Under the Big Sky: A Biography of a. B. Guthrie Jr.

Author of The Big Sky series, The Way West, and the screenplay for the classic film Shane, among other timeless stories of frontier mountain men, icon of Western literature A. B. "Bud" Guthrie Jr. brought blazing realism to the story of the West. That realism, which astounded and even shocked some readers, came out of the depth of Guthrie's historical research and an acuity that had seldom been seen in the work of Western novelists. In Under the Big Sky Jackson J. Benson details the life and work of this true giant on the Western literary landscape. Benson illuminates the critical details of Guthrie's upbringing and education, the influence his intellectually inclined father had on him, his work as a newspaperman in Kentucky, and his time at Harvard University. Animated by the observations of friends, family, and fellow authors, this intimate account offers rare insight into the life and work of a remarkable writer and into the making of the literary West.  

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. "By George, I'm Free!"     2. A Smart Aleck and a Wise Guy     3. Alone in a Small and Self-Contained City     4. Marriage, Family, and Separation 5. The First Novel and Plans for the Big One    6. The Big Break--the Nieman Fellowship   7. The Big Sky Triumph and Tracking The Way West      8. To Hollywood and Shane and the Move to Montana     9. Bucking the Myth: These Thousand Hills 10. Down in the Dumps--Drink and Divorce  11. Living with Janie and Courting Carol  12. The Old Man and the Young Woman Wed   13. Arfive, and Speaking to the Young--Earth Day 14. The Twin Lakes Imbroglio and Building the "Barn"  15. "What Happened to Boone?" 16. Fair Land, Fair Land: The End of the Trail  Afterword: Fishing the Pishkun  Notes and Documentation Index

About the Author :
Jackson J. Benson is an emeritus professor of American literature at San Diego State University and the author of ten books. Among them are five biographies of Western writers, including The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer, which won the PEN USA award for nonfiction, and Wallace Stegner: His Life and Work, which won the Evans Biography Award, and is available in a Bison Books edition. He and his wife live part of the year in La Mesa, California, and part in a cabin in the Sierras.

Review :
"A thorough, well-written, lively, and authoritative account of A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s life." - Richard W. Etulain, Oregon Historical Quarterly "In this caring yet objective account of the novelist's life, Jackson J. Benson uncovers the passions and demons in Guthrie's life away from the desk, lending the biography meaning for general readers as well as writers." - Washington Post "One measure of a writer's biography is the degree to which it expands one's appreciation of the author's work and increases the pleasure of reading it. Good biographies should also give readers insight into the people being written about: why they were who they were, why they became who they became. Under the Big Sky succeeds on all counts." - Bloomsbury Review "A welcome biography of the Western novelist and environmentalist." - Kirkus Reviews "Guthrie was a man of ideas who was quick to question and eager to learn what prompted settlers to step outside the confines of their secure lives. Benson's biography follows Guthrie's own personal quest for transcendence." - ForeWord "[Under the Big Sky] is a good picture of the man overall, one whose brother Chick described as 'a smart aleck and a wise guy.' But one who gave us all an enduring history of the West through fiction." - Pete Warzel, Montana Quarterly