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Describes the history, people, geography, economy, government, state events and attractions, and social life and customs of Wyoming. ... Read more

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A breathtaking collection of unabridged stories from the Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of The Shipping News and Accordion Crimes

Annie Proulx's masterful language and fierce love of Wyoming are evident in this collection of stories about loneliness, quick violence, and the wrong kinds of love.

Close Range features stories of desperation, hard times, and unlikely elation, set in a landscape both brutal and magnificent. Enlivened by folk tales, flights of fancy, and details of ranch and rural work, they juxtapose Wyoming's traditional character and attitudes -- confrontation of tough problems, prejudice, persistence in the face of difficulty -- with the more benign values of the new west.

Stories in Close Range have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and GQ. They have been selected for the O. Henry Stories 1998 and The Best American Short Stories of the Century and have won the National Magazine Award for Fiction. This is work by an author writing at the peak of her craft.Amazon.com Review
Pulitzer Prize-winner E. Annie Proulx forays through theunderside of America's beloved Wild West in Close Range, acollection of stories about hardship and more hardship in Wyomingterritory. Understanding that the West's infinite spaces tended toinspire neither introspection nor contemplation, but a violent andinsatiable restlessness, Proulx's eight stories are dark reflectionson the lives of a handful of characters striving to define themselvesagainst the unforgiving landscapes. The three professional actorschosen to read the text give strong, resounding interpretations of themacabre tales. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --NatashaSenjanovich ... Read more

Customer Reviews (159)

Cowboy Stories
Close Range is a collection of eleven short stories from the short fiction master, Annie Proulx.As usual for Proulx, and as the title suggests, we get stories of people toughing it out in Wyoming, farming, bull riding, surviving.Proulx is adept at short fiction because she can paint characters and plot with quick brush strokes.But where she really shines is with her unique descriptions of landscape."The country appeared as empty ground, big sagebrush, rabbit brush, intricate sky, flocks of small birds like packs of cards thrown up in the air, and a faint track drifting toward the red-walled horizon.Graves were unmarked, fallen house timbers and corrals burned up in old campfires.Nothing much but weather and distance, the distance punctuated once in a while by ranch gates, and to the north the endless murmur and sun-flash of semis rolling along the interstate."These are the words that start "The Bunchgrass Edge of the World", but they are representative of the whole work.Landscape is especially important given the common theme, and Proulx fills the stories with descriptions that show both the isolation and desolation of the land, as well as its large and unrelenting beauty.

I particularly loved the stories "The Mud Below" and "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water", but the real gem here is "Brokeback Mountain".It's cliché to say the book is better than the movie, but it is a cliché because it is often true, and it is true here.There is something about this stark story of two cowboys who fall in love that lends itself to short fiction.Also, while movies often easily draw social issues towards them like a magnet, the story here can just be what it is, a story of impossible love.It is quite possibly the most moving short story I have ever read.

I highly recommend this collection.

Impressive style; Depressing subject matter
There's no question that AP has a masterful style.As another reviewer noted, it can be insidious, because you can be drawn by her great talent at creating a mood.Ultimately though, her work here disappoints because it is so uniformly bleak, without any contrast.The people she chooses to describe are losers, hard on themselves and on each others.I listened to this on audio books and I was "entertained" while driving some long distances.However, after story after story left me with no sense of real climax or conclusion, and certainly without any hope or warmth, I gave up on them.

What finally did me in was the story of the young fellow who had been terribly deformed in an accident, and then was castrated by his neighbors.Or was it the image of a half-skinned cow roaming the range with his tongue cut out that made me take the CD out of the player?

Ultimately the writer selects from the environment what she wants to see.These stories may show a part of Wyoming life, but it certainly doesn't represent all of it.I wish she would turn her eye to a brighter side of life; her talent is wasted here.

Close Range by Annie Proulx
Annie Proulx is enjoyable to read, a first-class story teller. She develops her own rythmn in the constructive way her sentences play out. I found myself re-reading a paragraph again to get a second jolt of its beauty and suddenness. Like biting into your favorite sandwich, the anxiety waiting for what is to follow, the expectations of upcoming satisfaction and delight.

