Rivers of Wind: A Western Boyhood Remembered

By Gary Penley

Winner of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association Gold MedalGary Penley 1/2s story of how his grandfather took hold of his boyhood is a welcome visit to that most mapless territory, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865410445
• ISBN13: 9780865410442
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Filter Press
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Thoroughly enjoyed it!

In Rivers of Wind, Gary Penley crafts a vivid and absorbing recollection of his youth on a remote Colorado cattle ranch in the 1950's,where strong and loving family bonds were forged amidst the isolation, hardship, and danger of life on the high Plains. Using his extraordinary writing skills, Penley creates a powerful narrative by weaving his passion for the land, and all the forces of nature which shaped it; with a poignant, often humorous, description of his family life -- his Mom, brother George and a resolute, larger-than-life pioneer grandfather, whom he calls Dad. Foremost among those forces of nature with which the family must contend is the omnipotent, often capricious, wind. At times, dependable, nurturing "rivers of wind" drive the machinery that pumps life-sustaining water to the surface of that arid countryside; at other times, manifesting itself as the embodiment of death and destruction in the form of tornadoes, blizzards, and monstrous dust storms. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rivers of Wind. It is not only a touching and inspiring story, but also a valuable historical record for its detailed portrayal of life at the end of the pioneer era in the American West.

A kind of "window in time"

Rivers Of Wind: A Western Boyhood Remembered is the autobiographical story of how Gary Penley's growing up on a ranch in the plains of Colorado, the influence and example of his grandfather, his mother, and a yesteryear of ranch life that is gone now. Interwoven memories of the people, the geography of the land, the animals, and the climate of the high western plains, Rivers Of Wind is a kind of "window in time" that will engage the reader's rapt attention from first page to last. A tribute to a time and place now found only in memory, Rivers Of Wind is unique and enthusiastically recommended reading.

Rivers of Wind, a great read

I am an avid reader and this book, Rivers of Wind, was absolutely great. An easy and smooth book to read and every page was enjoyable. The author painted vivid pictures and I could see it like a movie. One of those books that you really hate it when you finish. I could have read it for a month. Thanks, Gary, whoever you are.Tom DesaulniersLeeds, AL

The best description I've seen of Southeastern Colorado

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I guess it is because I relate to it having been born and raised in Southeastern Colorado during late 1930's on. This book is about an area I know well and gives a wonderful description of the area and folks there. A great area to live in with some of the best people on earth living there.The land is hard and unforgiving to the weakhearted, warm and challenging to the determined. Gary did this book justice and my family enjoyed it. I want to buy our own copy to read it again and again. Thanks

A wonderful book capturing life on the Colorado plains.

Gary Penley has captured a rural lifestyle that is now almost non-existent in this wonderful book. Although not so distant in time, the book transports the reader to a lifestyle where the close relationship of a family is necessary to survive the natural elements. Gary captures this personal piece of American history in a way that keeps one feeling as though they have been transported back in time. This is a book that is so full of emotion - bringing both frequent laughter and tears to the reader - that it is extemely difficult to put down before finishing. Whenever I started to be amazed at the hardships on the ranch, a story within the bigger story caused me to burst out laughing. The book is unique and very much worth reading!