Monday, July 11, 2011

Book Review: Riding the Edge of an Era


Riding the Edge of an Era: Growing Up Cowboy on the Outlaw Trail (High Plaines Press) by Diana Allen Kouris is a heartwarming memoir of a girl raised on a ranch bordering Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

The youngest of six children, Diana Kouris grew up well acquainted with hard work and hard play, with the resiliency to thrive in both. Brown’s Park Livestock Ranch is situated in an area rich with history. Brave pioneers lived on this land; so did Butch Cassidy and others of his ilk.

Riding the Edge of an Era takes readers into the daily life of a loving family dedicated to each other, their livestock and the land that sustains them. As little children, they were entrusted with responsibilities that would be tough for adults to accomplish. High expectations were a part of life for this family and a necessity to exist in this rough country.

The three youngest siblings remain close to each other and to their parents through adulthood, returning to the ranch to help trail cattle to distant pastures, or to bring them in for market.

Throughout the book, photographs give additional flavor to Kouris’ story. Some characters, such as her father, seem bigger than life, but when you see his picture, you can see why. He’s the epitome of a tough, successful rancher.

Riding the Edge of an Era: Growing Up Cowboy on the Outlaw Trail is an extraordinary story written by a woman steeped in a western ranching environment.

3 comments:

Irene Bennett Brown said...

Riding the Range of an Era sounds like a great book, an adventure for the reader as well as the writer. Thanks, Diane and Mary.

Irene Bennett Brown said...

Riding the Range of an Era sounds like a great book, an adventure for the reader as well as the writer. Thanks, Diane and Mary.

Eunice Boeve said...

I have Kouris' book in my stack back in Kansas. Now I really am anxious to read it. I'm in Montana now, but hope to be home in a few weeks.