Holding Fire

Book cover of Holding Fire: A Reckoning with the American West

Book description

“Beautifully observed. . . This jewel of a book belongs on the shelf with our best Western writers—Norman MacLean, Pam Houston, and Annie Proulx.”—John Vaillant, bestselling author of The Tiger and The Golden Spruce

From the award-winning author of Down from the Mountain, a memoir of inheritance, history, and one…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Holding Fire as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Christopher J. Preston

Author

Bryce Andrews previously wrote an award-winning book about the life of a cowboy, Badluck Way. In this one, he digs deeper into the West as he decides what to do with a Smith and Wesson revolver his grandfather left him.

I gasped at the honesty of a man who both loves and rejects the culture of violence symbolized by his handgun. I, too, love the American West. But it is a land of contradictions. It has flourished through love, determination, and ingenuity, but parts of it are built on death and destruction.

Andrews eventually forged the gun into a…

From Christopher's 3 favorite reads in 2023.