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bristlecone's review against another edition
3.0
The author attempts to walk the line between ranching and environmental conservation --- a decidedly tricky task. In total, he does a fairly good job of driving home the feeling of wanting to protect animals in your care while recognizing that cattle are the invaders. And like any truly meaningful consideration of the issue, he draws no conclusion about the "right" side of the argument
arielamandah's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars. A spare, eloquent memoir of ranching and wolves in Montana. The author balances the dynamics of a fraught topic and the different perspectives of the various parties in a sensitive way. This book felt contemplative and thoughtful. It’s not a rollicking adventure story, rather a series of essays about life in this part of the world.
melcheslog's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I enjoyed how it gave the perspective of Bryce and also the wolves. I felt as though I were on the ranch with Bryce, Jeremy and James. The book flowed seamlessly and was captivating from the first page.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
A soulful memoir by a young man in which the mythic and romantic West collide with the harsh reality of the place-beauty and brutality in full spectrum. Bryce is a city kid from Seattle who gets a job as a range hand on the beautiful Sun Ranch south of Ennis, Montana. He chronicles his apprenticeship of hard work and his thoughtful introspection of the land he works. It's a lot like the 2011 book, Fire Season by Philip Connors-an ode to nature. But Andrews' reverie is cruelly jolted when the wolves he has admired fleetingly and from afar creep up and start killing the cows instead of the elk. These cows are his responsibility. He is their protector. Reluctantly he realizes he must do the unthinkable. His compatriots wonder if he is up to the challenge to go after the wolves and kill them. Andrew is no shirker. He does his duty and it continues to haunt him. Just a beautiful but also at time an elegiac book on man and nature.
eklanac61's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Informative and well written.
First non-fiction in a while that I’ve read that had me captivated with wonderful descriptive language, and setting, and a full synopsis of what was on the line with this book.
I will read more from this author. I appreciate the first person perspective and the hands on approach. Definitely a challenging topic to cover. It’s not an easy read at times, but it is well written.
First non-fiction in a while that I’ve read that had me captivated with wonderful descriptive language, and setting, and a full synopsis of what was on the line with this book.
I will read more from this author. I appreciate the first person perspective and the hands on approach. Definitely a challenging topic to cover. It’s not an easy read at times, but it is well written.
readermeginco's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to this on audio while driving across Wyoming. Maybe it was the scenery or my many trips to Wyoming and Montana, but when Bryce Andrews wrote of the ranch as his heart's geographical center, I found myself entranced by my own love for and the many miles I have driven around the West. Perhaps what I liked best about this book was Andrews' very real, very personal struggle with wolf conservation. It is never black-and-white with him, except perhaps in one -fateful- instant. This was one of those books that made me homesick with love for this hard landscape, even while I was driving through it. Beautifully told.
kbratten's review against another edition
2.0
I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading this, it just wasn't for me.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
It occurred to me that I had achieved a rare thing: I was living at the center of my heart's geography. And I knew it. (103)
Andrews wasn't raised to be a cowboy, but a cowboy he became, chasing his dreams out to Montana and lassoing them neatly. In Badluck Way he tells a quiet, but occasionally violent, story of his first year out. As a ranch hand, his jobs are generally simple, physical: care for the animals. Repair the fences. Keep watch for wolves. But his commitment is less to the ranch itself than it is to the idea of the wild that the area offers, and it is with reservations that Andrews approaches tasks designed to drive off or kill the wolves that threaten the ranch's animals and bottom line.
And it's true: the wolves make it a more interesting story. It's an I-did-something-for-a-year-and-wrote-about-it memoir, but not entirely; though at the beginning of the book Andrews talks about deciding whether to stay or go, 'go' does not mean 'go back to the city'. Ranching is, for him, a childhood dream come to life, but despite the hardships it's one that he embraces fully. Maybe five years or ten would be enough; I don't know. In any case, he describes a quiet acceptance on the ranch, one that lets him learn the ropes without feeling like a total outsider. It's not clear if this had to do with the ranch (which seems to have been in some ways a hobby ranch?) or Andrews's immediate bosses, but were it not for the threat posed by the wolves—and the possibility of suburbia encroaching on the wild—it sounds as though it would have been an unmarred utopia for him.
Quick read. Interesting book.
Andrews wasn't raised to be a cowboy, but a cowboy he became, chasing his dreams out to Montana and lassoing them neatly. In Badluck Way he tells a quiet, but occasionally violent, story of his first year out. As a ranch hand, his jobs are generally simple, physical: care for the animals. Repair the fences. Keep watch for wolves. But his commitment is less to the ranch itself than it is to the idea of the wild that the area offers, and it is with reservations that Andrews approaches tasks designed to drive off or kill the wolves that threaten the ranch's animals and bottom line.
And it's true: the wolves make it a more interesting story. It's an I-did-something-for-a-year-and-wrote-about-it memoir, but not entirely; though at the beginning of the book Andrews talks about deciding whether to stay or go, 'go' does not mean 'go back to the city'. Ranching is, for him, a childhood dream come to life, but despite the hardships it's one that he embraces fully. Maybe five years or ten would be enough; I don't know. In any case, he describes a quiet acceptance on the ranch, one that lets him learn the ropes without feeling like a total outsider. It's not clear if this had to do with the ranch (which seems to have been in some ways a hobby ranch?) or Andrews's immediate bosses, but were it not for the threat posed by the wolves—and the possibility of suburbia encroaching on the wild—it sounds as though it would have been an unmarred utopia for him.
Quick read. Interesting book.
lizlogan's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and provacative. The book doesn't back down from the uncomfortable situations the author finds himself in and they are so well-described the reader may as well be going through them herself.
dorothysnarker's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway! This a great, quick little summer read. Andrews starts his adventure off as a summer hand on a eco-ranch in Montana. In between physical tasks such as mending fences and learning to care for cattle, a tense situation occurs when a wolf pack who was reintroduced to Yellowstone moves into the area and begins killing cattle. The author must weigh his ecological beliefs and great respect for the wolves with protecting the heard of cattle and the good of the ranch. Andrews is a talented writer and paints a vivid picture of the wide-open Montana scenery. He is great at explaining the delicate balance of cattle ranching, respecting the environment, and the consequences of developing the rural farms in the plains.