Overview

Author of The Big Sky series, The Way West, and the screenplay for the classic film Shane, among other timeless stories of frontier mountain men, icon of Western literature A. B. “Bud” Guthrie Jr. brought blazing realism to the story of the West. That realism, which astounded and even shocked some readers, came out of the depth of Guthrie’s historical research and an acuity that had seldom been seen in the work of Western novelists. In Under the Big Sky Jackson J. Benson details the life and work of this true giant on the Western literary landscape. Benson illuminates the critical details of Guthrie’s upbringing and education, the influence his intellectually inclined father had on him, his work as a newspaperman in Kentucky, and his time at Harvard University. Animated by the observations of friends, family, and fellow authors, this intimate account offers rare insight into the life and work of a remarkable writer and into the making of the literary West.  

Full Product Details

Author:   Jackson J. Benson
Publisher:   University of Nebraska Press
Imprint:   Bison Books
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.522kg
ISBN:  

9780803243583

ISBN 10:   0803243588
Pages:   360
Publication Date:   01 November 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. By George, I'm Free! 2. A Smart Aleck and a Wise Guy 3. Alone in a Small and Self-Contained City 4. Marriage, Family, and Separation 5. The First Novel and Plans for the Big One 6. The Big Break--the Nieman Fellowship 7. The Big Sky Triumph and Tracking The Way West 8. To Hollywood and Shane and the Move to Montana 9. Bucking the Myth: These Thousand Hills 10. Down in the Dumps--Drink and Divorce 11. Living with Janie and Courting Carol 12. The Old Man and the Young Woman Wed 13. Arfive, and Speaking to the Young--Earth Day 14. The Twin Lakes Imbroglio and Building the Barn 15. What Happened to Boone? 16. Fair Land, Fair Land: The End of the Trail Afterword: Fishing the Pishkun Notes and Documentation Index

Reviews

[ Under the Big Sky ] is a good picture of the man overall, one whose brother Chick described as 'a smart aleck and a wise guy.' But one who gave us all an enduring history of the West through fiction. --Pete Warzel, Montana Quarterly --Pete Warzel Montana Quarterly

Author Information

Jackson J. Benson is an emeritus professor of American literature at San Diego State University and the author of ten books. Among them are five biographies of Western writers, including The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer, which won the PEN USA award for nonfiction, and Wallace Stegner: His Life and Work, which won the Evans Biography Award, and is available in a Bison Books edition. He and his wife live part of the year in La Mesa, California, and part in a cabin in the Sierras.

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