Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir download epub

by Nik Carpenter,Dan Aadland

Epub Book: 1322 kb. | Fb2 Book: 1621 kb.

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir. Sketches in the title has a dual meaning, referring both to the words that Dan Aadland uses to beautifully limn a fascinating way of life and Nik Carpenters illustrations that so appealingly portray that life. Thus an increasingly rare occurrence, that of working the same land as ones forebears, is illuminated for everyone to experience and appreciate.

Although the book is primarily about Aadland's ranching life and his horse breeding business (Tennesee walking horses), along the way there are also stories interspersed about his childhood, his second job teaching high school English, and his service as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam. Every chapter sparked memories and associations for me, even though I have never ridden a horse or visited Montana. This uncanny ability to connect with a widespread and diverse reading population is the unmistakable mark of a gifted writer.

Dan Aadland's memoir includes many wonderful stories of hard work accomplished in the beautiful ranchlands of Montana. I enjoyed learning about the true bravery required to bring a string of ponies hundreds of miles over wild terrain.

Book Description In 1892, a stocky Danish immigrant named Magnus Jensen rode into south-central Montana. He liked what he saw and staked his future on the ranch he would carve there. Today, DAN AADLAND and his wife Emily live on the ranch built by Magnus Jensen, Emily's grandfather. More than a century has passed, but the nature of ranching in Montana is little changed. Sensitive to the timelessness of the land, author Aadland approaches his ranching life as Thoreau approached life at Walden. On the framework of one recent year, Aadland brings ranching to life.

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir. THE COWBOY WAY is a pretty good book, but it's not as interesting as Aadland's story. But if you only want to know what modern ranching is like, okay, this is a good book to read. Recommended for that. Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER. 3 people found this helpful.

Sketches from the ranch. Sketches from the ranch. Aadland, Da. Ranch life - Montana. Ranchers - Montana - Biography. Montana - Social life and customs - 20th century. inlibrary; printdisabled; ; china.

Aadland, Dan. Illustrated by Nik Carpenter. SKETCHES FROM THE RANCH: A Montana Memoir. New York: Howell Book House, (1998. A beautiful book, reflective and thoughtful, illustrated with both full-color full-page plates (including one double-page spread) by Nik Carpenter and many smaller en texte illustrations. 259 pp. ISBN: 0-87605-078x

At 65, now officially an old guy, I haven't had a chance to slow down from life on the ranch

Our ranch in south-central Montana. Rancher, writer, retired teacher, horseman and equine clinician · Absarokee, Montana. We raise naturally-gaited Tennessee Walking Horses, gaited mules, and commercial Angus cattle. At 65, now officially an old guy, I haven't had a chance to slow down from life on the ranch. The writing goes well. IN TRACE OF TR: A MONTANA HUNTER'S JOURNEY, my eighth book, is now out. I'm still training horses and working on the sailboat.

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir by Dan Aadland (English) Paperback Boo.

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir by Dan Aadland (English) Paperback Bo.

Describes a year in the life of a Montana rancher, and the ranch, which was built by his wife's grandfather in 1892, on which he lives

Comments: (7)

I_LOVE_228

I will highly recommend this gently told reminiscence of Dan Aadland's life in Montana. A preacher's kid, Aadland married into a ranching family that dates back to the nineteenth century. His love of his wife and sons, family, fine horses, and country shine through every page in this lovely book, punctuated beautifully by illustrations from artist Nik Carpenter. Although the book is primarily about Aadland's ranching life and his horse breeding business (Tennesee walking horses), along the way there are also stories interspersed about his childhood, his second job teaching high school English, and his service as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam. Every chapter sparked memories and associations for me, even though I have never ridden a horse or visited Montana. This uncanny ability to connect with a widespread and diverse reading population is the unmistakable mark of a gifted writer. A superb memoir. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

Tygrarad

A+ Book & service! Thank you!

Yanthyr

An accurate depiction of ranching life in Montana!

