'Tonto Basin' is a story of tragedy and hope that depicts the vicious conflict between the Isbel family and a gang of cattle thieves known as the Hash Knife Gang, a war that is further complicated... This description may be from another edition of this product.
The Graham-Tewskbury feud on which this story is based is as legendary out West as the Hatfield-McCoy feud is back East. Zane Grey, of course, adds his own twist to the facts, but over-all this is probably the most accurate accounting there will ever be, as Zane Grey was able to talk to old-timers who were still living and had gone through the feud. The one scene with the hogs is the one most readers will never forget, and is based on fact. The "Romeo and Juliet" part is consistent with other romances written by Grey, and has to be in the story line to make it historical romance, which is what he considered himself to be writing---not westerns! In fact, the word, or term, "western" was not even coined until around 1930. By then Zane Grey had been writing this kind of stories for 20 years. We do an injustice to him when we say, "oh, the writer of westerns" when his name is mentioned. Tonto Basin is worth reading, and owning, without a doubt. Compared to the "original" what was left out was the basis for the feud, a woman we never meet and is dead when the story begins.
Understanding Family
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Having never read the censored version I cannot compare to this new edtion. However, I reccommend this book as a good read on family and loyalty. Sometimes it seems that there are two situations in which families with not so great histories are explored: 1. the child breaks free and leads a pretty good life or 2. the child becomes the parents. This story leans a bit more toward 1 than two but still shows how much family means even if the family is imperfect. The writing is simple and yet alluring. I enjoyed the setting and the characters too.
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