The Virginian is the quiet, noble foreman of a Wyoming cattle ranch in the 1870s. More comfortable keeping company with his trusted horse than with other people, he nevertheless falls for pretty schoolteacher Molly Wood, who helps him develop an appreciation for Shakespeare, Keats, and the finer things. But when a rival suitor challenges his honor, the Virginian struggles to make his beloved Molly understand the harsh justice of the West.

In his diary, Sam Gribley tells of a year spent living alone in a tree house in the Catskill Mountains learning about plant and animal life during the changing seasons.

"In many ways, we're more comfortable than ever before. But could our sheltered, temperature-controlled, overfed, underchallenged lives actually be the leading cause of many our most urgent physical and mental health issues? [Author and] journalist Michael Easter seeks out off-the-grid visionaries, disruptive genius researchers, and mind-body conditioning trailblazers who are unlocking the life-enhancing secrets of a counterintuitive solution: discomfort"--Flap...