cover image Solider in Buckskin

Solider in Buckskin

Ray Hogan. Five Star (ME), $18.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7862-0619-3

Though closing in on 90, Hogan, born in 1908, can still snap out stirring westerns-like this docu-novel, part of the publishers' Five Star Western series, that covers the life of legendary frontiersman Kit Carson from 1831 to 1848. Here, the mountain man leads successful trapping parties, fights sharp skirmishes with fierce Blackfoot and Ute and revels in the majestic beauty of the Western landscape. Carson also finds love and intimate sanctuary with his first wife, Singing Grass, an Arapahoe Indian princess, and, after her untimely death, with the beautiful Senorita Josefa Jaramillo, who welcomes him into her family of wealthy Spanish aristocracy. Also of interest here are Carson's experiences as guide to John C. Fremont, whose expeditions aimed to explore, survey and map the West from Utah to Oregon and California. Hogan's portrayal of Carson is a skillful blend of legend and reality, revealing the famous scout to be a man of honor and courage. (May)