Desert Dust: One Man's Passion to Uncover the True Story Behind an Iconic American Photograph - Paul W. Papa

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Résumé :
On the morning of July 12, 1945, as residents of Rawlins, Wyoming were waking up to an article about rounding up wild horses with an airplane, a palomino stallion was losing his fight for freedom at the hands of a wrangler known as Frank Wild Horse Robbins, the man featured in that article. Knowing a wild palomino was rare, Robbins sent for photographer Verne Wood to capture the animal on film. Forty years later, a question from a daughter to her father about that very photograph would set the man on a sixteen-year journey to find the truth. He would discover that Woods took a one-in-a-million photograph; one that won a prestigious contest, the winning of which set the horse-and the two men-on a rollercoaster ride toward destiny. As the photo gained fame worldwide-appearing in the Wyoming State Capitol, the United States Senate Chambers, the House of Commons in London, and the Canadian Parliament in Toronto-the horse became the star of a film nominated for an Academy Award. All while Robbins and Wood battled for ownership of the photo and its copyrighted name, resulting in one of the most unique Solomonesque rulings ever handed down by a court. What started out as a passion, soon became an obsession to uncover the entire truth-or at least as close to the truth as any one man could come. With over 100 photos, Desert Dust follows Gill Gillilan's investigation into one of the most famous horses in the American West. It is a story of highs and lows, victory and defeat, frailty and strength. It contains one of the most unique cast of characters ever assembled, including the stallion that ended up a supporting actor in his own life story.

Biographie:
Paul W. Papa is a two-time finalist for the prestigious International Book Awards and a three-time finalist for the Best Book Awards, both from American Book Fest, as well as a finalist for the Indies Today Award. He is a full-time writer and ghostwriter of both fiction and nonfiction who has lived in Las Vegas for more than thirty years. It was there that he developed a fascination with the area and all its wonders while working for nearly fifteen years at several Las Vegas casinos. Something which inspired his book, Maximum Rossi. In his role as a security officer, Paul was the person who actually shut and locked the doors of the Sands Hotel and Casino for the final time. He eventually became a hotel investigator for a major Strip casino, during which time he developed a love for writing stories about uncommon events. When not at his keyboard, Paul can be found watching a classic crime noir film, investigating some old building, or sitting in a local diner eating a club sandwich and hunting down his next story.