Desert Gold

by Zane Grey

A sound disturbed Cameron’s reflections. He bent his head listening. A soft wind fanned the paling embers blew sparks and white ashes and thin smoke away into the enshrouding circle of blackness.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, Ebooks

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Pearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading Zane Gray in the '50s and he still holds my interest...re-reading some of his books. What a powerful western tale spinner!

[Bill Gunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Gave historical perspective most do not have regarding battles on border and policies of our government during that time regarding immigration.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Zane Grey’s books, although currently a bit over 100 years old, still seems relatively modern in writing, more, say, Agatha Christie than Henry James. This one also seemed different than the few others of Grey’s books that I’ve read recently. In this, a few of the main characters are from Illinois, and one is a college graduate that played football. And he happens to meet up with old football rivals in a dive bar in Mexico. This football talk seemed to set the stage for the rest of the book. It seemed that the action throughout the book is akin to guys on a football team setting up plays. The action is always planned, with you go that way, and I’ll go that way types of instructions. I haven’t noticed this before in Grey’s books, and it seems like maybe Grey attended his first football game while writing this book and combined things. I was waiting for Red Grange to save the rangers, but, perhaps not so strangely given the racial epithets of the times, an American Indian does save the rangers. (Too bad the events don’t line up for that juxtaposition to be possible.)

Grey is a master at making the scenery a part of the story. Here, he describes our rangers trapped in a desert on the US-Mexico border along what is described as an active volcano. Interesting exaggeration – makes for good storytelling but a bit over the top.

Enjoyable overall, but I found keeping track of the characters a bit of a chore.

Read for Book Riot's 2018 Challenge, filling the prompt "read a western".

[Dede Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written book in which you learn of the desert’s dangers and of the desert’s unspeakable beauty.
Having lived in a desert for almost 10 years, the descriptions took me back. Getting lost in the desert was always a fear of mine.
Time period is early 20th century and the border between Mexico and the U.S. is unsettled. Skirmishes between U.S. Rangers and Mexican rebels was a constant threat. Uniquely winding two stories together, it held my attention.
Colorful characters and I especially liked the Yaqui Native American which plays a pivotal role throughout the book.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get through this. Found the opening compelling and it just kinda went downhill from there.

[Geoffrey Benn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Desert Gold,” tells the story of Dick Gale, a restless wanderer in the west, and George Thorne, a US Army officer, who are brought together to protect Mercedes, George’s romantic interest, who is being relentlessly pursued by a Mexican bandit named Rojas. Zane Grey’s better-known novels, such as Riders of the Purple Sage and The Rainbow Bridge, are made great by their gorgeous descriptions of landscapes and by the moral challenges faced by their characters. Desert Gold has the former, but not the latter – the story is rife with beautiful depictions of desert landscapes, but the story arc and character development is predictable and somewhat boring. I would recommend it to fans of Zane Grey but not as a place to start if you haven’t read him before.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is dick lit.

Yes, dick lit, a very clever term I just coined. It means the male equivalent of chick lit.

I never really thought about it before, but it really does make sense. Westerns are male romances.

The basic plot is that a beautiful woman, Mercedes, has caught the eye of the local no-good (aka brown) bandit named Rojas. She and her husband enlist Dick Gale to help them flee from Rojas' territory. Gale is a recent arrival in the west and is just raring for some adventuring, so he joins up with them.

The diaolg is just absolutely hilarious. Here is Mercedes begging her soon-to-be husband and Gale to help her escape Rojas: "Ah, you two splendid Americans - so big, so strong, so fierce!"

So Gale agrees to help and develops a plan to begin a bar fight so that Mercedes can sneak out during the distraction. Upon entering the bar, he sees a few other Americans, so he approaches them, explains the situation, and asks for their help, "Well, you're my countrymen! We're in Mexico. A beautiful girl's honor and life are at stake."

Later Gale admits his love for another woman, Nell. "I want to hear something for myself. Something to have on long marches - round lonely campfires. Something to keep my spirit alive. Oh, Nell, you can't imagine the silence out there - the terrible world of sand and stone! Do you love me?"

If you can read that with a straight face, power to you. I mean to poke good-natured fun here. It's just that it's the male equivalent of, "I just want a big strong man to wrap me in his arms and make me feel safe," and it plays equally over-the-top and silly.

