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  • Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody book cover
  • Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody book cover
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Shaking the Nickel Bush

by Ralph Moody

A young man making his way in the Southwest

$16.86 USD
$28.10 USD $16.86 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A young man making his way in the Southwest

Set in 1918, Ralph Moody’s account shifts from the Colorado ranch adventures of his earlier books to a journey through the Southwest by Ford. At nineteen, Moody takes on odd jobs while managing the practical demands of his diabetes, including finding fresh milk and leafy greens. The episodes range from stunt riding for a movie company to a canyon venture with his companion Lonnie, where they make plaster busts for sale. The book brings together travel, work, and improvised ways of earning a living against the backdrop of the early twentieth-century West.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in travel and work stories set in the early twentieth-century American West.
  • Those who have read Little Britches or Man of the Family and want another episode in Ralph Moody’s life.
  • Readers curious about the practical challenges Moody describes in managing diabetes while traveling.

Themes

Life in the American WestTravel and self-relianceWork and survivalLiving with diabetes

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Skinny and suffering from diabetes, Ralph Moody is ordered by a Boston doctor to seek a more healthful climate. Going west again is a delightful prospect. His childhood adventures on a Colorado ranch were described in Little Britches and Man of the Family, also Bison Books.

Now nineteen years old, he strikes out into new territory hustling odd jobs, facing the problem of getting fresh milk and leafy green vegetables. He scrapes around to survive, risking his neck as a stunt rider for a movie company. With an improvident buddy named Lonnie, he camps out in an Arizona canyon and "shakes the nickel bush" by sculpting plaster of paris busts of lawyers and bankers. This is 1918, and the young men travel through the Southwest not on horses but in a Ford aptly named Shiftless. New readers and old will enjoy this entry in the continuing saga of Ralph Moody.

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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

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Ella

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.