Yours, From Wyoming

Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review Title: Yours, from Wyoming Some people simply breathe the air; others savor the aroma and fragrance in each and every breath. Some people look out at a landscape and see mountains, fields and streams; others see minute details of weather, life, beauty only a trained eye such as the curator of a museum would depict from a masterpiece. Some people would say "Hi" and smile at a stranger in passing, others lock eyes and share grinned greetings forming an intimacy and thus getting to know the person during the encounter. To Robert W. Howe, the latter comes naturally, instinctively, and passionately. In his book entitled "Yours, from Wyoming" he ardently comprised scores of life's observations, meticulously articulated, in letters he wrote to others over years past. He weaved his experiences into a fabric of a description of humanity with almost divine grace and understanding. A fabric that can be woven into a poncho, draped over a cowboy mounted on horseback, to keep the chill off from the prevailing winds in the wilderness. Categorized in seasons and months, his book brings the reader into his life, his world, his beliefs and most impressively as seen through his eyes. More so than most authors, Mr. Howe's excellent writing and skilled observations create a voice in a reader's mind of a humble man of extraordinary genius, a follower of God's teachings, a master of communicating, and a deep romantic lover of people. His unpretentious skill of gaining respect from others by giving the utmost respect transcends just humans, but in a cowboy sense cascades to horses, livestock, pets and the wildlife he encounters. With the honed skills of a mountain man, he is a polished gentleman just the same. A person the reader will want to get to know, whilst reading begin to know, and when finished remember him as a friend they knew. I found this book to change me, perhaps the highest compliment I could give to a literary piece. It made me appreciate so much more by slowing down time, and undoing knots of confusion and pressures one faces to get to a pace of cowboy time, shepherd time, wildlife time, seasonal time, or even geological time. Uniquely printed using a landscape binding with portrait pages imprinted, yielding 4 pages per view, its published style somehow physically reminded me of trips to the wide open vistas of mountainscapes, fields and plains, rivers, and large sections of sky. The writing is gilded with a beautiful portfolio of illustrations by Vel Miller. Like a song or a scent can trigger memories, for me landscapes now will trigger in my mind's eye a higher appreciation of the minutia of details, thanks to my new wonderful mentor, Mr. Robert W. Howe.

This book gives you a month-by-month view of what life is like in southern Wyoming with regards to the author's interaction with the natural world around him. It is presented as excerpts from a personal journal. His eye for detail really helps paint a "word-picture" of what he was seeing take place around him. I especially enjoyed Mr. Howe's anecdotes of the people he has known or come in contact with over the years and their unique stories. Some descriptions had almost too many adjectives for me but it was easy to move on the next entry to find something of more personal interest. Even though it is not written from a religous viewpoint Mr. Howe does a great job of helping you see the beauty and wonder of God's creation and nature's "cycle of life."