Unfortunately then it veers to another staple of chick lit, horrifically unhealthy relationships. The group is holed up at a local ranch but eventually decide they need to help Mercedes and her husband escape much further away. A good portion of the book describes the preparation and execution of this adventure.

Mercedes husband says, "But Rojas will never get his hands on my wife. If I can't kill him, I'll kill her!"

Yikes.

Then of course the bandit kidnaps the damsel and a firefight ensues, during which Mercedes attempts to throw herself off a cliff.

"Again Gale fired, hoping to hit Rojas, praying to kill Mercedes."

Because "better dead than raped" is seriously the explicit theme of the last third of the book.

I say again, yikes.

I try not to get too squicked by this. After all, it's genre fiction published in 1913. But ultimately I have decided that I like dick lit about as much as chick lit. No more Westerns for me, thanks.

[M.L. Bushman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zane Grey never fails to entertain me. This book is no exception.

The prologue starts out with what seems like a chance meeting between two prospectors in the desert who discover they have more in common than just a love of the desert and a hunt for gold. Fast forward to the main character, Richard Gale, a tenderfoot from Chicago who is looking to prove to his rich father that he's worth something as a man. While helping a friend rescue his girlfriend from an evil rogue named Rojas, Gale is caught up in unrest along the US/Mexican border and meets two rangers working for the Immigration Inspector, Belding, who lives along the Forlorn River. Gale goes to work for Belding and meets the woman of his dreams. Winning her is a whole other prospect, or prospector, take your pick here.

Grey neatly ties beginning and end together. If you like Westerns with a bit of depth, you won't be disappointed.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story starts in black and white, a vignette of an earlier day. A few clues lead the reader to see the connection when the full color story unfolds. Full color? Plenty! Zane Grey's flowery descriptive verbal paintings give you a full mind's eye of what happens when Dick Gale steps in to help a friend rescue a damsel in distress, then they flee for their lives from the nasty Rojas. A long enduring survival test in the desert with Gale and company including a strong supporting cast of rangers.

The story is long on verbal paintings and short on action. It's not a Max Brand, Luke Short or Louis L'Amour tale of the old west cowboys and brawls and shoot out, though it includes some of all of that. It's a tale of humanity and romance.

[John Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading a few Zane Grey books in my youth, enjoying the western genre during my teenage years. With that thought, I bought a collection of about 40 colorfully-bound Zane Grey books from a favorite local book store. In recent months, I've read a half dozen of the books. Although the novels are well-crafted, interesting plots set in exciting settings, I am finding the reading tedious. Grey exceedingly over-describes his characters, as well as his settings, almost to the extent of me waiting for it to get over . . . please. Just get on with the story! I'm not sure I'll get through the many books, or just give them away to clear space on my book shelves.

[Norma J. Koons · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Koons

Best I have read since Riders of the Purple Sage. I really like the imagery. Hard to put the book down.

[Dav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desert Gold
• by Zane Grey (Originally published 1913)


Summary: Richard "Dick" Gale, (now 25) a college football star, travels to Mexico to prove himself after failing in every business opportunity that his wealthy father (the Governor) had handed him. When he arrives at an Arizona border town (Casita), a chance meeting with an old friend (George Thorne) launches him into an adventure to save a young Spanish beauty (Mercedes Castaneda (loved for her beauty, hated as nobility) from a ruthless Mexican bandit (Rajos, the dandy rebel).

The story begins with a Prelude, a lone prospector in the Sonora desert region of the Arizona border; Cameron (aka Robert Burton). He is soon joined by an old man with a talent for finding buried water in the desert using a peach branch dowsing rod. As they become acquainted they discover a shared history.

The old man is Jonas Warren who's daughter Nell (Nellie Warren) had a baby by a scoundrel who ran off. Nell left home in disgrace; an unwed mother. Jonas pursued the man with murderous intent, but never found him nor his daughter. That young man was Burton, long since reformed. When he learned of the pregnancy Burton searched for Nell and they married (he keeps the marriage certificate with him), her child (Little Nell) now legitimate, but she wouldn't stay with him. In the past both men had searched for Nell to no avail.

