In The Broken Spur, author Gary Harmon weaves a fictional tale of a way of life that evolved as it moved across the country. It illustrates events which defined the life of generations of Americans. His story is written in the same drawl that taints his speech to this day, and why not? The narrative is colored by the sounds and voices he grew up with. His family operated a large stockyard in southern Indiana where the language of cowboys, breeders, and trainers regaled the stories he loved to hear. His early life was informed by the fact that he handled horses and cattle daily and rode those skills right onto the pages of The Broken Spur. Amid the tall tales and bald-faced lies contained in these chapters is an honest picture of the hard realities of life on the frontier.