Walnut Grove, the first of Jane Gilmore Rushing's six West Texas novels, is the story of John Carlile's passage into manhood when the twentieth century was young. His story is intimately connected to the growth of the town of Walnut Grove and to the good and evil that are always present. In those days cotton was taking the place of cattle, and farmers like John's father gambled that they could live off the soil. When a prolonged drought threatens to make the struggle hopeless, John's passionate attachment to the land is underscored by the fear that he might have to leave it.The establishment...