Montana author Tom Reed has a real affinity for horses and wilderness and it shows on every page of his new book, "Give me Mountains for my Horses: Journeys of a Backcountry Horseman."

Horse lovers will love the way Reed understands horses and describes their individual personalities, but even readers who have never saddled up will enjoy Reed's fine writing and his exceptional ability to tell a story. Readers are drawn into memorable true tales of special horses, their remarkable abilities, and the inescapable bonds that develop between horses and humans.

Most of the stories take place in the Greater Yellowstone backcountry. One chapter is about "Lad," a big white horse that out walks all other horses and draws admiration from everyone. There is "Jade," a "mountain lady" that is safe, secure, and uncanny in her ability to follow lost trails. There are stories about buying and selling horses, mishaps about packing horses, and trusting a good horse to get you home.

The slim volume would make a great stocking stuffer or an easy book to read by a warm fire on a cold winter night.

Reed currently lives in Bozeman where he spends as much time on horseback as he can. He is also the author of Great Wyoming Bear Stories.