Past praise for Russell Rowland For Fifty-Six Counties: A Montana Journey " Fifty-Six Counties , a book I read with pleasure and admiration, is a great companion for those who already love Montana and for those anxious to get a real sense of the place without the salesmanship." Tom McGuane, The Cadence of Grass and Gallatin Canyon "Russell Rowland is fiercely devoted to the atonement and beauty that are the hallmarks of all great works of art. Rowland names our collective loneliness, but does so with a fierce and tender devotion to the mothers and fathers of all races, all cultures. In so doing he restores us not only to each other but to Mother Earth. His unique, person to person path through the history, present, and future of Montana is a vision both elegant and muscular, rich with the scents of forest and arid lands, violence and community, ranch life and city life, conservation and industry and ore. Fifty-Six Counties is animated by the numinous even as it humbles us, makes us more sane, and draws us into a new and invigorating experience of the essence of life. This is a book for Montana, for the nation, and for the world." Shann Ray, American Masculine, Balefire, and American Copper "I can''t wait for others to discover this book.
Thoughtful, wise, funny, sincere, and deep: those are the words that come to mind when reading this treasure. Rowland is a humble observer, but he''s also willing to dig deep and bravely, offering astute reflections on the state, its resources, its peoples, its history, and its charm and its dangers. In a voice all his own, Rowland proves to be warm and personable, and yet cutting and real--basically, one couldn''t wish for a better guide to the state of Montana. This book is utterly unique. A gorgeous accomplishment." Laura Pritchett, Stars Go Blue "Everything about Montana is big: its proverbial sky, its mountains, its wide open spaces. And yet, Russell Rowland has managed to capture all that grand landscape--and the people who inhabit it--into the intimacy of a single book. Fifty-Six Counties is a remarkable book: a macro-focused narrative using a wide-angle lens.
If you have room for only one book about Montana on your shelf, make it this one." David Abrams, Fobbit and Brave Deeds For In Open Spaces "This heartfelt exploration of the lives and hard times of a prairie ranch family fairly pulses with the intrigues of existence. Russell Rowland has given us a vivid and distinctive piece of homespun to take its proper place in the literary quilt of the West." Ivan Doig, A Trip to Wisdom and This House of Sky , National Book Award finalist "Charged with dramatic tension -- a joy to read." Ha Jin, Waiting , winner of the National Book Award "[An] outstanding debut.Rowland''s examination of family dynamics is poignant and revealing." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A family epic that has a muted elegance.A gracefully understated novel.
" New York Times Review of Books " In Open Spaces is sage, humane, and immensely readable." C. Michael Curtis, senior editor, The Atlantic Monthly "A heartfelt debut.[An] unpretentious, involving story told with unfaltering authority." Kirkus Reviews "As a lifelong reader of books written about the west, particularly those about Montana, Russell Rowland''s In Open Spaces is as good as it gets.a powerful book." C.J.
Box, author of Open Season and Savage Run "Like Norman McLean''s A River Runs Through It ,.Rowland.brings [Montana''s] unique beauty alive." Denver Post.