A Ram in the Thicket

Frank Robertson's hard-edged autobiography about pioneering life in northern and southern Idaho in the 1890s appears in this reprint edition with an introduction by historian Charles S. Peterson, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University and Professor of History at Southern Utah University. Enmeshed in poverty, unremitting toil, and personal conflict, the Robertson family lived first in the wilderness near Moscow, Idaho, then subsequently converted to Mormonism and moved to Chesterfield, Idaho. The family continued to face financial hardships until 1922 when Frank Robertson sold his first short story. From then until his death in 1969, this prolific and popular western writer produced countless short stories and at least 150 books. Robertson's life story is a kind of regional history in itself, and his writing is firmly rooted in those experiences. He worked diligently at his writing, found what would sell, and won great popularity with American and European audiences. With a vigorous resurgence in western regionalism underway, republication of A Ram in the Thicket makes this man's remarkable autobiography available once again to interested readers.