The Sagebrush Anthology: Literature from the Silver Age of the Old West (MARK TWAIN & HIS CIRCLE)

Sagebrush School is a term applied to a group of writers who spent their creative years in Nevada from the 1860s to the early twentieth century—its most illustrious representative being Mark Twain. Yet most of their work was never republished from the periodicals in which it first appeared and today remains largely unknown to many scholars and aficionados of Western literature.
Lawrence I. Berkove, acknowledged as the leading authority on this body of literature, has assembled an exceptional collection that rescues the lively works of the Sagebrush School from the dusty archives in which they have languished. The Sagebrush Anthology enlarges Mark Twain’s circle to encompass the Sagebrush Bohemians through a compelling blend of humorous and serious fiction, memoir, nonfiction, letters, and poetry. These selections convey the experiences shaped by Nevada’s rough-and-tumble culture, abounding in wit and humor—with a fondness for literary hoaxes—that were the last major formative influence on Twain.
The anthology contains sixty-eight selections—seven by Twain—representing outstanding work by accomplished Sagebrushers Dan De Quille, Sam Davis, Joe Goodman, and Rollin Daggett, plus pieces by lesser-known writers such as Arthur McEwen, Alf Doten, and Fred Hart. Berkove’s introduction recounts the history of the school and identifies and analyzes its main thematic and stylistic characteristics. He shows that Sagebrush literature records and reflects the collision of the last generation of frontiersmen with the new culture of technology, industry, and big business—men of talent, imagination, and integrity driven to work out distinctive ways of coping with an unresponsive system of justice, an economy tilted toward the rich, and a society that impinged on individual liberties.
Although many critics have noted the influence that this period had on Twain when he lived in Virginia City, few have delineated the influence of specific writers on his style. The Sagebrush Anthology not only shows that some of the ideas and literary techniques credited to Twain can be seen as characteristics of the school that he assimilated and refined, but it also fosters an appreciation of these other writers in their own right, showing that their work encompassed topics and genres that Twain barely addressed. By casting new light on the movement, it invites students and general readers to appreciate a silver flowering of Western literature that remains entertaining and instructive for our own time.

When I made my trip to Grand Teton National Park in 2008, both times that I hiked out to the Old Patriarch the mountains were obscured by clouds by the time I got to the majestic old tree. On the first day of my trip this year, my plan was to drive up to Yellowstone from Grand Teton (where I flew in) after shooting Schwabachers Landing and a few of the highway turnouts. I shot Schwabachers, but the weather was so nice, I decided to hike out to the Patriarch and get some good weather shots just in case the weather was bad for the shoot I planned there later in the trip and got a few good shots that morning. When the planned shoot rolled around eight days later, the weather was almost perfect for catching the celestial event I had calculated for: the moon setting just to the right of the cathedral group over the Old Patriarch and Cascade Canyon. This is a black and white conversion of the result. As the moon sank lower, some more clouds did move in occasionally obscuring the moon, but I was able to get the shots I wanted. I now have a 20"x30" canvas print of the color version of the image hanging in my dining room. This was created and posted in an attempt to have cooler thoughts as Austin, Texas is gripped in a drought and heat wave with over 20 consecutive days of highs over 100° F. The high temperatures in the Tetons…the high 70's. I'm six weeks away from my next visit to my favorite park, my first in the fall and am bursting with anticipation.

old church bell used to welcome in the new year; believe it came from England, from my friend's Mum; don't know what church it came from. Took four different angles of photos; hope someone will recognized the origin.

Packed with big truth, this little book on the Old Testament canbe read in roughly one hour, making it a book you'll actually read.Mark Driscoll, one of America's most influential pastors, answersthe nine most common questions about the Old Testament-questionsabout authorship, what Jesus says about the Old Testament, how theOld Testament books were chosen as Scripture, and more-and gives anoverview of the various kinds of Old Testament literature. Twoappendices include a comprehensive list of further resources and achecklist for reading through the entire Old Testament.
On the Old Testament is part of a series ofinexpensive and accessible books that give clear, biblical answersto difficult theological questions and controversies. Through thisseries readers will get a solid and simple introduction to theBible by investing just a little time.