The Oregon Desert

I'll agree with the two previous writers and add that the book has a lot of wisdom on horses. Mr. Long made his living on horse back, and grew up with horses at a time before the automoble made it to Eastern Oregon. There is a lot about working with and raising horses, and the capture of wild mustangs.

For a book published over 40 years ago, this read is still relevant and engaging. With snippets of history, humor, science and just plain common sense, it is a good introduction to life in the high desert from a native's perspective. This book was the one that got me hooked on Central Oregon over 25 years ago, enough to live here. People tend to think of the desert as dry and drab, but it is brightly colored by its people and history. A must read for anyone traveling through or moving to the Oregon Outback.

This is an amazing book for anyone who knows, or wants to know anything about Oregon's high desert and the high desert way of life back in the mid 1900's. Many pictures add to the mental pictures your mind conjures up as you read the most amusing stories of old. After reading this book, I even bought the DVD entitled "Indian Fighter" (Kurt Douglas and his then wife both star!), because the author provided the stock for the movie and talks about it a bit in the book. The DVD is a great way to see the high country the book talks about!