Orem Library

Newman's stories turn a spotlight on women struggling in Alaska, facing not just grizzly bears and charging moose, but the psychological complexities of love and family. From Anchorage to the remote, unsettled wilderness, her stories reinvent what we think about the American frontier-- and what we believe about hope and human connection. -- adapted from jacket

On January 12, 1888, a surprise blizzard broke out in the middle of the day across the Midwest. In its path, hundreds of children and teachers found themselves stranded inside schoolhouses with no food, no heat, and very few options. Days passed, and over 235 people died as result of the harsh snow of the Schoolhouse Blizzard, but many were able to survive thanks to the bravery of others in their communities. Learn all about the disastrous weather...

A drifter and retired gunfighter assists a homestead family terrorized by a wealthy cattleman and his hired gun.

From the creator of the "Legends of the Old West" podcast, a book exploring the overlapping narratives of the biggest legends in frontier mythology. The summer of 1876 was a key time period in the development of the mythology of the Old West. Many individuals who are considered legends by modern readers were involved in events that began their notoriety or turned out to be the most famous - or infamous - moments of their lives. Those individuals were...

From creator, Taylor Sheridan comes a prequel to Yellowstone. It follows the original Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It's a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America's promised land Montana.

"The First Migrants explores the narrative histories of Black homesteaders in the Great Plains and the larger themes which characterize their shared experiences"--

Growing up, Rebecca Clarren only knew the major plot points of her tenacious immigrant family's origins. Her great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, and their six children fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, ultimately settling on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota. Over the next few decades, despite tough years on a merciless prairie and multiple setbacks, the Sinykins became an American...

Emmalyne Madsen sends a desperate plea heavenward as a band of lawless men makes their way up the aisle of the railcar. When one hauls her roughly from the seat, threatening and cursing, Emmalyne fears her adventure out West has just turned into a nightmare. Thayne Kendrich has an urgent need for a school teacher, and he's not above doing whatever it takes to get one-including forcing her at gunpoint across the scorching prairie. But the teacher he...

In Montana in the summer of 1872, Crow Mary marries Abe Farwell, a white fur trader, and accompanies him to his trading post in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan, Canada. In the spring of 1873, they are preparing to return to Montana when they witness the Cypress Hills Massacre, in which forty innocent Nakoda are killed by a drunken gang. Following the massacre, Crow Mary single-handedly recues five Nakoda women who are being held captive and abused...