For the first time, an epic account of a boy born into a struggle for survival on the harsh and unforgiving American frontier, the story behind the legend of Smoke Jensen. . . On the eve of the Civil War, Kirby Jensen is the youngest of three children living on a hardscrabble ranch in Southwestern Missouri. But in 1861, shots were fired in Charleston harbor, and Kirby s father and brother went to war. Smoke Jensen The Beginning follows the Jensen clan during these volatile years, from Civil War battles to border state raids to the kind of frontier justice achieved only by bullets and blood. William W. Johnstone chronicles the early years of Kirby Jensen soon to be nicknamed Smoke as he journeys from boyhood innocence into a manhood shaped by violence and a young man s thirst for justice. Filled with actual historical events and legendary characters, the story of Smoke Jensen s early years is a powerful, brutal and amazing American saga the crowning achievement of America s most popular living Western writer.
Author Biography
William W. Johnstone is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of over 300 books, including Preacher, The Last Mountain Man, Luke Jensen Bounty Hunter, Flintlock, Savage Texas, Matt Jensen, The Last Mountain Man; The Family Jensen, Sidewinders, and Shawn O Brien Town Tamer. His thrillers include Phoenix Rising, Home Invasion, The Blood of Patriots, The Bleeding Edge, and Suicide Mission . Visit his website at www.williamjohnstone.net or by email at dogcia2006@aol.com. Being the all-around assistant, typist, researcher, and fact checker to one of the most popular western authors of all time, J.A. Johnstone learned from the master, Uncle William W. Johnstone. He began tutoring J.A. at an early age. After-school hours were often spent retyping manuscripts or researching his massive American Western history library as well as the more modern wars and conflicts. J.A. worked hard and learned. Every day with Bill was an adventure story in itself. Bill taught me all he could about the art of storytelling. Keep the historical facts accurate, he would say. Remember the readers, and as your grandfather once told me,
