The Hardy Breed [Unknown Binding]

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: Doubleday & Co. (January 1, 1966)
• ASIN: B001VNGOL4
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars A rough and tumble tale about a rough and tumble time, October 23, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

The context is the frontier of Texas when it was still under the control of Mexico. With the land largely empty, the Mexican government is encouraging groups of Americans to settle there, offering generous terms for parcels of land. One area in particular was a haven for criminal elements, it was called The Twilight Zone as the law-abiding were forced to take great care when passing through it and many did not survive.
Haden Edwards is a strong-willed and stubborn man with an ambitious plan. The Mexican government has commissioned him to settle a large number of farm families in a parcel of land in The Twilight Zone. When the story opens, Edwards has the group encamped at the town of Nacadoches, a beaten down small town on the natural trade route through the Zone. There are several entrenched elements in the area that are obstacles to the success of Edwards' plan: the substantial criminal element, the local corrupt Mexican officials, remnants of the Native American tribes, the weak Mexican government where the nearest official is hundreds of miles away, the established ranchers and other American expatriates in positions of political authority. Each of these groups has their own agenda; sometimes it is consistent with Edwards' goals but often is in opposition.
Based on an actual historical event in the early history of Texas, this book combines the features and adventures of the rough American frontier with the actual events in history where American expansion led to the domination of the area now called the American southwest. It was a dynamic time, where great fortunes were made, lives and fortunes lost and the movement westward was unstoppable.