Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 - 2 5 12 Last Best Books Presents ISLE OF BOOKS 511 W. MENDENHALL BOZEMAN 406.219.3581 ISLE OF BOOKS & BOOKS 43 E BROADWAY ST. BUTTE 406.782.9520 THESE AND OTHER BOOKS AVAILABLE AT EITHER LOCATION WWW.ISLEOFBOOKSSHOP.COM LEGEND KEEPERS: THE PROMISE BY BRUCE SMITH Wildlife biologist, veteran, and writer (not to mention Distinctly Montana contributor) Bruce Smith has returned with the third in his series of young adult novels about Garson Strangewalker and Buddy, a remarkable kid mountain goat and their quest to try and save the glacier they both love. As with the previous volumes, the exciting and fast-paced narrative man- ages to work as both a primer on environmental issues and as an enchanting narrative in its own right. And in this final story, the allegory is made plainer than ever: the solution will require the help of both the animal and human worlds. We'll all have to work together, Smith tells us, and manages to deliver his message with hope. Highly recom- mended for children and grandchildren. THIS PLACE THE GODS TOUCHED EARTH POETRY BY MONTANA'S POETS LAUREATE 2005-2025 BY VARIOUS Published by Montana Arts Coun- cil in partnership with the Mon- tana Historical Society Press, this beautiful hardcover volume con- tains poems by each of Montana's 11 past and current Poets Laureate from 2005–2025. From their pens flow images of Montana as only they can describe it: sensuous, sensitive, hard-scrabble, yielding. Each poet, including Greg Pape, Sheryl Noethe, Henry Real Bird, and the current writer, Chris La Tray, captures some aspect of Montana's grandeur bet- ter than anyone else. We are lucky to have them all, and this volume deserves a spot on every Montanan reader's shelf. EDWARD S. CURTIS, PRINTING THE LEGENDS: LOOKING AT SHADOWS IN A WEST LIT ONLY BY FIRE BY DR. LARRY LEN PETERSON This handsome volume would be well worth the investment if only for its value as an art book. With 250 illustrations, it serves as an impressive center- piece for any coffee table or Western art lover's shelf. But the accompanying text by Pe- terson, author of The American West Reimagined and American Trinity: Jefferson, Custer, and the Spirit of the West, both fas- cinating and philosophical in ways that most history texts are

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