They found gold and Burton marked the strike with stacks of rocks. Eventually the old man succumbs to heat and thirst. Burton stayed with him 'till the end and now it's too late for him to escape the scorching desert. In a shelter of rock with ancient painted images he places the tin box containing his marriage certificate and writes a last note in blood, in lieu of ink.

•

A number of years later the story resumes in the border town, Casita--a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Thorne is with the 9th calvary who are trying to maintain order. Mexican Rebels, sympathizers, spies, Greasers and bandits abound; cattle are rustled, women carried off, hostages murdered. It's serious trouble. Capture means a fate worse than death at the hands of Rojas and his gang of greasers; this is what Mercedes is trying to avoid. She makes her protectors swear to kill her if they fail to end Rojas.

Her father has been murdered by Rojas and she escaped. In Casita her fiance Thorne gets help from Dick Gale and two Cowboys, Jim Lash and Charlie Ladd (Laddy). They start a ruckus with Rojas and his men giving the couple time to escape to the American side of town. Thorne has to stay with the Calvary so the rescue party takes Mercedes to the ranch of Mr. Tom Belding.

Belding is a US Immigration official who hires Border Rangers to fend off raiders and smugglers (the book's writing coincides with the start of the Mexican Revolution). Lash and Ladd are Rangers and now Gale hires on as well. Here Gale falls in love with Belding's step-daughter, Nell Burton, now almost 20 years old. Years earlier Nellie married Tom and they settled on the ranch at the Forlorn River.


Rojas and gang soon arrive at the ranch. Dick, his friend the Yaqui Indian, the Rangers Lash and Ladd, Thorne and his wife Mercedes retreat into the desert; headed across the Sonora Desert away from the Mexican border, hoping to escape the murderous rebel. At the volcanic crater cliffs they engage in a gun battle and Rojas briefly gets his hands on Mercedes. Anti-climactically Yaqui drives Rojas off the cliff ending the threat; his gang shot, but the two Rangers, Yaqui and the cavalryman Thorne are wounded. It's some months 'till they can make their way back to Belding's ranch.

In the meantime Chase and Son Mining Company seize the land claims held by the rangers, claim the water rights, cost Belding his immigration position, blow up his underground spring and demand Nell marry Chase's son. Finally the Rangers return and Dick pounds Chase Junior for trying to steal his fiance. Dick and Nell wed.

In the end Yaqui leads Dick up the mountain cliffs above the ranch where he finds the source of the Forlorn River and the long ago staked out claim of Robert Burton and Jonas Warren. Here Dick plans to stake his own claim for the water rights to the river; ending the Chase's monopoly of the river. They also find Burton's tin box, the certificate of marriage to Nellie (proof of Nell's legitimate birth) and a note bequeathing the Gold Strike to the finder and little Nell. He plans to share it all with the Beldings and the Rangers.

Part of the story was Nell's shame as an illegitimate child. If she wouldn't marry Chase Jr they threatened to humiliate Nell and her mother. Now, over a century later, there's no longer any disgrace associated with the antiquated morality in out-of-wedlock births--not necessarily a good thing.

The hundred year old writing takes some getting used to, but in reflection the story is heartfelt.

Some of the story and prose are delightful.



..

[Hans · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, we found this well-used, but beautiful 1913 hardback Zane Grey novel for $2 at the Oakland Museum's annual White Elephant sale. (It might have even been cheaper if we picked it up in the bag-of-books-for-$5 day.) I've never read Zane Grey, but have grown to love the desert and have heard that he has amazing descriptions of the desert.

Guess what: he does. 5-stars for his descriptions of the beauty, desolation, danger, and expanse of the Western desert.

Now, some day I imagine that I'll probably read a story or two from Cthulhu's racist dad, a.k.a H.P Lovecraft. I've heard enough about those stories to expect the racist bullshit. I'm also ready for some ugly racist characters and portrayal of historically accurate hate when I pick up the next James Ellroy book.

I also have seen enough classic Western stories on screen and paper to know that along with a whole set of standard characters, there are also some complex and problematic elements to the storylines. Kids played Cowboys and Indians, like Cops and Robbers, with the idea that the Cowboys were supposed to be the good guys. U.S. history has some ugly and problematic moments.

