Panhandle Pioneer

A traditional western at its best, by, one of the foremost known writers of westerns, Bradford Scott, who also wrote under his real name of Leslie Scott. But under either name Mr. Scott knew how to keep the reader interested in his characters. Cliff Hardy is one of those characters who somehow manages to become involved in many different enterprises in trying to make a living--from buffalo bone hauling, operating a saloon, to ranching--and each one of them runs him afoul of someone who doesn't want him running those businesses. Try one of his westerns, I think you'll like it.

A Western Classic by a Classic Western writer. Bradford Scott,the author of this novel was born in West Virginia, and during the Great War, spent four years in the French Foreign Legion in trenches.In the 1920's he worked as a mining engineer in western American states and China before settling in New York.He wrote a large number of Western Novels and one can find 120 0f them shown on "Fantastic Fiction".I was unable to find a biography for him and am unable to find if he is still alive,but having served in WW1,it is highly unlikely. This novel was published this year,but was Copyright 1957 and again in 1985. It is an excellent western in every respect;and shows that well written westerns can certainly stand the test of time.A note on the cover states that there have been "More than 8 million Bradford Scott books sold". After reading this one,it is not surprising. It is a well constructed and written saga with excellent characters and while a good action story,it gives a good account of the experiences that pioneers went through in the Old West; trying to carve out lives for themselves and their families. This was done during times of extreme struggles with the unforgiving land and enviroment.This went on in a time when law and justice was rough and wild and in many cases it had to be tackled by oneself,if one hoped to survive ,particularly against unscrupulous barons or outlaws. This novel reminds me of the western movies and TV series that were much more common in the 60's than today. If you remember the great TV series like "The Big Valley"(1965-1969) with Barbara Stanwick,or "Bonanza" with Ben Cartright; this novel will bring back fond memories. I have enjoyed recent TV series like,"Dead Man's Gun" and "Deadwood";but the westerns of the 60's were very different. "A Tip of the Hat" to Dorchester Publishing and Golden West Literary Agency for keeping this great western literature alive and available.