June – Booklist
Wyoming is a land defined by contrasts—from the vast windswept prairies and colorful badlands to the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains. That same dramatic contrast is expressed in the people just as much as the terrain. This collection of books celebrates that grit and unmistakable Western spirit!
Nonfiction
The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretal Ehrlich
Memoir of an East Coast, free-lance writer who refers to herself as a “culture straddler,” comes to Wyoming to make a film and winds up as a sheepherder in the wilderness. Celebrates and explores Western life and landscape.
The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, an American Legend
An examination of the life of Red Cloud (1821?–1909), the legendary leader of the Oglala Sioux, with a specific focus on his definitive impact on Wyoming history. The biography traces his early childhood challenges, his rise to statesman, and his brilliant orchestration of a Plains Indian coalition that assured a historic, albeit temporary, victory for his people.
Roadside Geology of Wyoming by Darwin Spearing
Discover the geological story behind Wyoming’s breathtaking landscapes. From colorful badlands to sky-piercing mountains, this guide explores the state’s diverse rock formations and explains the natural history that created its iconic, rugged terrain.
Ghost Towns of the Mountain West
While covering historic remnants across eight Rocky Mountain and Great Basin states, this comprehensive travel guide places a special emphasis on the haunting beauty of Wyoming’s frontier past. Readers will find detailed descriptions, rich histories, and precise driving directions for Wyoming’s most iconic historic sites and ghost towns, including Fort Laramie, South Pass City, Atlantic City, Miner’s Delight, Fort Bridger, and Piedmont.
Fiction
Wyoming Wild by Sarah Eden
In the rugged Wyoming Territory of 1876, a hardened U.S. Marshal goes undercover to investigate a death threat in a town gripped by corruption. He forms an uneasy alliance with a brave local woman determined to take down the town’s tyrannical sheriff—who happens to be her own father. As they fight for justice an unexpected romance sparks, but hidden identities threaten to tear them apart.
My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
This timeless classic beautifully portrays 1940s ranch life amidst the sweeping Wyoming landscape, focusing on a young boy’s fierce devotion to training an untamed colt named Flicka. For children as well as adults. (Looking for another adult Wyoming classic? Check out The Virginian, DB036421.)
Open Season by C.J. Box
In this character debut, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett discovers the bodies of three local outfitters, thrusting him into a dangerous conspiracy in the rugged wilderness. What begins as a poaching investigation quickly spirals into a deadly clash involving a supposedly extinct species, ruthless corporate greed, and imminent threats to Joe’s own family. Some violence, strong language, and descriptions of sex.
The Lost Bird by Margaret Coel
When an elderly priest is murdered immediately after returning to Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation, Father John O’Malley suspects the crime is tied to a dark 1964 secret involving the reported deaths of dozens of Arapaho newborns. The investigation takes a turn when a glamorous Hollywood star arrives on the reservation looking for her biological roots, uncovering evidence of a massive adoption conspiracy.
The characters and stories in the fiction collection are too big for just one book! Every fiction title is part of a series. We hope you get hooked on these Wyoming worlds and keep reading all summer long!
Image Description: A bison stands in the foreground in a field of yellow prairie grass with blue sky and snowcapped mountains in the background.