I was reading a book ("The Old Iron Road") about a family experiencing old Route 50 across the western plains and mountains, when, while in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, the author (David Bain) started writing about a man I'd never heard of. His name was Owen Wister.

After reading a page or two about him, I pulled the W's off the World Book shelf, and sure enough, he was listed! One life-story paragraph, short and sweet.

Born of a wealthy family in New England, Harvard graduate, despondant about his future, and somewhat sickly, he went out west. He took copious notes about things he saw, people he met, places he visited.

Long story short, he eventually decided to become a writer, submitting articles about the old west to magazines. Then came the book that made him famous, "The Virginian"!

So, on my last visit to the library, I checked the book out. The book, printed in 1947, is pretty tattered and torn. (Evidently, it's still in print.) Wister wrote his book in 1902, basing his story on notes from his earlier travels. It immediately became a best seller with over 100,000 books printed.

"The Virginian" became the standard by which all other "cowboy" books were written. First of all, Wister was a gifted writer (one of his role models was Mark Twain). His portrayal of the times and people of the West was descriptive--filled with humor, lessons of life (morals), adventure, love (with the school marm, naturally), and cowboy language/slang.

One of the most famous sentences that came out of his book was, "When you call me that, smile." (Although we now often begin the statement with "smile".)

Further, "The Virginian" inspired countless movies and actors based on the book's main character--the template for America's archetypal cowboy. You might remember Wm. S. Hart, Tom Mix, Tim McCoy as early versions. Then came Gary Cooper, Joel MeCrea, Henry Fonda, and, of course, John Wayne (and later, Clint Eastwood).

One additional sidelight is that the book is illustrated by the famous artist Charles M. Russell. He isn't credited anywhere, but his signiture is obviously recognized (initialed CMR with a cow skull). Oh yes, the book is dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt, a close friend and mentor of Wister's. They had much in common.

Before Wister died in 1938 (age 78), he had written several biographies and other less popular books. Having never heard of Owen Wister before, I'm now an admirer. "The Virginian" is a most remarkable and enjoyable book, 110 years later.