Isle of Books Presents: Last Best Books Fall 2025

When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886–1900

by Catharine Melin-Moser

In the late 19th century, Montana's leisured classes used their gains from mining, logging and ranching to invest in their newest passion: horse racing. These genteel gentlemen, especially copper baron Marcus Daly, banking pioneer Samuel Larabie, and silver magnate Noah Armstrong imported some of the finest thoroughbreds in the world and allowed them to graze on Montana's rich and verdant grasses. To the surprise of sports writers and race fans, Montana's thoroughbreds became some of the best in the world, taking many of the top titles and exceeding expectations at every turn; one, named Ogden, the "Horse of Mystery," won a major East Coast title at the astonishing odds of 150 to 1.

This sprightly and fascinating book will entertain fans of Montana history and doubly delight devotees of equine history. Melin-Moser illuminates this obscure aspect of our state's history with a sure authorial hand, and we are grateful to have her as our guide.

The Life and Times of Jim Bridger

by Bill Markley

Jim Bridger, like his one-time bosses Lewis and Clark, is a figure that we Montanans never tire of discussing. Parts of the state bear his name. All of the state, even today, bears the mark of his influence. We tell and retell stories of Jim Bridger because they are our stories.

Thankfully, we never get tired of talking (and reading) about him. And even though the last biography of Bridger, Jim Bridger: Trailblazer of the American West by Jerry Ensler (itself a worthy volume), came out only two years ago, we found that Western historian Markley's entertaining and enlightening biography of Bridger has much to offer on its own merit. Markley's research is top notch, and his narrative of Bridger's remarkable life is well supplemented by maps and 70 images.

Markley loves Bridger just as much as we do, and we predict you'll enjoy reading his insights on the man very much.

A History of Montana in 101 Places

by Ellen Baumler, Christine Brown, Martha Kohl, Kirby Lambert, with photographs by Tom Ferris

A wonderful companion piece to the earlier A History of Montana in 101 Objects as well as a fascinating read in its own right, A History of Montana in 101 Places is a wonderful armchair journey for any lover of the state's history, geography, material science, and culture.

The variety of places selected for the volume is wide, from battlegrounds to Native American sites, the cutting edge of Montana's modern architecture to churches, homesteads, and old saloons. The book's structure provides for the prospective reader a Montana maven who's been everywhere or a Treasure State neophyte; the book is sure to delight.