The Legend of Colton H. Bryant

by Alexandra Fuller

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight comes theunforgettable true story of a boy who comes of age in the oil fields and openplains of Wyoming. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594201838
• ISBN13: 9781594201837
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Length: 202 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Powerful, affecting, finest kind

I finished this in tears late last night. Deeply affecting, marvelously scribed -- a do-not-miss tome. I'm surprised there hasn't been much fuss about this one in the press since it's quite provocative, especially during this time of frenzied reconsideration of fossil fuel. Kudos to Fuller for the most powerful book I've read in ages.

Setting a place for Colton

I recently heard Alexandra speak at the Jackson Hole Writers Conference and she had me at hello. Her passion for finding and telling Colton's story was as essential as breathing, as drinking water. As she worked on the story, spending time away from her family to drive the wide open roads of Wyoming or to spend time on the oil patch, the sacrifice seemed worth it. For as she says, all there is and will ever be is the story teller and the story told. I was most touched by how much she lived the story. When spending hour after hour writing the story, she would occasionally tell her kids, "When you set the table tonight, set a place for Colton." Her compassion and care come across throughout the writing as she carefully weaves together the beauty and tragedy of Colton H. Bryant. She "gave away" the story during reading; and even when I knew the ending, I found the words and scenes and descriptions stacking themselves around me, creating a place of beauty and sorrow and rest. I spent 10 days in Wyoming, paddling, driving, attending a rodeo, falling in love with the vastness of land. Fuller's book gave me a story of people and place to help me come to know this place on an even deeper level.

Outstanding

Through her investigative reports of the effect of the oil industry on the western way of life, Alexandra Fuller stumbled across a story that grabbed a hold of her heart and pen. A generational oil patch worker didn't say enough about this simple Wyoming boy with a spirit for forgiveness and laughter who had but one wish: to be like his father. Fuller takes on the voice of Wyoming's brutal elements, endearing family and friends, and the soul of its society to present a gut-wrenching story that will haunt you after the final page has fallen flat between the covers. She delivers this story in prose alive with the harsh vastness of the wild Wyoming west and the loyalty of the souls who live it, work it and love it. I sojourned quickly through "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant," tugged along by a steady, poetic voice that drew me into this poignant story of an American boy who lived a short life as a grown man. This sheds light on big oil and our country's glutton thirst for more--at all cost.

Absolutely Brilliant Writing

One of the best books I've ever read. As a new resident of Wyoming(Jackson Hole), this book introduced me to the real Wyoming, lending a personal feel to the towns and people among the "vast emptiness". My drives through La Barge, Marbleton, Big Piney, Kemmerer and the like, will never be the same, enhanced by the understanding of the people that work and live in these towns. That being said, this is a book for those who have never set foot in Wyoming, for those who have never ventured from big city America. This book writes about the unsung heroes of our country. The character development and dialogue will have the reader racing through pages while at the same time pausing frequently to postpone the end to some of the best reading since A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published.