To the Last Man

By Zane Grey

Book Overview

To the Last Man is the story of Arizona's Pleasant Valley War, one of the most legendary conflicts of the Old West. A venomous feud between cattle ranchers, the Isbels, and sheepherders, the Jorths, plunges both families into a deadly cycle of vengeance. Yet, even as their families spiral into annihilation, Ellen Jorth and Jean Isabel struggle to keep their fateful romance alive.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765363062
• ISBN13: 9780765363060
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.1" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Family Feud

The Graham-Tewskbury feud on which this story is based is as legendary out West as the Hatfield-McCoy feud is back East. Zane Grey, of course, adds his own twist to the facts, but over-all this is probably the most accurate accounting there will ever be, as Zane Grey was able to talk to old-timers who were still living and had gone through the feud. The one scene with the hogs is the one most readers will never forget, and is based on fact. The "Romeo and Juliet" part is consistent with other romances written by Grey, and has to be in the story line to make it historical romance, which is what he considered himself to be writing---not westerns! In fact, the word, or term, "western" was not even coined until around 1930. By then Zane Grey had been writing this kind of stories for 20 years. We do an injustice to him when we say, "oh, the writer of westerns" when his name is mentioned. Tonto Basin is worth reading, and owning, without a doubt.

One of the Classics

I picked this Kindle version and other PD books up on a whim, figuring the 99 cent price was worth it, and I hadn't read the original in over 25 years. I got more than a buck's worth of enjoyment out of it! Looking at what this group has alos published, they have a lot of other classic books available for the Kindle. Now, after reading this book, I see they are offering 25 Zane Grey classic westerns on the Kindle for 99 cents. A lot of these PD books formatting leaves something to be desired, but this one was pretty good. We're in a recession, so I like to see the pricing of these digital books right where they should be.

Based on a true blood feud, you can see where it happened

Of all of Zane Grey's books, this one rates in my personal top three favorites. The story itself is outstanding. Lots of suspense and gunplay, with a hopeless romance injected to keep your mind engaged. This story is especially good as it is loosely based on an true blood feud which happened in Pleasant Valley, a town in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona. Therefore, you can visit the site, see where Zane set his novel, and know that while Grey's may have been a fictional account, a feud DID happen, right where you are standing. The town is now called Young, by the way, to get rid of the stigma associated with the Pleasant Valley War. During a cross country trip, I took the time to drive out to Young just so I could see for myself where it all happened. I recommend every Zan Grey fan take the time to do so. I also read the account of the actual feud (available at the Tonto Basin Historical Center), and several key elements in Grey's novel are true. There was only one active participant who survived the feud, and the bit about the battle pausing so the ladies could bury their dead husbands to keep hogs from eating the corpses actually happened.