Years before Wallace Stegner's death in 1993, Ivan Doig was being heralded as Stegner's successor as the dean of Western American letters—high praise for the younger author. Their work provides ample grounds for such comparison. Both Stegner and Doig wrote books about figures important in the history of the West; both write as realists; and both base their fiction on careful research. Each crafts clear, polished prose, ideal for providing illustrations of excellent writing. Moreover, like most authors of the American West, Doig shares Stegner's concern for the natural environment as well as his view that Americans need wilderness.

Doig has shown distinctive artistry in writing three books of nonfiction and five of fiction. In Earthlight, Wordfire: The Work of Ivan Doig (1992) Elizabeth Simpson points out one of the hallmarks of his career: “All of Doig's books push the boundaries of genre, and some nearly defy classification.” Most...