title: Above the Red
author: Kidwell, Thomas
description: Above The Red, is based on a true story of how a young cowboy took his first awkward steps into manhood by leaving his family's Kansas ranch in the late 1870's. His dream of becoming a cowboy blossomed into reality when he hired on with a Texas rancher to bring a herd of longhorns up the Chisholm Trail, through the Indian Territory, and eventually to the stockyards of Wichita, Kansas. Along the way, this conservative, righteous young man meets a young woman, in of all places, a cow town whorehouse. The story takes on a new persona at this point, and focuses on the overwhelming love that develops between the two. Although the story itself is true, the author has rendered a perspective of what could have actually taken place in relationships of that wonderful era, and he has done so in a manner that has you choking on cow dust one minute, crying your heart out the next, and enjoying some pretty masterful humor along the way. Well done! Corella Simpson-Hurst - Newport, RI