Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “an adventurer’s story told as never before,” this is the saga of a man compelled by the dark, delicious grasp of a river to carve out a home in America’s most awe-inspiring backcountry.
Native Americans, the first few white people who dared to explore the West, and the settlers who followed all braved a glorious and treacherous wilderness to stake their lives on the bounty of the great rivers charging out of the Rocky Mountains.
One such man is Mac “the Dancer” Maclean, who finds his destiny high in the headwaters of the Yellowstone, the swift river that rumbles through two majestic waterfalls and charges across the vast plains of Montana.
Maclean goes west with just a small band of friends and fellow explorers. Venturing deep into uncharted territory, they hunt, trade, and battle, eventually becoming husbands and fathers to Indian women and children. As Mac creates a life fully his own, he has no idea that future generations will honor his memory and build on the life he created on the fertile banks of the river he called home.
Maclean’s courage and deep compassion made him a legend. He gave his all for a life that made his heart soar. Some believe that his spirit still inhabits the Yellowstone country. Others hear the joyous voice of the Dancer inside the Yellowstone—tumbling river of life, death, and dreams.
Reviews
“Through the lives of Mac ‘Dancer’ Maclean and his daring companions, delve here into the experiences of the few white men who ventured into the Rocky Mountains ahead of all others, their lives thunderous with danger, dazzling in with excitement, deeply satisfying in their creation of a new and ever-surprising way of life. In these pages ride with the true discoverers of the West, their story told as never before.” —The Los Angeles Times
“Richly told American historical fiction. The longings, determination, adventure and liberties that built the U.S. are richly and deeply experienced in the characters, events and luxurious descriptive writing. Read it. Live it.” – Kennedy Library, Ball State University
“When you jump into one of Win Blevins’s novels, you’ll jump bareback on a half-broke Indian cayuse, the wind whipping across your face, as you are carried to distant places, without stop, until the last page.” – Terry Johnston, author of Cry of the Hawk