Inspired by the likes of Mark Twain, Sir Richard Burton, and Horace Greeley, a cowboy and journalist takes an epic and authentic horseback journey across the American West as he rides the Pony Express trail from Missouri to California. While in operation during the 1860s, the Pony Express carried letter mail on a blistering ten-day schedule between Missouri and San Francisco, running through a vast and mostly uninhabited wilderness. To this day, the Pony Express is irrefutably the greatest display of American horsemanship to ever color the pages of a history book. Inspired by what he had read about the service, Grant decided to ride the train himself with his two horses, from one end to another. Here he shares encounters with the ranchers, farmers, historians, and businessmen who populate the trail. His exploits on horseback offer an intimate portrait of how the West has evolved from the rough and tumble 19th century to the present. -- adapted from jacket

Prologue -- The making of the West -- A few good horses -- A fish out of history -- "You'll always need the farmer out there" -- A short history of the Great Plains -- No country for old ways -- "The Mormon 500" -- A hundred miles of mirage -- "They weren't all bad -- some were just wild" -- The final miles of the Pony Express -- Epilogue.