Description
Book SynopsisBill Vaughn’s work explores the political and economic development of twentieth-century Montana as it was shaped by two families: the Herrins, who were Republican ranchers, and the Burkes, who were Democratic journalists, lawyers, and politicians.
Trade Review"Any book that opens with an epigraph from Shakespeare—
Romeo and Juliet, no less—is bound to be dramatic, and Vaughn does not disappoint. The first chapter, 'Without a Trace,' plunges readers into the most mundane of domestic dramas—a father and husband abandoning his family 'to run off with a married woman'—in a deft and subtle way that foreshadows the major themes here: the power and resolve of women to endure in 'a man's world,' and the complicated politics of rural family life. . . . The upshot of this study is that appearances are deceiving, and each unhappy family is, as Tolstoy observed, 'unhappy in its own way.'"—
Montana, The Magazine of Western History"Vaughn's attention-grabbing writing style will engage a public audience, immediately drawing readers in with
Yellowstone-like theatrics of shady Montana politics, nepotism, and 'friends' favoritism. Here is a historical drama of go-getters: daring individuals and families whose actions and motivations—including but not limited to pride, ambition, aggression, fighting, violence, and court cases—whether professional or agricultural—often mirrored one another."—Rebecca A. Buller,
Journal of Family History"Anyone with an interest in the local history of Montana or the shapes of lives lived in the American West will find this book of interest."—
Kansas History"By looking at the family he married into and following the tendrils out from Helena to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and back home to Montana again, Vaughn did something new and unusual in the historical literature of Montana. That's something to be admired."—Thomas Plank,
Missoulian"Tracing the history of two Montana families through four generations and showing how they came together in the third generation through marriage, Missoula author Bill Vaughn provides a story as much about Montana, its dreams, myths, and deceptions."—Charles E. Rankin,
Roundup Magazine“A dishy, encyclopedic romp through twentieth-century Montana history. I was amazed that a book containing so many disparate nuggets could hew to a narrative structure that enticed me to read it so quickly.”—John Clayton, author of
Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America’s Public LandsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Maps
Preface
1. Without a Trace
2. First-Generation Americans
3. The Migrants
4. The Home Front
5. Girl Reporter
6. Lighting Out for the Territory
7. Wild and Wooly
8. A Man of Means
9. Wool Mania
10. The Water Below and the Air Above
11. In the Grease
12. Under the Swaying Palms
13. For the Love of the Game
14. No Longer the Lazy Crop
15. How to Prosper When Times Are Dark
16. Greener Pastures
17. An Heir Is Born
18. Dark Acres
19.
Res Ipsa Loquitur 20. The Last Acre
Appendix 1: The Oxbow Ranch
Appendix 2: The Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers
Appendix 3:
Baertsch v. Baertsch Notes
