Great reading for young boys ( )

"The Young Forester" (1910) is mainly notable as Zane Grey's first novel of the Ken Ward series of books, for which boys were the target audience. Having just finished high school, easterner Ken aspires to a career in the new field of "forestry" and convinces his dad to let him go out West for a visit. Equipped with newly- purchased western gear, he acquires a horse, and links up with a forest ranger, who turns out to be allowing a band of renegades to harvest lumber from federal land. There are captures and escapes and recaptures and rescues and a gigantic forest fire that Ken manages to stop through his knowledge of forestry. All this makes for a tidy little morality tale in which no one gets shot, no one dies, and the bad guys see the error of their ways, all but the shifty - eyed Mexican who appears to be beyond redemption.

As fans of novels of the mythical "West," actual and overgrown boys will likely overlook this one in favor of Grey's more well known works; and to no great loss. Without even one female character, there are no damsels to be wooed or rescued; although there are episodes of excitement, and the author's powers of description of the western landscape are well on display. ( )