To the Last Man

Brand, a regional stage and television comic actor, narrates Grey's classic story of the blood feud. Brand depicts Ellen Jorth and Jean Isbel, the star-crossed lovers, with compassion and pathos. Set during the little-known Grass Valley Arizona range war, the story offers many characters with a variety of accents and dialects, and Brand's versatile performance amazes the listener. Grey maintains suspense to the last line, and Brand keeps the drama high also. A great team has produced a powerful listening experience. S.C.A. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2002
This is a rousing, old-fashioned tale loosely based on the true story of a little-known chapter of Western history: the deadly feud of the Tonto Basin in Arizona or the Pleasant Valley War. When Jean Isbel answers his father's summons home, he makes a huge mistake for a cattleman's son-he falls for a sheepherder's daughter, Ellen Jorth. Her father is expanding his sheepherding operation, and the stock are grazing down the surrounding range. What begins as the age-old rivalry between cattlemen and sheepherders erupts into a violent war between cattlemen and rustlers masquerading as sheep men, and the two lovers are caught in the middle. Indeed, the violence seems to pause only long enough for the womenfolk to bury their dead before the hogs eat them. While the language is a bit dated, Jim Gough's masterful narration of this exciting story will hold listeners spellbound. Since good Westerns are rather scarce on the ground these days, Blackstone Audio is performing a special service by making this old classic available to a new generation. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Barbara Perkins, Irving P.L., TX

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.