The Far Battleground [Paperback]

F. M. Parker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Parker is well-known for his westerns (Nighthawk, Shadow of the Wolf), and this novel is a hybrid of history and western that does not quite work. As a western, it is a little out of the ordinary, but as a re-creation of General Scott's campaign against the Mexicans in the 1840s, it is lackluster. The characters have little depth, scenes are mechanical, and the narrative is not helped by mediocre writing. The campaign is highlighted by the capture of Mexico City by the Americans, and the novel concentrates on three characters: Chilton, a lieutenant of the Dragoons, plagued by guilt for the death and injuries his men recieve who determines to put the matter right; his Texas Ranger friend, Lt. Cavillin; and the whoremaster and thief Ussing. Eventually, Chilton takes his men on a series of raids to claim gold and silver as reparation. Scott, however, sends Cavillin after the renegade Dragoons. But it is the wild card Ussing, who has determined to kill both men, who finally decides their fate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This novel is based on events in the Mexican War (1846-48) following the fall of Mexico City which reflect dishonorably on the United States. Lieutenant Cavillin of the Texas Rangers is assigned to track down U.S. renegades who are robbing Mexican towns. These renegades are wounded Dragoons led by Lieutenant Chilton (a friend of Cavillin), who are "liberating" Mexican wealth to use for families of dead or wounded Dragoons. This is an action-packed story with vividly described battles, but it has an uneven stylesometimes swift and colorful, at others, awkward and plodding. For readers interested in history. Sister Avila, Acad. of Holy Angels, Minneapolis
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Signet (November 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451156757
• ISBN-13: 978-0451156754
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,316,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Fearl Meek Parker. Don't laugh about the Meek. Sometime in the future, I'll tell how such a moniker was hung on me. I write under the name of F. M. Parker

I have written 20 books and am in the process of publishing them on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple and some publishers in England.

My early years were lived in Ohio. At 16 I dropped out of school and went to work in a factory making door and windows. Becoming tried of eating sawdust, I started hitchhiking west. Ran out of money in Colorado and worked as a bellhop in Estes Park. After a few days and with a few coins jingling in my pocket, I caught a ride north to Montana where I herded sheep near Miles City. Tiring of that, I jumped onto my thumb and rode it west to Seattle, Washington. There I tasted the salt water and saw all the warships sailing off to war in the Pacific. This was 1945 during World War 11. Again I jumped upon my thumb, pointed it to the east, and rode it to Ohio. Where I talked my mother into signing me into the navy. Well, I wasn't yet 17 the minimum age, and so the navy put me up in a hotel for a day and them swore me in. I spent 4 years that first time. I was called back to active duty for a year and a half during the Korean War in the early 1950's.

Earned a degree in geology, working the night shift for Chrysler Airtemp and going to school during the day. Hired on with a mining company prospecting for uranium in Utah. Next, I worked for an oil company drilling oil wells in KANSAS. THEN my luck really struck and I took employment with the Bureau of Land Management, a bureau within the Department of the Interior. This was the perfect job for a fellow with an itchy foot. While working up through the ranks, I was in California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington D.C. and Oregon. I wrote my first book, Skinner, while in Oregon. Doubleday published it. After the Bureau, I became an environmental consultant in Phoenix, Arizona. I now live in Virginia.