Riding the High Country

For anyone who enjoys cowboy yarns and tall tales, this book, originally published in 1933 and now reissued as the first of the publisher's Western Writers Series, is a treasure trove. Tucker was a cowpoke who did everything one would expect: he rode, tangled with Indians, even killed other men. Indeed, some stories are not for the faint of heart. In the beginning of the book, Tuck, as he's called, meets Charley Russell, a boy of 15, and teaches him to be a cowboy: of particular importance are nonchalance and brushing off danger. Typically, Charley and Tuck get into a scrape with an outlaw, ""Injun Dick,'' who had set out to double-cross the two out of several ponies. As a result, Tuck says, Injun Dick is soon left ``decorating a cottonwood tree.'' The author's direct language and straightforward storytelling make this a pleasurable read. (December)