Last of the Plainsmen, The

When Zane Grey met Buffalo Jones in New York City in 1908 Zane Grey instinctively knew he had met someone special. And the two men remained friends until Jones' death many years later. This book recounts only a small portion of the plainsman's life, but what is provided relates to us the life of an adventurer, an empire builder, and a conservationalist. Included are stories of the man's trying to rope lions in the Grand Canyon and to his attempt to preserve the last of the buffalo from extinction, after once having slaughtered them to provide meat for the railroad workers. When this book was first published it did not receive very good reviews, but has since been praised for Zane Grey's prose and narrative skills. Furthermore, the people Zane Grey met on this trip with Jones led directly to his creation of such great novels as Heritage of the Desert and Riders of the Purple Sage and set the stage for his entire career. Without this trip and the writing of this book there might not have been a Zane Grey as we know him today. It all began here.