A renowned American storyteller and novelist, A.B. Guthrie Jr. was celebrated for his meticulously researched and unromanticized portrayals of the American West's early settlement, dating back to the 1830s. His works, with the notable exception of "These Thousand Hills" published in 1959, were characterized by their gritty realism and attention to historical detail.
Guthrie's academic pursuits took him to the University of Washington, where he spent two years studying from 1919 to 1920. He later earned a degree in journalism from the University of Montana in 1923. Prior to becoming a full-time author, Guthrie worked as a journalist and served as the executive editor of the Lexington Reader from 1926 to 1947.
His literary career was marked by numerous accolades, including the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, which he received in 1950 for his novel "The Way West". This critically acclaimed work was just one of many novels that Guthrie wrote, all of which were set against the backdrop of the American West's early settlement.
Two of Guthrie's most notable screenplays were adapted into films, namely "The Big Sky" (1952) and "Shane" (1953),the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Throughout his life, Guthrie remained committed to environmental causes, and in the year prior to his passing, he donated 80 acres of land to the Nature Conservancy's Pine Butte Swamp Preserve.
