ira s nelson

A lost book so wonderful it is like finding buried treasure.

"On Sarpy Creek" is a deeply moving family saga about a small Montana farming community in the decade after World War I. Many readers consider it a small masterpiece, yet this book was "lost" for decades before being recently republished.

The simple, unadorned style and strong story make "On Sarpy Creek" a true page-turner about life and love.

Praise for the new edition:

"An intriguing story (that guarantees) hours of escape. The characters are well developed, interesting and fallible, and the ensemble makes for delightful reading." —Big Sky Journal

"Illuminating and compelling." —Missoulian

"An epic Montana saga." —Helena Independent Record

"A friend of mine just gave me the novel 'On Sarpy Creek' three days ago and I've read it almost straight through. I want to thank you for republishing it. It's a terrific book, maybe the best Montana novel I've ever read, and you bringing it back is just a real public service." —From an anonymous phone call to the publisher soon after this edition was published.

Praise for the original edition:

"Unusually moving." —Joseph Kinsey Howard, "Montana: High, Wide and Handsome"

"What gives (this) novel charm is the simple authenticity of the emotions, the splendid reality of the interlocking lives, and the moments of quietly told but intense drama." —Bernard DeVoto, "The Journals of Lewis and Clark, Across the Wide Missouri"

This edition features an afterward about the author. This novel is his only known work.