Ralph Moody
"Ralph Moody's story is a perfect example of rural American enterprise in the early 1920s...this book is a glorious recollection of Pre-Dust Bowl, pre-Depression days and is highly recommended."
—Library Journal
Horse of a Different Colorends the "roving days" of young Ralph Moody. His saga began on a Colorado ranch in Little Britches and continued at points east and west in Man of the Family,
...Prior to the Civil War, the fastest mail between the West Coast and the East took almost thirty days by stagecoach along a southern route through Texas. Some Californians feared their state would not remain in the Union, separated so far from the free states. Then businessman William Russell invested in a way to deliver mail between San Francisco and the farthest western railroad, in Saint Joseph, Missouri—across two thousand miles of mountains,
...Who would have believed that a knobby-kneed little colt named Seabiscuit would become one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time? Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs were too short, and his gallop was awkward.
During the depths of the Great Depression, however, Seabiscuit won against incredible odds and uplifted the hearts of people throughout
...Ralph Moody, just turned twenty, had only a dime in his pocket when he was put off a freight in western Nebraska. It was the Fourth of July in 1919. Three months later he owned eight teams of horses and rigs to go with them. Everyone who worked with him shared in the prosperity—the widow whose wheat crop was saved and the group of misfits who formed a first-rate harvesting crew. But sometimes fickle Mother Nature and frail human nature made
...The Moody family moves from Colorado to Mass. in 1912 as Ralph enters his teen years. He finds city life troubling so is sent to his grandpa's farm in Maine where he finds understanding and kindness, especially from the pretty girl next door.