An epic journey through a vibrant new country! In 1905, the veteran war correspondent Ralph D. Paine set out to explore the American West, sending back his dispatches to Outing magazine. He saw towns appearing like magic on the North Dakota prairie, loggers tearing the heart out of the Cascade forests, and cowboys making their last roundup in Montana. He explored the Pacific Coast from Seattle to the "pleasure and health resort" of Los Angeles, where an electric trolly whisked him from the city to the Santa Anita Ranch in a few minutes.
From there he went by train, desert automobile, and stage coach to the gold fields of Nevada. Wherever he went, there was bustle, progress, and unquenchable optimism, as the frontier closed and America began to grow into the world's superpower. Brought to new life by the historian and novelist Daniel Ford.