Perseverance

It was 1932, the depths of the Great Depression, and thousands of desperate people rode the rails in search of jobs, homes, and hope. For some, the tracks were a road to nowhere, a dead end in a boxcar or under the wheels or in a sea of emptiness. Their fate seemed certain-until Ish Watson grabbed the rungs of a passing freight train bound for a dying relative on the Texas Gulf Coast. He brought with him the traits bestowed by his rural upbringing-faith, conviction and dedication. But now he faced thundering wheels ready to mutilate and knife-wielding hobos restless to kill, a barreling train anxious to derail and railway "bulls" itching to shoot. Only here in life's trenches would he meet up with the dregs of society: the wayward and the runaways, the dope addicts and the prostitutes, the winos and criminals. The locomotive's black smoke drifted back down the line to cove them all like a shroud, but it was more than death they faced-for this train would not stop until it carried them all to their destinies. And their only hope was Ish's perseverance. This provocative novel, by a finalist for the Spur Award of Western Writers of America, may well challenge your perspective on life.