Bad Land: An American Romance (Thorndike Large Print Americana Series)

Rating:
Summary: Masterful
Review: This was the first of Raban's books that I had read and I was captivated. Being an avid reader (2-3 books in a good week) I was struck by Raban's command of the language - although their styles are completely different, this is the first writer that I have come across with a command of the language on a par with that of Evelyn Waugh. I read Bad Land four or five times and purchased several copies for various friends. As a professional photographer I was so inspired that I drove from Montreal to Montana and spent three weeks photographing the very things and places that Raban describes. Unlike some of the reviewers from Montana, I failed to find his descriptions of the locals derogatory and found all the people that I met out in Montana to be wonderfully warm and welcoming. The owner of one of the motels that I stayed in even offered me his pistol with rat-shot in case I came across any mischievous rattlesnakes during my trips out on the plains. I met up with a rancher and his wife and they were kind enough to show me around their ranch. They took me to an old, crumbling building from the 1890s and also to some sandstone rocks where the graffiti of cattle handlers from 1898 was still clearly visible etched in the stone. There were deserted and semi-deserted towns all over the place and it was all truly fascinating. What a wonderful part of the country - a spartan beauty.

Anyway, I can't praise this book enough - It might even be the most enjoyable book that I've read in the past ten years.