Desert Dust: One Man's Passion to Uncover the True Story Behind an Iconic American Photograph

Not a type of book I would have picked up to read. I read books for one of the book groups in Wyoming which provides awards for them. I thoroughly loved the story and that it was based in Wyoming. It is a true story and very compelling to seek the truth. This book keeps you wanting more and it is hard to put down. Highly recommended read for any age. Very powerful story about the wild horses.

A fantastic book on a unknown part of Wyoming history. Mr. Papa did some very in-depth research to ge all the facts on this story. I really appreciate all the hard work that went into bringing this story to life.

Vern Wood was my great uncle who took the picture of Desert Dust. This picture is one of our family's legacies. I am anxious to read this book and will give you a review after i read it.

I received an advanced copy of Desert Dust and was intrigued by the story of Gill Gillilan and his quest to uncover the truth about the famous Wyoming horse Desert Dust.Anyone with ties to Wyoming will enjoy traveling with Gill as he reveals his research across numerous Wyoming towns, and you will recognize names such as Chancey Williams’ Younger Brothers Band. I’ve been to nearly every iconic location Gill visited and felt transported. I’ve seen photographs, post cards, and murals of this famous palomino but had never heard the deeper story. It took Gill over sixteen years to investigate Desert Dust and the feud between Frank Robbins, the wrangler, and Verne Wood, the photographer. The story captivated me and took me into an unknown part of Wyoming history.

A wonderful story! I’ve always had such trouble getting into history, but Desert Dust sucked me right in. It was honestly a little thrilling to finally read some history of places I know! The way it’s set up too, the meandering and the piecing together of all the wayward bits of information...it really put into perspective how our day-to-day lives get boiled down to the black-and-white simplicity of “history.” Overall, there are interesting characters all over the story, and the book itself is like a study on how to fairly cobble together a narrative.

Richly researched and with firsthand knowledge of the subject matter, Mr. Papa has spun a tale of intrigue, jealousy, conflict and personal pride. Illustrated with over a hundred photographs, reading Desert Dust will put you right in the story so you can feel and understand what all the parties were going through at the time. I bought the paperback version, and now there's an ebook out and it's in Kindle Unlimited. Check out this masterpiece of journalistic writing and intensive research. Five stars.

Great book full of Wyoming history! Enjoyed reading about people and places familiar to me.

Very good book that answers questions about the iconic wild horse photograph of Desert Dust.