Phain

Montana has produced so many fine writers. Here's another one. Aadland is the son of a Lutheran minister, growing up in south central Montana between the Beartooth Mountains and the Crow Reservation. His "memoir" is mostly about the present, with flashbacks to the past, which include stories of his wife's forebears, who emigrated from Norway in the late 19th century to set themselves up as ranchers. And there are memories of his boyhood, working as a hired hand, a tour of duty in Vietnam as a marine, and raising a family.
The particular achievement of the book is its description of daily life on a modern-day ranch. Of the many books on ranching, this one conveys better than most the seasonal routines of labor from spring calving and breeding to fall roundup, sale barns, and feeding during the months of snow. There are descriptions of haying, fieldwork, irrigation, keeping machinery running, and visits from the vet. The book also describes well the evolution of ranchwork from when ranchers used horses and hired men to get the work done, and neighbors pitched in to help each other with harvesting. Today, much of the work is mechanized, ranchers work alone, and the undependable seasons, slow markets, and razor-thin profit margins require second incomes for both rancher and spouse. Besides raising cattle, Aadland and his wife are school teachers. He travels 60 miles each way to the high school in Bridger (pop. 724), and in winter months sees the ranch in sunlight only on weekends.
He's also a horseman, raising and training walking horses, and much of the book is devoted to this subject. There are descriptions of patiently working his horses, including a team he uses to harrow a field for no other reason than to experience the pleasure of this old-fashioned method of farming -- no deafening engine to block out the sounds of the natural environment, or to damage hearing. He's a literate rancher, quoting Robert Frost and Thoreau, and both thoughtful and articulate. He's also informative. You learn about practices of breeding horses and cows and how a vet tests for pregnancy. You learn the tentative relationship between weather forecasts and the timing of cutting and baling hay. He has a steady eye and a sense of pacing that makes his book a graceful and unhurried cycle through the seasons. You become so intimately involved in Aadland's life that the sudden tragedy that occurs in the final chapters is both a jolting surprise and thoroughly heart-breaking
It should also be mentioned that this is a handsomely designed book, illustrated with many fine drawings of ranch life by artist Nik Carpenter. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in working ranches, the Big Sky country, horses, and the making of not just a living but a life. As a companion volume, I suggest "Some Horses" by Thomas McGuane, another Montana writer, as well as Linda Hasselstrom's "Windbreak," which recounts a year on a cattle ranch in South Dakota.

Charyoll

I am an unlikely reader of a book about ranching, a city professional within minutes of the Mall of America. Yet, Dan Aadland brought me intimately into his world and not only let me taste the experience of ranching, but like all good writing, let me feast on life. The sensual quality of the author's writing moved me to respond with my senses. For example, I found that I most enjoyed reading the book on my deck overlooking the woods, feeling the breeze against my face. It was in this setting that I read about cattle buying. Here is a subject I definitely would not have pursued on my own. But Aadland brought the scenes and participants to life and had me so engaged, it was one of my favorite "sketches." I relished his description of the feast he prepared on his private moose hunt. As he wrote about storytelling over Yukon Jack and grapefruit juice, I was compelled to pour my personal version: Cuervo Gold on the rocks with lime juice. I sipped as he told his stories. Dan Aadland not only illuminated the world around him. He effectively brought me into his private world of thought and emotion. I felt right with him as I read his disclosure, "I wonder what I would be psychologically without this space around me, shudder, and force myself to think happier thoughts." I shuddered with him. His emotional honesty was particularly striking as he describes an emotional catharsis toward the end of the book. Aadland's ability to expose the most private--and enlivening--aspects of human experience helped me to identify with him and feel less alone. This was particularly poignant when I recently experienced an emotional reaction similar to the author's. I called up the experience of the author and felt soothed. The isolation-breaking quality of Aadland's writing is a real gift to his readers. I came away from Sketches with a deep respect for ranching, and for a life well lived.

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir download epub

World

Author: Nik Carpenter,Dan Aadland
ISBN: 087605078X
Category: History
Subcategory: World
Language: English
Publisher: Howell Book House (September 16, 1998)
Pages: 288 pages

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