Johnny D. Boggs examines the disastrous winter of 1886-87 in this critically acclaimed novel of the West.
Jim Hawkins hardly said a word to anybody, but that all changed in the
spring of 1920 when Hawkins took his young grandson, Henry Lancaster,
along on a scouting trip. Scouting for memories. The man who rarely
talked tells his grandson how he came to Montana from Texas as a young
teen-ager with his pards Tommy O'Hallahan and John Henry Kenton,
cowboys looking for country free of barbed wire, and how the winter of
1886-87 changed his life.
This is a powerful character study,
aimed for younger and older readers, richly detailed, with emotions as
raw as the brutal winter winds.
tooling design courtsey of
Charles Favour - Santa Fe, NM
Max Evans, author of The Rounders and The Hi Lo Country: "From the
original and skillfully written award-winning short story "A Piano at
Dead Man's Crossing" to the novel Hard Winter is a long and rare jump
uphill. Johnny Boggs made it. The novel has passages that shine like
hard-polished silver. The Hard Winter people and their ordeal are
indelible Western writing. It should be read wearing fur-lined gloves.
A dozen warm toasts to the mountaintop already in Mr. Boggs's sight."
Publishers
Weekly: "With hardly a shot fired, Spur Award-winner Boggs delivers one
of his best westerns. ... Boggs has produced a tender and suspenseful
western that doesn't need to rely on gun smoke."
Booklist: "The
prolific Boggs turns in another solid western. ... the characters are
well drawn and engaging, and the final section ... is gripping.
Recommended particularly for western readers who prefer character
development over action."
Roundup:
"A Western tale in the guise of a touching reminiscence ... Boggs' warm,
comfortable style brims with tight description and dialogue rich in
understated humor in this moving novel of a man's youth ...."
The
Fence Post: "Johnny D. Boggs has another great tale in Hard Winter ...
a coming of age story set in the midst of Montana's harsh winter of
1886-1887 .... Though ideal for youth readers, this is
a book adults will like, too."
