When Ralph Moody, just turned twenty, was put off a freight in McCook, Nebraska, he had only a dime in his pocket. Three months later he owned eight teams of horses and rigs to go with then, and had $1,365 in the bank. He also had the satisfaction of saving a wheat crop for a widow and wielding a group of misfits into a first-rate harvesting crew.

The Dry Divide is, in short, a story of what the old-time virtues—the virtues we think of as specifically American—can accomplish in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Hard work, ingenuity, and respect for his fellow men yielded rewards and excitements Ralph could scarcely have foreseen. The experience confirmed his commitment to the way of life he had learned from his father—the story told in Little Britches.

Warm, nostalgic, humorous, and touching—but never sentimental—The Dry Divide is a worthy successor to Ralph Moody's other books, which, as Sterling North said, "should be read aloud in every family circle in America."

From the dust jacket