Owning it All, by William Kittredge

Essays

https://www.questia.com/library/80861024/owning-it-all-essays

A terrific and eminently readable collection of essays, mostly about the American West. Kittredge writes about southeastern Oregon, specifically the Malheur Lake area--coincidentally the area that was recently in the news due to the occupation of a federal building by some right-wing extremists. He also writes about Montana, especially Missoula and the nearby area.

This is not only nature and geography writing, though those topics are included. It is also concerned with the life of a writer becoming a writer, as he moves away from the life of a rancher to a life of letters. Kittredge has much to say about what humans have done to the once-pristine land of the West. He writes quite a bit about how agriculture transformed the Malheur area, how that has affected the bird life there.

The Hermit's Story, by Rick Bass

A collection of short stories.

These are gems, really. Some are set in Montana, of course. Others, such as "Eating," are set elsewhere.

An essay about "The Hermit's Story," (just that one short story, which provides the title for this collection).

A review of the collection in the Chicago Tribune.

Winter, by Rick Bass

A beautiful, even soothing, account of the author's first winter as a resident of the Yaak valley in Montana.

Biography from Rick Bass's web site.

Swan Peak, by James Lee Burke

This Dave Robicheaux novel takes place in Montana. Cletus Purcel, Dave, and his wife Molly, are spending the summer with Albert Hollister, a retired English professor.

It's not much of a vacation. Clete is intimidated by a couple of hired thugs within the first few pages of the book. Murders that at first seem like serial killings are reported soon afterward. Cletus' drinking and womanizing, and Dave's sober-alcoholic angst threaten to get in the way of them being any help to the local sheriff, and the FBI (in the person of a young lady to whom Cletus takes a liking).

Burke does a great job of describing the Montana countryside, and evoking the moods of this tough, remote land.

Swan Peak is a thoroughly enjoyable continuation of the Dave Robicheaux series.