Merritt, has a secret, something hidden far out in the remote prairie.

With the scaffolding of his life beginning to wobble, Will realizes that his flamboyant father, J.T. But Will finds himself torn when he meets the beautiful and beguiling Anna, whose dignity and determination test his deepest beliefs. And no one is more intolerant than Will’s best friend, Jasper, who delights in tormenting any farmer he encounters. The townsfolk resent the immigrant settlers whose new farms are slicing up the rangeland. Yet even with Hickok as marshal, Abilene boils with deep divisions. Idolizing the cowboys who flood the streets each summer, Will and his friends are drawn to Abilene’s exotic Texastown district-a powderkeg of saloons and brothels so notorious that the mayor has hired the West’s most famous gunman, Wild Bill Hickok, to police its streets. Fifteen-year-old Will Merritt is fiercely protective of the cattle trade that made his father’s fortune. This is the epic story of Abilene, Kansas, at a time when the cowboy is king, and good and evil are so evenly matched that no one knows which will triumph.Ībilene, 1871. moreīased on a remarkable true story- A wilderness of grass A magnificent secret A stunning tragedy A lifelong romance in its earliest days This is the epic st Based on a remarkable true story. Louis Sachar, author of Newbery Medal winner HOLES. 'From the raucous saloons kept in check by Marshall Wild Bill Hickok, to the farmers living in sod houses as they struggle to scrape by, Larry Bjornson brings the wild west alive with such detail and clarity, if I didn't know better, I would think he lived through it.' Boggs, Spur Award-winning author of NORTHFIELD WIDE OPEN is a delight, a literate story with a wonderful cast of characters, boundless energy, and a perfect sense of place and time.' Larry Bjornson, however, makes the story fresh, unique, and moving. 'Countless novels have been written about Wild Bill Hickok and the rough cattle town of Abilene, Kansas, of the 1870s. Remember to put WIDE OPEN on your 'TO-READ LIST' A romance that w First edition, signed by authorĪ novel of the Great Plains based on the actual events of 1871. First edition, signed by author A novel of the Great Plains based on the actual events of 1871.

Wide Open by Larry Bjornson