy life, as opposed to the image most of us hold.

A beautifully written description of the High Plains of Colorado.
submitted by Guna