I picked up Desert Gold intending it to be a quick fun old time genre diversion and suddenly found a book with characters that were so racist that this might be a large part of the source material for 45's border policies. In the book, the mythic time of the old West is coming to a close and former college football player Dick Gale makes his way to a border town thinking: "I've got a hunch that something'll happen to me in this Greaser town." Our racist "hero" meets an old racist friend who is AWOL from the local military encampment because he's trying to sneak the woman he loves into the country...she of course is a white, well-bred woman of Spanish descent and who is of course, menaced by a rapist bandit leader who dresses like a dandy. One thing leads to another and Dick, the proper Spanish woman, and two cowboys head to a ranch where a racist immigration officer is stationed to keep an eye on the border so the "Chinks and Japs" don't get into the country. (This dude's passion is breeding horses, focused on his eugenics breeding campaign where he took good Mexican horses and raised a herd of the best pure White horses.) Eff You See Kay! So racist. I almost started to like the late-appearing antagonists (Rich guys from the East who develop all the land around the horse ranch), but of course these guys are also racist.

So, maybe it's reading this book, when the official U.S. policy seems to be similar to everything espoused by the assholes in this book, but I'm not sure about picking up another Zane Grey book.

I have to say though, I'm not sure if the racism in the book is:
a) a true portrayal of the values of the times
b) a portrait of the values when the book was written
c) values from the book's author - [I really hope this isn't the case.]

But, it's really ugly. And the hokey episodic story is dull enough that it's not even worth doing what I did and slogging through 325 pages of heroic love stories about these racists.

In this case, you can't judge a book by it's beautiful cover art and glorious descriptions of the harsh desert.

[Michael Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This classic Western by Zane Grey was first published in 1913. Obviously, I purchased it used. It stands up well and provides a much more interesting story than many in the genre. Grey was a popular story teller when I first started reading and I read a few of his at that time. I am sure I enjoyed them, but a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then.

This is not a techno-thriller; however, pistols and rifles were always in the background even if not always used. While not a love story, love triggered the most significant events. The great respect given women in Grey’s old west and the care taken to protect their good name and guard them from shame seems extraordinary in today’s environment. Having said that, the respect of the protagonist and his friends for two or three women motivates the operations which result in all the action in this story.

On becoming an adult, the protagonist attempts to make a name for himself. He fails at many things and is belittled and insulted by his father. In response he goes to the west to make a success of himself. Rescuing a damsel in distress from the antagonist with the help of some friends, he then must also transport her to a safe location. After this, he becomes a cowboy and ranger. This shortly brings him back to the antagonist who has discovered the lady and wants her back. Through the massive empty desert, broiling days, chilling nights, icy stars, lack of water, dangerous cliffs, blinding sun and awful thorny cactus he takes the damsel and her beau in to a farther and safer location. They are chased the whole time. Finally a conclusion is reached after considerable use of firearms and blood spilled on both sides. A surprise denouement is reached that results in a satisfactory finish.

Grey tells a good story and gives it more depth with dazzling descriptions of locations, conditions, people, animals, and mountains. The reader feels he is in those locations, experiencing those conditions, seeing those people, stuck to cacti and even afraid. The experience of these things, conditions, and emotions puts Grey well above many books in this genre or purporting to be action novels.

Absence of unnecessary profanity makes this book excellent for tween or teen readers and the rich descriptions might also make it more interesting to adult female readers who might find it mildly condescending. There is enough action to keep it interesting for those who pick up a copy along with their techno-thrillers.

I am giving this book Four Stars; thoroughly enjoyed but maybe not in my top ten lifetime list.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prologue establishes a situation where a young man named Cameron in the desert looking for gold who comes across an older loner and they share campfires a few times before telling each other their names, and Cameron learns that the old man is his lost love's father who is hunting him for corrupting his daughter.

Then our adventure starts back in the beginning during the Mexican Civil War Pancho Villa-era violence of the 1910's Southwest. An American named Dick Gale helps a friend save his girl from a Mexican bandit, then Gale finds work at a ranch on the border as a part-cowboy part-ranger, keeping an eye out for smugglers and bandits in a lawless place on the frontier.

