Sheep: Life on the South Dakota Range (Borealis Books)

Archer B. Gilfillan was an anomaly. An Ivy League scholar with a broad knowledge of classical literature and a talent for writing, he nonetheless chose to herd sheep from 1916 to 1934 in a lonely, isolated part of the West. Out of this strange juxtaposition of expertise and experience, Gilfillan produced this classic narrative of American sheepherding.

First published in 1929, Sheep: Life on the South Dakota Range provides a personal, informative, and entertaining account of the western sheepherder. From blizzards to predatory wolves, from grass-crazed sheep in the springtime to penny-pinching bosses, Gilfillan misses nothing. He also volunteers his trenchant opinions on modern women, cowboys, and homesteaders—many of whom were his neighbors.