From Booklist
Montana probably has more good writers per capita than any other state, and the editors should know: Kittredge was an editor of the monumental anthology The Last Best Place (1988) and Allison Morris Jones was editor of the respected Big Sky Journal. For this collection of 21 "fairly recent" short stories, they've chosen both modern classics (Rick Bass' "Days of Heaven," Richard Ford's "Great Falls") and some that should be (Pete Fromm's "Hoot," Melanie Rae Thon's "Father, Lover, Deadman, Dreamer"). Other excellent works include Mary Clearman Blew's inquiry into the ethics of living near wild animals ("Bears and Lions") and Neil McMahon's tale of a prison boxing championship ("Heart"). This is a fine book, top-heavy with talent--with many stories that feel trapped in amber. Characters live in indeterminate eras, on ranches and in small towns, and rarely enter the city. Readers won't see the Montana of strip-malls, video poker, and golf resorts, or Missoula's sprawl, Bozeman's boutiques, and Billings' slums. Montanans often accuse outsiders of mythologizing the state, but sometimes they succumb to the same temptation. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Twenty-one stories from the best writers in Big Sky Country.


From the Back Cover
Montana has long drawn the outcasts and the dreamers, the searchers and the hiders—and the writers. Here are twenty-one stories from the frontier of our country and the edge of our national imagination.
The cast of characters is as big as the state. There’s the cuckolded father in Richard Ford’s classic, “Great Falls,” or Ralph Beer’s hero in “Big Spenders,” sitting with his umbrella drink, dreaming about palm trees and white crescent beaches. There’s also Thomas McGuane’s eavesdropping narrator in “Like a Leaf,” watching other people’s lives, always from a distance. Chris Offutt’s protagonist in “Tough People” is trying to earn enough money in amateur boxing to get out of town, while Mary Clearman Blew’s narrator in “Bears and Lions” describes how her home is slipping away—how the West is leaving her behind.
Montana has for years been a special place for writers. The Best of Montana’s Short Fiction is long overdue.


About the Author
WILLIAM KITTREDGE is a retired Regents Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Montana. His most recent books are The Nature of Generosity, Southwestern Homelands, and The Best Stories of William Kittredge. He lives in Missoula, Montana. ALLEN MORRIS JONES is the former editor of Big Sky Journal. His books include A Quiet Place of Violence: Hunting and Ethics in the Missouri River Breaks and Last Year's River. His writing has appeared in Men's Journal, Town and Country, Sports Afield, and Gray's Sporting Journal. He lives in Livingston, Montana.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Longtime Montana loyalists William Kittredge and Allen Morris Jones have been writing about their home state for decades. In The Best of Montana's Short Fiction, they showcase other Treasure State authors. The impressive roster of contributors include Richard Ford, Tom McGuane, Rick Bass, Maile Meloy, Annick Smith, Chris Offutt, Peter Fromm, and Kittredge.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Montana has long drawn the outcasts and the dreamers, the searchers and the hiders. The cast of characters in these stories is as big as the state. There's the cuckolded father in Richard Ford's classic, "Great Falls," or Ralph Beers's hero in "Big Spenders," sitting with his umbrella drink, dreaming about palm trees and white crescent beaches. And Thomas McGuane's narrator in "Like a Leaf," eavesdropping on the narrators and watching other people's lives. Chris Offutt's protagonist in "Tough People" is trying to earn enough money in amateur boxing to get out of town, while Mary Clearman Brew's narrator in "Bears and Lions" describes how her home is moving away from her-how the West is leaving her behind.