First published 1989
The old man sits in his chair, memories flooding back across decades of dust and danger. Once he rode the ranges stealing cattle and struck oil that made him rich. Now he tells his story to anyone who will listen. His weathered hands gesture as he describes meeting Teddy Roosevelt in person, fighting in Cuba during the Spanish American War, and crossing paths with the legendary Pancho Villa along the Mexican border. The tales spill out in no particular order, jumping from cattle drives to oil derricks to political scandals. He remembers the Teapot Dome affair that rocked Washington and the rough men who shaped the American West. His voice carries the weight of a life lived outside the law, where fortunes were won and lost on horseback and handshake deals. These are the confessions of a man who helped build and pillage the heartland.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cuba, Mexico, Teapot Dome, United States
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, Spanish-American-War
518 pages · Hardcover · Dutton Adult