As Big as the West: The Pioneer Life of Granville Stuart

This is a very interesting book that relates the biography of a western pioneer, Granville Stuart, and while doing it, tells part of the story of the beginnings of the great state of Montana. The book relates the gold rush of the 1860s in Virginia City and the initial vigilante events that occurred there. It also relates Granville Stuart's experiences as a cattleman of the 1880s in central Montana and his leadership of the "stranglers". I believe that the movie "Open Range" used the character of Granville Stuart for its portrayal of the cattle baron in that movie (and the gun fight in Lewiston was the origins for the gunfight in that movie - that gunfight is also highlighted in this book). But Granville was more than that. He was the state department's contact for Paraguay and Uruguay, a librarian, a gun collector, a federal officer in a number of instances, etc. He led a long life and essentially died poor primarily because his "friends" finagled his holdings and used this to make their millions. But, he wasn't poor in experiences and this book relates them well. If you like the West of the 19th century, I highly recommend this book.

Clyde Milner and Carol O'Connor have put together not only a well researched biography of legendary western figure Granville Stuart, but they've made it readable and thought-provoking. Stuart's life spanned America's western frontier era and it serves as metaphor for much of what the country experienced during that period. Whether you are an academic or just a western history buff, you'll want to find room on your shelf for this excellent and long-needed biography.

Dr. Milner and Dr O'Connor I am a retired USAF officer who for the last few years has been a semi-retired consultant living in Bozeman, Montana. One of my pastimes for the last few years has been extensive contributions to Wikipedia on a wide variety of subjects to include Montana History. As such, I happened to acquire your recent work on Granville Stuart--As Big as the West. I am not a trained Historian and most of my academic work has focused on International Politics, Institutions and Geopolitical history so I have no credentials to judge your work other than the enjoyment reading it brought me. What a masterful work it is and probably one of the best, if not the best biography I have ever read. You brought the lives of Granville and James Stuart and their times into a focus that is hard to describe. Having lived in and out of Montana a few times since the early 1970s, I have traveled to or through most the places Granville and James lived. I grew up in California and am intimately familar with the northern gold fields and the history of the state. As an Air Force officer, I worked for two years in a U.S. Consulate overseas. All these experiences, combined with your masterful, objective and well researched narratives of their lives, made 'As Big As The West' a joy to read. On Friday and Saturday of this week, I flew into and out of Bozeman on clear, sunny days to and from the East coast on business. On both trips, from the Bighorn to Billings, I could look out my window and see the Musselshell and Judith Basins to the North, and trace the Yellowstone up to Miles City. In doing so, I had vivid pictures of Granville at the DHS, the vigilantes and James encountering the Crows near the Bighorn. Your work brought those images to life. As I finished the last few pages yesterday evening and started into the Epilogue, tears came to my eyes just like they did for many of those who knew him when Granville was buried in Deer Lodge in 1918. Your biography of Granville Stuart, at least for this reader, made me feel like I knew and respected him as well. Many Thanks. Mike Cline Bozeman, Montana

This biography of Montana's founding father, Granville Stuart, is comprehensive and well researched, and throws light on dark corners of Mr. Stuart's life. The authors are unusually judgmental, and frequently halt the narrative to discuss Mr. Stuart's failings, especially toward his Shoshone wife and mixed-blood children. The work is also riddled with "gotcha" moments almost from the opening paragraphs. While the authors do not neglect the 19th century values and frontier social milieu that shaped Stuart, their judgments are based on modern progressive social standards, many of which were unknown to Mr. Stuart. One wishes that the authors would simply let Granville Stuart's behavior speak for itself. Mr. Stuart's dismaying conduct in, say, Indian affairs or as a vigilante, is obvious to readers. The net effect of the biography is to diminish Stuart's reputation and demythologize the founding father of Montana. The book will have great value to any reader who can get past the authors' moralizing.