Ralph Moody: Little Britches series and concise histories

Ralph Moody: (autobiography and history)

When the author was twenty-one, he wrote in a diary that he would work as hard as he could to save $50,000 by the time he was fifty, and then write a book. He began Little Britches on his 50th birthday. Touching saga--great account of growing up in the early 1900's.

Autobiographies:

· Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers [1906 - 1910 - Colorado]

· Man of the Family [1910-1912, Colorado]

· The Home Ranch [summer of 1911 - amplifies his story as ranch hand from "Man of the Family", Colorado]

· Mary Emma and Company [1912 - Massachusetts]

· The Fields of Home [1914 -1915 - grandfather's farm, Maine]

· Shaking the Nickel Bush [1918, Arizona]

· The Dry Divide [19_, Nebraska]

· Horse of a Different Color: Reminiscences of a Kansas Drover [19__ in his early twenties]

History - by Moody include:

(I have read all except the one I have not yet found. They are as gripping as his autobiographies, very well researched and presented. It is clear that research for the individuals books was preparatory to the "Old Trails" and "Stagecoach West" which are detailed history books)

• Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier (1955)
• Geronimo, Wolf of the Warpath (1958)
• Riders of the Pony Express (1958)
• Wells Fargo (1961)
• Silver and Lead: The Birth and Death of a Mining Town (1961) - juvenile book format; story of "Silver City" with explanations of how minerals came to be there in the first place, etc.
• America Horses (1962)
• Come on Seabiscuit (1963) - this book is not credited as telling the "real story" in the way the much more recent book and movie, "Seabiscuit" are credited. However, it is a more succinct, very engrossing, accurate (as far as I can tell) representation of the facts in the recent version.
• The Old Trails West - Vol. 1 - The Gila Trail, El Camino Real, Old Spanish Trail" - The Great Legendary Routes that Bound a Wild Land into a Nation - 4538-1880 (1963)
• "Gateways to the Northwest - The Old Trails West - Vol. 2 - The Santa Fe Trail, Big Medicine Trail, The Oregon Trail, The California Trail" (1963)
• Stagecoach West (1967) - (this is truly "pure history" with a great deal of carefully researched history. You will pick up most of the interesting parts if you read all of the other histories.)
• Knife is Not Enough (can't find this one yet)
• The Wild Country (hard to find -- this is NOT a different book; it was originally published as Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers. I have included it in this list for informational purposes only, as you may find it listed in some places. It was made into a Disney movie, but the movie is not much recognizable from the book. It is, however, a good family movie and manages to maintain the "flavor" of the books in an acceptable manner.)

1930's teacher in Alaska, (Hobbs) - Specht

Robert Specht:

Tisha (autobiographical)

True story of young teacher (Anne Hobbs) in the Alaskan wilderness as told to Specht

English Doctor, immigrates to Canada - Gibson

Morris Gibson: (autobiographyl)

(autobiographical stories of a Scottish doctor who practiced with his wife in England, then moved to Western Canada – sometimes called the "people version" of James Herriot).  Contemporary and friend of James Herriot; educated in England; served in WWII.  Publication dates are included as some are out of print and dual U.S./Canadian publication data is very confusing.

• One Man’s Medicine [1984]
• A View of the Mountains [1985] - (published in Canada as Doctor in the West [1985])
• Doctor at Large [1986] - (published in Canada as A Doctor's Calling [1986])

All Creatures Great and Small series - Herriot

James Herriot: (autobiographical)

Great stories of a country Vet in Yorkshire, England; training before WWII, wartime, postwar – published during the 1970’s. There are more books, but most of the stories are included in this 4-volume set

• All Creatures Great and Small

• All Things Bright and Beautiful

• All Things Wise and Wonderful

• The Lord God Made Them All

Autobiographical - Iowa Farm life during 1930's - Kalish

Mildred Armstrong Kalish: (autobiographical account)

· Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression

[Not a "story" per se; tells details of how they farmed, went to school, had family gatherings, recipes they used, etc.]

Little House Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder: (autobiographical)

· Little House in the Big Woods

· Little House on the Prairie

· Farmer Boy [Alonzo’s story]

· On the Banks of Plum Creek

· By the Shores of Silver Lake

· The Long Winter

· Little Town on the Prairie

· These Happy Golden Years

· The First Four Years

(Our 7-year old grandson went right through the series including The Long Winter, before the story got too grownup for his interests.)