Wild Freedom - Softcover

Brand, Max; Faust, Frederick Schiller

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0446327697 ISBN 13: 9780446327695

Publisher: Grand Central Pub, 1983

Synopsis

Twelve-year-old Tom Parks and his father John are crossing some nameless but frigid mountains when John is killed by a fall into a stream. So heartbroken Tom holes up in a cave, trying to attract passersby with fires (his burro has been killed by a mountain lion and his gear is too heavy to tote). He spends two weeks helping a trapped mother-grizzly and her two cubs; he catches and feeds them fish while chipping away at a big boulder. When finally released, they accept him and are his only friends for the next four years: when they hibernate, he has lonely winters. But this Crusoe idyll ends when a badman shows up, kills the mother and one cub, and is himself killed by Tom--who, while scouting nearly 100 miles from his cave, comes upon the first settlement he has seen in all this time (for human talk he reads his two books, the Bible and Morte d'Arthur). Thus begins Tom's career as a thief: he steals an untamable mustang which is about to be shot, names it Peter, and now has two friends; he steals supplies and leaves pelts behind as payment. And soon a posse is out looking for this strange Indian outlaw--which leads to a romance between Tom and the posse leader's daughter, Gloria. Eventually, then, Tom will clear himself of a murder charge, win over Gloria's father, and be sent East to earn enough money to become worthy of his bride-to-be. Brand's smooth, hard style makes this 1930's pulp-original a fairly engaging hardcover curiosity for wilderness/survival devotees.

About this title

About the Author

Max Brand About The Author Frederick Schiller Faust (1892–1944) was a celebrated western author and bestselling writer in the decades following the legendary writers Owen Wister and Zane Grey. His books were thoughtful and literary, and he used several pen names including Max Brand, George Owen Baxter, Evan Evans, George Evans, David Manning, John Frederick, Peter Morland, George Challis, and Frederick Frost. Faust was born in Seattle but his parents died when he was a child and he was raised in California. He worked as a cowhand on a ranch in the San Joaquin Valley and studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Canadian Army in 1915 at the outbreak of World War I but his service was short lived and he moved to New York City. Faust married Dorothy Schillig in 1917, and had three children. He settled down to write mainly for magazines. In 1921, he suffered a severe heart attack, and for the rest of his life suffered from chronic heart disease. Many of his stories inspired films. He created the Western character Destry, featured in several cinematic versions of Destry Rides Again, and his character Dr. Kildare was adapted to motion pictures, radio, television, and comic books. He worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter and made a fortune from MGM’s Dr. Kildare adaptations. During World War II, he was a front line war correspondent, moving with American soldiers in Italy in 1944, Faust was hit by shrapnel and was personally commended for bravery by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Pub
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0446327697
• ISBN 13: 9780446327695
• Binding: Paperback