Dakota Incarnate

The focus of this deftly written collection of short stories is South Dakota in the early 1900s. Drawn from his personal experience, Bill McDonald tells of the tragedy, hard work, and determination that forged the persona of the early settler. McDonald brings to life the characters who were survivors (sometimes) in the battle to tame the far-reaching prairie of the Dakotas. His narrative gift is strong, whether he is writing tragedy, memoir, or a ghost story. The stories are remarkably diverse. They include the description of a long-distance courtship carried on by mail, the effects of an essay contest on a student in a one-room school, and the remarkable time travels of a man just back from attending the Chicago World Fair who meets his present-day grandson in an airport.