Genesis focuses on the hard lives of Canadian cowboys at the turn of the century. The ranch on which they work is owned by an absentee landlord who leaves the care of his cattle to hired hands. They must ride herd on a huge ranch that is as big as some European countries. During Genesis, they risk their lives to bring the cattle off the range for the winter. They endure backbreaking work, long hours, sunburn, and frostbite for twenty dollars a month. Stegner presents few judgments about the rightness or wrongness of the cowboys' situation.

For instance, the absentee landlord is no villain; his absence is not good, but it is treated more as a fact of life that must be accepted than as bad. Although the cowboys endure much hardship, they are not abused; they have chosen their line of work because of its...