Devil's Gate: Owning the Land, Owning the Story

Tom Rea

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Language: English

Published by University of Oklahoma Press, 2013

0806143681 / 9780806143682

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Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books Inc

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People who own the land can own the stories-at least for a time Devil's Gate-the name conjures difficult passage and portends a doubtful outcome. In this eloquent and captivating narrative, Tom Rea traces the history of the Sweetwater River valley in central Wyoming-a remote place including Devil's Gate, Independence Rock, and other sites along a stretch of the Oregon Trail-to show how ownership of a place can translate into owning its story. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Devil's Gate is the center of a landscape that threatens to shrink any inhabitants to insignificance except for one thing: ownership of the land and the stories they choose to tell about it. The static serenity of the once heavily traveled region masks a history of conflict. Tom Sun, an early rancher, played a role here in the lynching of the only woman ever hanged in Wyoming. The lynching was dismissed as swift frontier justice in the wake of cattle theft, but Rea finds more complicated motives that involve land and water rights. The Sun name was linked with the land for generations. In the 1990s, the Mormon Church purchased part of the Sun ranch to memorialize Martin's Cove as the site of handcart pioneers who froze to death in the valley in 1856. The treeless, arid country around Devil's Gate seems too immense for ownership. But stories run with the land. People who own the land can own the stories, at least for a time. Tom Rea is the author of Bone Wars: The Excavation and Celebrity of Andrew Carnegie's Dinosaur, winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for contemporary nonfiction. He lives with his family in Casper, Wyoming. A tale that should entertain, inspire, and trouble anyone who loves the American West.-Will Bagley, author of Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows.…

Seller Inventory # CIN0806143681G

Title
Devil's Gate: Owning the Land, Owning the Story
Author
Tom Rea
Publisher
University of Oklahoma Press
Publication year
2013
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
Language
English
ISBN 10
0806143681
ISBN 13
9780806143682

World of Books Inc

Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.

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AbeBooks seller since March 23, 2026

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Founded in 2002, World of Books is a leading online destination for buying and selling both preloved and new books, committed to making sustainable reading accessible to all. With a mission to help people read more and waste less, World of Books offers a huge range of affordable, high-quality books — giving both new and preloved titles a second life. The company also operates World of Books – Sell Your Books, an easy-to-use platform that allows customers to trade in unwanted books for cash, helping to keep books in circulation while promoting sustainability. As a Certified B Corp, World of Books is driven by a vision to become the world’s largest and most sustainable dedicated online bookstore. The company measures its success through the positive environmental impact it creates, the value it provides to customers, and its ability to operate profitably while supporting its sustainable mission …

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