The Valley of the Giants, Peter B. Kyne
The Valley of the Giants, Peter B. Kyne
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

The Valley of the Giants
The Amazing Redwoods

Author: Peter B. Kyne

Narrator: John Rayburn

Unabridged: 11 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/21/2023

Categories: Fiction, Western, Classic


Synopsis

In the summer of 1850 a topsail schooner slipped into the cove under the rocky promontory of Trinidad Head in California and dropped anchor at the edge of the kelp (algae) fields. Fifteen minutes later her small-boat deposited on the beach a man armed with long squirrel-rifle and an axe, and carrying food and clothing in a brown canvas pack. From the beach he saw the schooner raise anchor and stand out to sea before the northwest trade winds. When it disappeared from his view, he swung his pack to his broad and powerful back and strode resolutely into the timber at the mouth of a little river.The man was John Cardigan; in that lonely, hostile land he was the first pioneer. This is the tale of Cardigan and Cardigan’s son, Bryce. In his chosen land the pioneer leader in the gigantic task of hewing a path for civilization was to know the bliss of woman’s love and of parenthood, and the sorrow that comes of the loss of a perfect mate. He and his son became involved in a struggle to maintain their heritage amongst the fabulous redwood trees. It was a battle with victory, defeat, labor, joy, and sorrow all faced with unconquerable spirits.

About Peter B. Kyne

Peter B. Kyne (1880–1957) was a prolific screenwriter and the author of the 1920 bestseller Kindred of the Dust. His stories of Cappy Ricks and the Ricks Lumber & Shipping Company were serialized in the Saturday Evening Post and Cosmopolitan magazine.

About John Rayburn

John Rayburn (1927–2024) was a veteran of over sixty years in broadcasting. He served as a news/sports anchor and show host, and his TV newscast achieved the largest share of audience figures of any major-market TV newscast in the nation. John was a member of the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. He was well suited to bring fascinating stories to life concerning the people, places, and things that combine to present lively observations of our day-to-day lives.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on December 18, 2024

It’s necessary to take into account that this was written in 1918; it therefore reflects a style of writing—and the attitudes and situations—that prevailed in California, WWI era. Having once made the adjustment in expectations, be prepared for one really bang-up story: a desperate feud between two......more

Goodreads review by Craig on January 10, 2011

This is one of my favorite works of fiction. I like it because of the vivid descriptions of the American spirit, the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, the building of a business and life in the outdoors. There is something about Kyne's word choice and phrasing that I also like--there is a certain for......more

Goodreads review by Henri on April 09, 2020

I bought this book 7 years ago originally under the mistaken idea that it was about literal giants, of the mythical kind, as it was in the science fiction section of the secondhand bookstore. So you can imagine my surprise when it turns out to be a novel set in the early 1900s about the rough and tu......more

Goodreads review by Larry on March 15, 2016

This is one of those rugged old manly man kinds of books, pitting a good, fair-playing capitalist against an underhanded one. The story revolves around red-wood timber magnates in Northern California. It's a pretty good yarn, albeit melodramatic, at times. The characterization of women is predictabl......more

Goodreads review by Taylor on September 26, 2017

The Valley of the Giants By Peter B. Kyne “Strong in their faith to live their lives and love their loves, to dream their dreams and perchance when life should be done with and the hour of rest at hand, to surrender, sustained and comforted by the knowledge that those dreams had come true.” This quo......more