Chiaventone Wins Wrangler Award

Fred Chiaventone has won another Wrangler Award.

Well, we are NOT surprised!!

Fred (pictured above with long-time friend, Gen. David Petraeus) is among my top 5 favorite writers of all time. Two of his books, Moon Of Bitter Cold and A Road We Do Not Know are two of my top five favorite books. I've turned so many people on to Fred's work, I should get commissions. I'll settle for the satisfaction of knowing that other people have been touched by Fred's work. He's a fine historian and a fine writer.

This latest Wrangler, bestowed by the Western Heritage Museum and Cowboy Hall of Fame, is given to Fred for an April 2010 article in Wild West Magazine on the Pony Express. Fred's first Wrangler award in 2003 recognized Moon Of Bitter Cold and was presented to him by actor, Ernest Borgnine.

Wrangler award winners are a prestigious lot: Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Utley among them. I'm thrilled to see Fred recognized yet again as he continues to make valuable contributions to literature and history. During his Army career, Fred specialized in counter-terrorism and national security issues. Since retiring, he has written and lectured widely and appeared in numerous documentaries and consulted on feature films, including Ang Lee's "Ride With The Devil". His articles have appeared in American Heritage, The New York Post, Armed Forces Journal, and Cowboys & Indians. He was a contributing editor to the Historical Dictionary of the U. S. Army and to the Oxford Companion to American Military History.

Yaay, Fred!

More News From Talented Friends

Louis Kraft is doing the final edits on his Ned Wynkoop manuscript and I can hardly wait to see it. Just picked up the April issue of Wild West Magazine and Louis has a really excellent article on Wynkoop, who was serving as sheriff of Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. What a life! Louis may be the best biographer going and he brings Wynkoop back from the past with color and clarity and compassion, just as he did with Geronimo and Charles Gatewood.

Be sure to grab this issue of Wild West and watch for the upcoming biography from the University of Oklahoma, Ned Wynkoop: Walking Between the Races.

We hope to get up to Hardin this summer to hear Louis (above with me at the Kansas City Civil War Roundtable) and good friend, D. K. Clark, on the 135th anniversary of Custer's Last Fight.

The History World spins on.