We find in this book of 11 stories of diverse subjects of life in Wyoming sometimes shocking, sometimes humorous and always entertaining. I found two cowboys having sex with each other in Brokeback Mountain a stretch after watching rugged years of Randolf Scott, John Wayne, and Sam Elliott get the bad guy, drive the herd and end up with the girl at the end. The humor of the feet in the boots in The Blood Bay was a grabber for an ending to that story. The Half-Skinned Steer is an original entertaining story I also enjoyed.

Close Range is a book worth the time if you like well written western stories with a different flair.

Charles Hamilton Sr, Former Executive Director Northwest Teen Challenge and author of A Step Of Faith and From Darkness To Light.

From Darkness To Light

Get it!!
I gave this book as a gift.It is still one of the best I have ever read.Annie Proulx will make you very disappointed with any other author you read next.If you love the West and especially Wyoming, this book is a must.

Wyoming Stories
I bought this as a Christmas gift last year at the receipient's request.He wanted it. ... Read more

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Describes the geography, plants, animals, history, economy, language, religions, culture, sports, art, and people of the state of Wyoming. ... Read more

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Presents a brief history and description of the Equality State. ... Read more

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Presents the geography and history of Wyoming and discusses its natural treasures, famous citizens, and scenic attractions. ... Read more

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Presents information on the history, geography, economy, and government of Wyoming. Includes Internet links to web sites. ... Read more

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Surveys the people, geography, and history of Wyoming, one of the biggest states in land size but the smallest in population. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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Originally published in 1917.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1909.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1895.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Discusses the history, economy, culture, and future of Wyoming. Also includes a state chronology, pertinent statistics, and maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Wyoming Microstudy
The Portrait of America series is a wonderful introduction for pre-teens to the 50 states and to the places and events that shaped the history of the United States. This Wyoming installment is particularly good. The book is broken down into sections like History, Culture, Economy etc., and each section is thoughtfully written and edited. And this edition is loaded with several beautiful photographs. The Culture section is my personal favorite.
This book, as well as the entire Portrait of America series, will prove to be a valuable teaching tool to all primary school educators.

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Chapters: Libraries in Wyoming, Museums in Wyoming, School Districts in Wyoming, Schools in Wyoming, Universities and Colleges in Wyoming, Western United States School Stubs, University of Wyoming, List of Museums in Wyoming, Natrona County School District, Sparks High School, Wyotech, Collegeamerica, Western Wyoming Community College, Northwest College, List of School Districts in Wyoming, List of Carnegie Libraries in Wyoming, Carlsbad High School, New Mexico, Maui High School (Kahului, Hawaii), Saint Francis School, Mountain View High School, Chugiak High School, Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School, St. Anthony High School (Wailuku, Hawaii), Natrona County High School, Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Holy Rosary Academy, Monroe Catholic High School, St. Labre Indian Catholic High School, Gallup Catholic High School, Campbell County School District Number 1, Nanakuli High and Intermediate School, Battle Mountain High School, Amy Biehl High School, Keaau High School, Laramie County School District Number 1, Sandia High School, Kirtland Central High School, Kahili Adventist School, Sweetwater County School District Number 1, Worland High School, Montana Academy, Woods Learning Center, Belen High School (Belen, New Mexico), Helena High School, Poplar High School, James B. Castle High School, East Anchorage High School, Hagerman High School, Frontier High School, Teton County School District Number 1, Pearl City High School, Sandia View Academy, Bonanza High School, Pioneer School, Lathrop High School, Damonte Ranch High School, Silver High School (Silver City, Nm), Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi Alternative High School, Albany County School District Number 1, Goshen County School District Number 1, Rocky Boy High School, Seabury Hall, Piedra Vista High School, American Heritage Center, Kelly Walsh High School, Public Academy for Performing Arts, List of Colleges and Universities in Wyoming, Powell H...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=535684 ... Read more