the Pastures of Beyond

The Pastures of Beyond by author Dayton O. Hyde, due out from Arcade Publishing – New York, in May 2005 with photographs by Dayton O. Hyde. 262 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 size, ages 10 and up.

The Old West lives in Dayton Hyde, an authentic American original whose colorful tales of cowboys, Indians, and the horses they rode have the grace of poetry and the power of myth.

Newest book by Dayton Hyde. At age thirteen, Hyde, a spirited beanpole of a boy, ran away from home in Marquette, Michigan, to his uncle’s ranch in eastern Oregon. This was in the 1930s, and Yamsi was one of the last great cattle ranches of the West. Soon the boy, nicknamed “Hawk,” was riding a horse, soaking up all facets of ranch life from the hired hands, and winning the cowboys’ respect. A natural horseman, he eventually became a rodeo rider, bull fighter, clown, and photographer, working with the likes of Slim Pickens and Mel Lambert, who went on to careers in Hollywood. His photographs were featured in Life Magazine. After the war, he took over the reins at Yamsi, ensuring its survival in changing times. Now, half a century later, this is his valedictory to that last great period of the Old West. Full of humor, rollicking stories, and love of the land, it is his homage to the cowboys, Indians, and great horses now riding the pastures of beyond who made the West the legend it is.

”I have always admired Dayton Hyde's ability to paint bold and vivid characters in his books. He writes about what he knows and loves best from his raw life experiences - cowboys, Indians, and wild horses. The Pastures of Beyond is fascinating reading.” - Kim Novak, actress and horsewoman

”Dayton Hyde’s The Pastures of Beyond is a lovely memoir of a world - or at least a West - that no longer exists.”- Larry McMurtry, author of Loop Group, Lonesome Dove, and other books

”Dayton Hyde has given us all a wonderful opportunity to know what cowboying was really like in the old days in the high-dry West. Going beyond the pastures with Hyde is not just fun. It's true!! The Pastures of Beyond is a winner!” - Tony Hillerman, author of Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, and other novels

”Dayton Hyde’s The Pastures of Beyond is a big-hearted elegy to the cowboys of the past. Like a broken-in saddle or a trusted horse, Hyde’s memoir carries you back in time and shows you how things were on the cattle ranches of the West. At turns humorous and heartbreaking, Hyde’s story is unvarnished,unembellished by romance and the passing of time. Above all, Hyde’s voice is as honest as a handshake.” - Tom Groneberg, author of The Secret Life of Cowboys

”If you ever wanted to be a cowboy, loved a cowboy, or decided at any stage of life that horses were more satisfying than human beings on a lot of levels, then The Pastures of Beyond will make you laugh, wince, and then perhaps well up at what used to be.” - Pamela Jekel, author of Columbia, She Who Hears the Sun, and other novels