The final book in the Little Britches series, Ralph Moody continues his rags to riches (well solvency, not quite riches) ups and downs as he tries to gt himself out of debt while becoming a drover and meat processing business, first to the railroad work crews and then to local farmers.
This book really continues the story of The Dry Divide in that it takes place in the same area of Cedar Bluffs. He wound up there after getting kicked off a train he was hitching a ride on completely broke but hoping to meet up with friends in Denver. However, he was tossed off the train and soon became a farm hand. I won't recount what happened in The Dry Divide except that he wound up going into business as a harvester and wheat hauler. However, he was up to his ears in debt and dealing with the local bankers in mortgaged property and stock. Ralph (called Bud) has an indefatigable entrepreneurial spirit. He tries to go into business with Bob who is an irresponsible braggart. This doesn't lead to good things. Eventually he gets sued by the bank and must declare bankruptcy. Then Ralph must come up with a way to start all over again. And he does!
This book, as is typical in this series, is full of technical details of how Bud financed everything, how he set up his business, how the stock market in 1920 was doing in terms of livestock, how he dealt with the railroad and got the contract that pulled him out. A lot of times the technical detail just went over my head, since these things are so unfamiliar to me. I do think these books could have used some editing. However, at the end of the book everything gets tied up neatly and it ends on a high and hopeful note.
Many of the books have a little romance thing going on between Bud and a girl. These never move much and they don't continue from book to book. His main helper from The Dry Divide simply disappears in this book. I thought he was going to wind up marrying her. Instead we suddenly hear about a sweetheart from back home in Medford MA. So that aspect of this series was just a little odd for me.
This series is often compared to the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Little Britches in the masculine counterpart, except a couple decades later in time. However, I think the Little House books are better written. Little Britches though is a very interesting series and I'm glad I read it. Even though all the technical details of everything from ranching, farming, wheat hauling, butchering, stock market and financing are out of my ken, I appreciated how much real history they conveyed. I feel like I know a lot more about the nitty gritty details of managing life back in the day. So that information is highly valuable stuff.
All in all, I really enjoyed this series of books. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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