The Valley of Silent Men [Hardcover]

James Oliver Curwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Before the railroad's thin lines of steel bit their way up through the wilderness, Athabasca Landing was the picturesque threshold over which one must step who would enter into the mystery and adventure of the great white North. It is still Iskwatam - the "door" which opens to the lower reaches of the Athabasca, the Slave, and the Mackenzie. It is somewhat difficult to find on the map, yet it is there, because its history is written in more than a hundred and forty years of romance and tragedy and adventure in the lives of men, and is not easily forgotten. Over the old trail it was about a hundred and fifty miles north of Edmonton. The railroad has brought it nearer to that base of civilization, but beyond it the wilderness still howls as it has howled for a thousand years, and the waters of a continent flow north and into the Arctic Ocean. It is possible that the beautiful dream of the real-estate dealers may come true, for the most avid of all the sportsmen of the earth, the money-hunters, have come up on the bumpy railroad that sometimes lights its sleeping cars with lanterns, and with them have come typewriters, and stenographers, and the art of printing advertisements, and the Golden Rule of those who sell handfuls of earth to hopeful purchasers thousands of miles away - "Do others as they would do you." And with it, too, has come the legitimate business of barter and trade, with eyes on all that treasure of the North which lies between the Grand Rapids of the Athabasca and the edge of the polar sea.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421820552
• ISBN-13: 978-1421820552
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book., December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Valley of Silent Men (Hardcover)

Excellent book for those who love the stories of the north spiced with thrilling romance that brings tears to once eyes. I read this book about 25 years ago in college in Europe (in my native language). Since I've immigrated to U.S 20 years ago I tried to find this book without any results (even major bookstors didn't know who James Oliver Curwood was). Thanks to Amazon search train i was able to find it. I received this book 2 weeks ago and read it over Christmas and then my wife. I was glad I forgot most of it from the college days and could enjoy it again. My wife was overwhelmed and finished the book with tears in Her eyes.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All of the Curwood books are forgotten classics, February 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Valley of Silent Men, The (Paperback)

A Mountie from his deathbed confesses to a crime in order to protect the actual killer -- then recovers & must face the possibility he may hang. The resulting struggle for life & honor provides one of the great classic adventures of the Royal Mounted Police in the Canadian Northwest & the far-frozen North