I'd just completed "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", yet another book that had taken me approximately a month to devour.

Subsequently, my beloved recommended this particular one. I surmise that his mother had owned it when he was younger, and he knew she had liked it and thus thought I would too.

Let me just state that until now, I had never delved into the works of Michener. I truly relished the initial setup; it brought to mind Dan Brown's Langdon commencing a research expedition.

However, once it began delving into the chapters (or rather, chunks) of unadulterated history, it commenced to bore me. And that was disheartening because I had anticipated it right from the very beginning pages.

I let it sit for a good few weeks before ultimately giving up on it. Perhaps the timing was amiss, and I'll pick it up again someday. Or maybe, Michener simply isn't to my taste.

A staggering achievement indeed!

I can't believe that for so many years, I held the impression that Michener was a hack or not truly literary.

My goodness, how wrong I was!

This man was an absolute master storyteller.

I simply loved this book.

It had the power to make me laugh out loud, cringe in horror, gasp in surprise, and even get misty-eyed.

But it did so much more than that.

It also gave me a broader and more in-depth perspective of the history in the American West.

It was like taking a journey through time and experiencing the events and the lives of the people who lived there.

Michener's writing was so vivid and engaging that I felt as if I was right there with the characters.

This book is a testament to his incredible talent and I will definitely be reading more of his works in the future.

This story takes place in the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado.

As is typically the case with Michener, he embarks us on a prehistoric tour of the surrounding area of the uprising of the Rockies. This includes the region of Colorado where Centennial is presumed to be (apparently not far from Denver).

It commences with the dinosaurs that would have dwelled in the area and progresses to the arrival of man. The subsequent section narrates the tale of the Indian and white fur trappers who inhabited the land.

Part of this delves into the Indian massacres that were prevalent in the 19th century and so common. Also during this time frame, it explores the decimation of the buffalo, which the Indians relied on for a significant portion of their food and other items they could utilize from the buffalo.

Then it delves into how the cattle ranchers and sheep ranchers quarreled over land and water rights, as well as agricultural farming in the area.

Similar to many of Michener's books, this one has the sections interconnected throughout the novel in one manner or another.

My father has never been a reader like my mother and me.

He is always ready to read a comic or watch a good western movie on TV, but I've never once seen him read a book.

However, he did urge me to read Centennial when I was still a young girl.

Knowing his tastes, I thought it was "a Cowboys and Indians" type of a novel and never bothered to read it, until now.

Oh boy, was I wrong.

This book reads like a combination of non-fiction and fiction at the same time.

Its characters are interesting, whether they are animals or humans.

The story flows smoothly, almost like making a quilt where every little piece of fabric and thread contributes to the final image.

Never have I read a piece of fiction that is so well researched.

It is a book that speaks volumes about the author's love of nature and his great country.

It never slips into tacky American patriotism, nor does it sugarcoat history.

It may never be my favorite book, partly because I find the last 15 to 20% of it rather random and think it could have been better.

But I bow to the effort, love and dedication of the author.