Fifty Years after The Big Sky (pb): New Perspectives on the Fiction and Films of A.B. Guthrie, Jr.

Fifty Years after The Big Sky examines the life and legacy of A.B. Guthrie, Jr., a much-loved but understudied writer. Best known for his novels, The Big Sky (1947) and The Way West (1949), and for the screenplay of the movie classic Shane (1953), Guthrie was central in shaping the seminal myths of the Rocky Mountain West. In this anthology, writers, historians, and public intellectuals remember and celebrate this powerful author, while challenging readers to reassess his work and its influence on American culture - especially our environmental politics. Eighteen essays examine Guthrie's life and work from myriad perspectives: looking at his relationship with the movie industry; investigating the Cold War's influence on his work; remembering the man through the eyes of the people in his hometown of Choteau, Montana; and exploring how the myths that lie at the core of Guthrie's fiction haunt today's Montanans. Offering new perspectives on both Guthrie's life and work, Fifty Years after The Big Sky is certain to cause readers to rethink their relationship to the western landscape and reassess the power of literature. (6 x 9, 330 pages, b&w photos)