Written over a hundred years ago, "Desert Gold" (1913) has all the best parts of Grey's immersive descriptions of the west and the loner protagonist Gale's thoughts and views as he maneuvers his way through a young man's life; falling in love with a beautiful girl on first sight, getting himself into trouble out of rock-solid loyalty to a friend, quickly learning how to survive in an unforgiving new environment, and pushing through a well-written adventure.

The side characters in "Desert Gold" are also a lot of fun: the lovelorn soldier Thorne, Thorne's Mexican princess Mercedes, the loyal ranch hands Ladd and Lash, the rancher Belding, Belding's wife, Belding's daughter Nelly, the escaped Yaqui Indian who had been a Mexican slave,the horses Blanco Diablo and Blanco Sol, the dastardly bandit Rojas, the underhanded claim jumper Ben Chase and Chase's spoiled drunk son.

Verdict: A good Zane Grey adventure, challenging to read at times because of dated prose but a fun plot, interesting characters, and a true mind-bending twist. Also worth reading if you are a classic westerns fan just because it carries additional authenticity being written in the same year these events are happening. This isn't some guy in the 1990's writing stories about the old west; instead, this is a writer in 1913 telling a story set in 1913 Texas and Mexico who is giving us a pseudo-witness's perspective for a fictional tale set in a nonfiction time. Fiction doesn't get more authentic than Zane Grey's early westerns.

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notwithstanding, but possibly due to, the melodramatic feel of this novel that takes place near the border of Arizona and Mexico, I was emotionally involved every step of the way. Some of Grey's scenes were unforgettable, particularly the gunfight and brutality at the crater. I don't think I ever want to touch a cholla cactus; it sounds excruciatingly painful. In any case, Zane Grey had adequately done his research on this area including the slavery of the Yaqui Native Americans. I had never known about that terrible part of Mexico's history. In addition, his landscape descriptions are, as usual, some that make the reader feel part of the story. Finally, I loved his character development, particularly of the stoic Yaqui whose nobility and honor more or less made him the quiet hero of this western saga.
In my opinion, this book was very entertaining, engaging, and written in the style to be considered a classic western tale. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get a glimpse of life in the southwest during the turn of the 20th century and learn of some of the conflicts and struggles that occurred during that time.

[Andrew Pender-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Desert Gold’ by Zane Grey is a carefully crafted Western with a great deal to offer. It goes beyond the usual bar room brawling and waging of vendattas, though we do have a number of them. ‘Desert Gold’ is more of a family saga in which there is much to overcome, including one of the harshest desert environments imaginable. It is also a love story and a quest.

After facing seemingly insurmountable odds, the protagonist, Dick Gale, his compatriots, and those whom he comes to call family, are rewarded beyond all they thought possible.

What truly elevates ‘Desert Gold’ above the average Western is Zane Grey’s wonderful use of language. This comes particularly to the fore in his often beautifully nuanced descriptions of the desert, as well as the white horses of ranch owner Jim Belding that Dick Gale first encounters someway into the novel.

The story moves slowly, and it is all the better for doing so, as it allows the reader to savour every moment of an enjoyable tale.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not a bad book. I liked the main story. I was a bit confused as to the Prologue because we don't revisit it until the end.

I will say that the audio was disappointing. The narrator was soooooooo slooooooow that speeding it up to 1.5x (because Hoopla only goes that high) made it closer to normal. I'm guessing it is something to do with the app, but it also kept kicking me out of the book, so that I would have to go back and restart the playback and redo my settings for the book. Kind of a pain in the rear, but I finally made it through.

I would say that Zane Grey fans would enjoy this book. I would also say get the audio on Overdrive instead of Hoopla if you can. My experiences with Overdrive have been much better than with Hoopla.

[Richard Koerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a particularly good read. I really enjoy the Zane Grey books and this one was a fun read. Always the good against the bad and the good winning. Okay, so I know this, but it always remains interesting. Grey’s depiction of nature along with human nature is right on. I find it fun to look up the vegetation and cacti he talks about. I enjoy how he views the regal aspect of the indigenous population although it is somewhat annoying to see his dislike or seeming dislike of the Mexican people. In some respects, he totally represents his time period. With the native Americans, he shows the loss of the beauty of that people who respected and treated Mother Nature relatively well. I look forward to reading more.

