7. Fair Land, Fair Land - A.B. Guthrie - 4.5/5 - A.B. Guthrie is recognized as the greatest writer of "Westerns". He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for his book The Way West which was the 2nd book in his Big Sky series. His first book The Big Sky and 2nd The Way West were the two best books in the series. Fair Land, Fair Land was written in 1982, thirty some years after he won the Pulitzer in 1950. This was a re-read for me and I found it to be at least as enjoyable to read the 2nd time around. The story took place in the time period 1845 - 1870. The following is one paragraph from the book to give you an idea of his writing:
Higgins cast his eye around. The ripples of the river ran red, catching the beams of a sun soon to set. Eastward the valley flowed yellow and warm until the far banks rose to benchlands. The mountains were darkening, black purple as the sun slid behind them. For once no wind blew, not even a breeze, and the campfire smoke lifted lazy and straight. A fish jumped in the stream.