October 10, 2011
Prolific writer Grey (1872–1939), best known for his countless westerns, also wrote about pressing social and political issues of his day. This novel, originally serialized in 1919, takes place during WWI and addresses patriotism, immigrant tensions, labor unrest, socialist agitators, and Bolshevik saboteurs. And despite its corny 1919 dialogue, it delivers powerful commentary. Kurt Dorn is a young wheat farmer in the Columbia River basin of Washington State, in debt and in conflict with his stubborn German father and fighting the threats and intimidation of the Industrial Workers of the World, portrayed as a well-financed pseudo-labor union. The IWW intends to disrupt the wheat harvest and hamper America’s entry into the war. But Dorn is a patriot, and through force of will, fists, and gunplay, he and other patriotic farmers battle the IWW. But Kurt loses everything, including his father. In despair and desperation, he joins the army and goes to France to fight the Germans, only later realizing that his love of a woman is more important than the death he seeks. Add a kidnapping, pursuit, escape, vigilante justice, and vivid scenes of brutal trench warfare, and Grey serves up a gripping tale with a sober message.