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just a look into the origins of the western genre, but also a laying bare of border racisim, and clues to what goes on in the minds of white patriarchs. Really, they read this stuff, and when they die, their families donate their collections to their local library. This one takes place during the Mexican revolution, "Greasers" (that's right, capitalized, like Chicano) are running amok. It is explained that Spanish blood is to blame for their barbaric compulsions. But why does the beautiful Spanish heroine not have these traits? And why is the Yaqui with no name a master of Aztec knifework, and desert herbal remedies? And and then there's desert mysticism that foreshadows Edward Abbey . . . Whither goest thou, America, indeed!

[Sebastian Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly amazing book. Starting with the story. The book is in some ways boring yet beautiful. A book of fate. There was a few times this book brought tears to my eyes but rereading the prologue over after finishing the book made my eyes tear for sure. A book in which few words make speical such as Cameron speaking of leading his child to find love and the gold left and her finding love and the gold left by her father and granfather. moments of Cameron seeing the women he loved in the desert in the fire and the sky just like how gale saw his lover the child of Cameron. And part of the reason the book is so great to me is because of how slow the story could be at times it lifted up certain moments in the story. Loved and will read again some day!!!

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the good fortune to run across this book with a copyright of 1913 and illustrated with scenes from the photo play produced by Zane Grey's own company. It is in excellent condition. It is a western romance, as so many of this author's books, and takes place along the border between Mexico and Arizona. His vivid descriptions of the lava formed mountains and unforgiving cactus is a good part of the narrative but there is a great story along with it. It is not one of those "read in an afternoon" books. If you like the old Zane Grey novels you will love this one.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written long before I was aware as the author died when I was around 4 years old. Many of the current sins are spelled out in today’s books. Zane Grey had the ability to expose them without explanations. Every thing that you would expect in a book was brought together in this book. The book had love, adventure, hatred, fighting, etc. Not much humor, as you would expect in the olden days. The book to my way of thinking was very well written. I am from the old school so I really enjoyed reading it.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story describes the recent uprising along the border and ends with the finding of the gold which two prospectors had willed to the girl who is the story's heroine. It's the journey that makes this a great read. Sights, sounds, smells and adventure. Historically correct (around 1912) a Mexican rebel named Orazco raided along the border of Arizona and Texas. The Yaqui Indians, their enslavement, and annihilation. The 9th Cavalry posted at Douglas, AZ, to guard the border at that time. Great read. It placed me in the setting.

[Daniel Hebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story written in a different time about an earlier time in America. About a place near the Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution but not about the Revolution. The building of the west and a westerner.
Read like an unabridged version of a classic love story. One thing I appreciate about Zane Grey is his ability to paint wonderful pictures with words. I don’t appreciate his disparaging use of ethnic slang while sparing the reader of what is now foul language.
Put all that aside and enjoy a great story.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Zane Grey tale, featuring prospectors trekking endlessly through the desert looking for gold (or perhaps absolution), a hot-blooded youth who comes of age, a couple of seasoned cowboys who throw in with him, a mysterious Yaqui wanderer, and a staggering odyssey through the heart of the desert to save a beautiful señorita, all of it brightened by Grey's beautiful description of the spectacular desert environment. Adventure written a century ago, but still hard to put down.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is classic Zane Grey! I’ve been enjoying his writing for several years and one of the things I like about his writing style is how he paints every scene in detail before there’s any action… This one is about problems on the Arizona/Mexico border that we can relate to today. (Bad characters crossing over the border and creating serious problems for Americans.)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this classic and it’s HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set on the Arizona border with Mexico. Richard Gale has gone out west to prove himself and runs into an old buddy of his who loves a Mexican beauty. There are banditos, gold prospecting and a romance for Richard himself before the story is over. Read when I was a kid, junior high age, more or less, so I don't remember the plot all that well anymore.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. The time period was the early 1900s in the Southwest. The difference in vocabulary between today and Zane Grey's time was interesting. There was prejudice against the Mexicans and the Native Americans. There was also the issue of Chinese and Japanese seeking to enter the US through the southern border. Some things never change

[Sean Walczak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very entertaining; I was hooked at the beginning. The descriptions of the desert landscape, in particular, are a high point for this novel. There were some segments in the back half of the book that could have been judiciously edited out without the story suffering any for their omission. However, even with the extra unnecessary padding, the story was still quite good.