Books with author Hal Borland

During a fierce snowstorm, an abandoned and hungry animal howls at the back door of nature writer Hal Borland's farmhouse, announcing the beginning of a transformational friendship Hal Borland and his wife Barbara have recently moved onto a hundred-acre farm in northwest Connecticut, where both hope to write and live in harmony with nature. From his New England home, Borland travels the country searching for material for his New York Times "outdoor editorials"-but soon nature comes searching for him, in the form of a miserable, half-starved, deeply trusting, black-and-white foxhound mutt that wanders onto the farm during a blizzard. The dog, Pat, becomes a member of the family and teaches Borland that, often, our most immediate connection to the natural world is through the animals we live with.

When his father killed another brave, Thomas Black Bull and his parents sought refuge in the wilderness. There they took up life as it had been in the old days, hunting and fishing, battling for survival. But an accident claimed the father's life and the grieving mother died shortly afterward. Left alone, the young Indian boy vowed never to retum to the white man's world, to the alien laws that had condemned his father.

When his father killed another brave, Thomas Black Bull and his parents sought refuge in the wilderness. There they took up life as it had been in the old days, hunting and fishing, battling for survival. But an accident claimed the father's life and the grieving mother died shortly afterward. Left alone, the young Indian boy vowed never to retum to the white man's world, to the alien laws that had condemned his father.

From a review: A common nation, the Indian nation, in 1912 was struggling to assimilate. After a repeated robbery one Indian man, Jim Black Bull, set out to kill this robber and fellow Indian. He knew he had to flee civilization due to the white mans laws so he took his wife and son into the mountains to live the old way. After only a year the father died and it was up to the young boy, Bears Brother, and his mother to survive. The mother survived for only another three years before she died of a common flu. It was then up to the boy to use what he had learned from his parents to survive. He lived for several years in the mountains until an old family friend set out to find Bears Brother, which he eventually did. This new learning and living environment was new and scary. He had to adjust to his new life; his new name which was Thomas and his new religion, Christianity. He had such a hard time assimilating he went to live with a sheepherder to help care for sheep. All though he did well at this he did not like it and when a man asked him if he wanted to be a bronco rider he quickly accepted. He had found his calling as Devil Tom the bronco rider who rode horses to the death. For many years he won just enough to live comfortably and he quickly became a legend. He eventually would go back to the mountains to rediscover whom he really was inside. When The Legends Die opens the reads' eyes to see what it was like to be an Indian at the turn of the century. It shows the hardships that they had to bear due to the white men. The descriptions in the book are so vivid that you feel like you are there experiencing it for yourself. This bold book is exciting, thought provoking and at times quiet humorous. This book makes you laugh, frown, gasp, and cheer out loud.