7 h 49 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 49 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Far from home, a young Easterner faces dry country, uncertain strangers, and choices that test his courage.
In Desert Dust, Edwin L. Sabin follows a young man from the settled East into the American frontier. Familiar habits give way to trails, camps, towns, and wide dry land. Romance, gambling, and the struggle to survive make this journey more than a change of scenery.
Heat, dust, thirst, and long distances shape the journey. The young traveller must find his feet among strangers, where generosity and cunning can be hard to tell apart. Beneath the adventure lies a story of growing up: leaving what he knows and learning how to judge what comes next.
What you’ll discover
- Two worlds meet See the open frontier through the eyes of a newcomer shaped by settled Eastern life.
- Country that tests courage Feel how heat, thirst, and distance turn the land itself into a test.
- Strangers worth watching Share the uncertainty of meeting people whose kindness or cunning is not immediately clear.
- Romance amid the danger Discover a frontier journey where romance and gambling sit alongside the demands of survival.
- Hard lessons far from home Follow a young man whose courage and judgment are tested beyond the world he knows.
Who will love it
Readers who love Western adventures, railroad history and lively boom towns will enjoy this novel. It offers a young narrator, a mysterious heroine, gunfighters and dry humor.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger draws Frank westward
- Friendly faces conceal a trap
- The marked card deceives Frank
- Honest work offers another path
- Protection becomes another claim
- The camp begins expecting violence
- Appearances hide motives and fears
- Honor means seeing a person
- The journey becomes an education
Who’s who
- Frank BeesonA twenty-five-year-old Albany gentleman sent West for his lungs, who wants health and adventure and keeps learning the hard way.
- The Lady of the Blue Eyes (Edna)A golden-haired woman in black who knows every town on the line, carries a derringer, and wants to be free of a life she cannot leave.
- Pedro MontoyoA cold, gray-eyed monte dealer who runs the table at the Big Tent and treats the lady as his property.
- George JenksA bearded freighter with a dry wit who rescues Frank from ruin and hires him to drive mules to Salt Lake.
- Captain Hyrum AdamsThe scripture-quoting Mormon boss of the wagon train, who feeds every stranger and expects obedience from all of them.
- Daniel AdamsThe Captain's rawboned son, who calls himself Bonnie Bravo, boasts of his fast draw, and wants to prove himself a man.
- RachaelThe Captain's young English wife, gentle and sincere, who shelters the stranger and tries to keep the peace.
- Colonel SundersonA florid tout in a dusty frock coat who claims to be from Albany and wants to steer new arrivals to the gaming tables.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Desert Dust in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Desert Dust
by Edwin L. Sabin · 1921
A sick young New Yorker follows a blue-eyed stranger to Benton, a boom town of tents at the end of the track.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens when a sick young man from Albany buys a ticket to the end of the track and meets a pair of blue eyes on the way? Frank Beeson is twenty-five, and his doctors have told him to go West and find somewhere high and dry.
Desert Dust at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 66,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1921by Edwin L. Sabin
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A pilgrim boards the Union Pacific
The story opens on a train crossing the plains in 1868. The ticket agent sells him a place to Benton, the newest end of passenger service.
In the ticket line Frank notices a small blonde woman in black, with deep blue eyes and a jet pendant at her ear. She buys a ticket to the same place, and a coin slips from her fingers. Frank darts after it, and she tells him she knows Benton very well.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1921
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Sabin, Edwin L. Desert Dust. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/desert-dust.
Sabin, E. L. (2026). Desert dust. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/desert-dust (Original work published 1921)
Sabin, Edwin L. Desert Dust. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/desert-dust.
@book{sabin2026desert,
author = {Sabin, Edwin L.},
title = {Desert Dust},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/desert-dust},
note = {First published 1921}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Desert Dust
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Desert Dust about?
It tells of Frank Beeson, a sick young New Yorker who goes to Benton, Wyoming Territory, in 1868, meets a mysterious woman, and loses his money. He then joins a wagon train bound for Salt Lake.
Is Benton, Wyoming a real place?
Benton was a real, short-lived railroad boom town in 1868, set up where the Union Pacific stopped for a time. It faded once the track moved west, much as the book describes.
What does high and dry mean in the story?
Frank's doctors want him in high, dry air for his lungs. Every stranger repeats the phrase with a wink, since Benton is dry in water and full of ways to lose money.
The author
Edwin L. Sabin
1870–1952 · American Western children's writer
Edwin L. Sabin (1870–1952) was an American writer born in Rockford, Illinois. He wrote children’s books about the American West during the early twentieth century. His works included Desert Dust. He lived in the United States and died in Hemet, California, in 1952.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
