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Wednesday, December 21, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Book of frontier biographies hits shelves
By Craig Rullman
Correspondent
“Warriors of the
Wildlands, True Tales of the
Frontier Partisans,” the first
book by The Nugget’s editor
Jim Cornelius, has recently
been published and is now
available.
Warriors of the Wildlands
is a collection of 12 fasci-
nating and engaging biogra-
phies, focusing on an eclec-
tic set of individuals who
operated on the world’s wild
and dangerous frontiers. The
book covers a broad spec-
trum in time, from the 1770s
through World War I, explor-
ing subjects such as Simon
Kenton and Blue Jacket on
the early Ohio frontier, to Al
Sieber and Pancho Villa on
the Mexican borderlands.
The book also explores
the lives and legends of the
African frontier experience,
such as Deneys Reitz, a Boer
commando, and Frederick
Selous, a hunter and soldier
in the African wilds. The
book is an in-depth, gripping,
and historically valuable look
into the lives of some of those
who lived on the edge of civi-
lization, and in many ways
helped shape the future.
One of the great draws of
the book is in its exploration
of lesser-known, but histori-
cally important, figures.
“Most of the book’s sub-
jects were not profession-
als,” Jim told The Nugget
in a recent interview. “They
were highly skilled guys who
applied fieldcraft and hunt-
ing skills in warfare from the
Canadian prairies to Mexico
to Africa. When people think
of the frontier they often
think of North America, but
the phenomenon was simi-
lar all around the globe.”
Cornelius said that although
the book is the result of years
of research and study into the
frontier experience, “These
are compelling stories that
you don’t have to be a history
buff to enjoy.
“Warriors of the
Wildlands has been extremely
well received, and sales are
‘brisk.’ I appreciate people’s
interest,” Cornelius said,
“One of the most gratifying
things is that I really care
about this stuff — which is
not so mainstream anymore
— but other people still care
about this, too, and want to
know more about it.”
By concerning itself with
frontier life, Warriors of
the Wildlands also, perhaps
inevitably, fearlessly faces
some of the more hot-button
issues of our time. Cornelius
told The Nugget, “Race is
an inevitable aspect to all of
these stories. But it’s never
been simple, it’s never been
as straightforward” as some
suggest.
Jim’s choice to pursue an
independent publication —
a strategy many writers are
pursuing in a volatile and
increasingly difficult-to-crack
publishing industry, was
deliberate.
“Publishing is weird, not
anything like it used to be,”
he said. “It is much like the
music industry now. I have
not met a writer who is happy
with the relationship with
their publisher.
One of the most
gratifying things is that
I really care about this
stuff — which is not so
mainstream anymore —
but other people still care
about this, too, and want
to know more about it.
— Jim Cornelius
“People have been really
blown away by the look and
feel of the book — which
is all Lynn Woodward,”
Cornelius said. “For all
intents and purposes she is
a co-creator of this book. I
couldn’t be any happier with
the process of publishing this
book independently.”
Cornelius said that while
publishing independently cre-
ates additional work for the
author, the reward is retaining
more control over the final
product. He noted that build-
ing an audience on his blog,
FrontierPartisans.com —
which enjoys a wildly eclec-
tic and international audience
— in the preceding three or
four years certainly helped
PHOTO BY TERESA MAHNKEN
“Warriors of the Wildlands” is now available in Sisters.
in launching Warriors of the
Wildlands so successfully.
Cornelius is currently
at work on a second book,
which will focus on the “peo-
ple who were caught between
cultures in the expansion
of Euro-America,” and will
include, like the first book,
looks at native cultures from
the frontiers of both North
Happy
Holidays!
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America and Africa. Jim has
his eyes set on a 2018 release
of his second title.
Warriors of the Wildlands,
True Tales of the Frontier
Partisans, is available locally
at Paulina Springs Bookstore
in Sisters, and at Pegasus
Books in Bend. Or you
can contact Jim directly at
541-390-6973.
410 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters
Smile by Carmen
and The Brace Place!
CentralOregonBracePlace.com