American West: Twenty New Stories from the Western Writers of America Book

“Takes the genre to new frontiers.”—The Boston Herald

“This is not simply an excellent collection about the West, each story is a haunting and powerful chapter in the creation of a nation.”—Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of the Anasazi series

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story’s central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.

“If I had to give a friend one book containing the best that today’s Western fiction has to offer, it would be American West.”—Mike Blakely, former president of the Western Writers of America and the Spur Award-winning author of Summer of Pearls

“A welcome addition to any Western collection.”—Booklist

KLIATT

Twenty stories from the Western Writers of America, including Loren D. Estleman, Max Evans, Don Coldsmith, and others, portray many varied characters. Some are based on true stories, like "The Guardians," which tells of Indians who guarded the houses of white women while their men were gone to take wheat to a mill. One is about an 18-year-old who becomes a woman on her way west with her new husband. Another tells of the tribulations of a woman in the gold rush era and a female photographer known asMike whose subject is Sitting Bull. All characterize people of the West who were not as well known as the gunfighters and cattle ranchers. A fascinating look at the "other" West. Category: Short Stories. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Tor, Forge, 368p., $15.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Barbara Jo McKee; Libn/Media Dir., Streetsboro H.S., Stow, OH SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)