The Kincaids

By: Matt Braun

Narrated by: Alex Boyles

Length: 24 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The classic, Golden Spur Award-winning novel of a man, a family, and a nation.

He came off the frontier: a buffalo hunter, a gambler, a loner. In Abilene, he won a saloon at cards and earned the fear of a lawless town. From then on, Jake Kincaid would not be stopped. He began a rampage of ambition and deal-making that forever changed a land called Kansas and the Indian Territories. 

But along the way, the deeds and misdeeds of Jake Kincaid affected more than the frontier - they shaped the lives of his two sons. One who became a lawman. One who became an outlaw. Both destined to come face-to-face behind blazing guns....

From Wild Bill Hickok to the Dolan outlaw gang to Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, The Kincaids tells the classic saga of America at its most adventurous - through the eyes of three generations who made laws, broke laws, and became legends in their time.

©1976 Matthew Braun (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Good Read

Enjoyed the book, typical family history of triumphs and failures as they fought their way in the oil industry back in the early 29th century.

Pay your money, take your chance!

This novel comprises five volumes highlighting Jacob “Jake” Kincaid. Jake’s rise to riches and power is quite remarkable. His relationships show a deeply hidden passionate side. His audacity, perception, business, political knowledge, and uncanny luck made him a man to be reckoned with. He never did get over the death of his first wife, Sadie. Kincaid’s prized possession was the Kincaid Land Company, along with the impressive growth of the Santa Fe Railroad. Zolia Blair was Kincaid’s next love interest. The bid for The Kincaids of Kansas. After the State Gubernatorial defeat by the Reform Committee, Jake and Zolia relocate to Oklahoma. Oklahoma Territory 1889-1906; The Oklahoma Land Rush. Jake’s processes and procedures to create an empire had worked in Kansas. It will work here too. A history of the cattle empire in 1860+ Kansas. Like Abilene, Newton, and Witchita, Caldwell and Dodge City would be the last of the great cow towns. Soon to fade into history as the railroads moved further west.

Jake is losing his sons to resentment, and a change of heart; rebelled, openly defiant, and went their separate ways. He now ruled an empty castle. Brad Kincaid turned outlaw, and Owen Kincaid Deputy Federal Marshal was in the unique position of hunting his brother. Life had a grizzly sense of humor. But Owen wanted nothing to do with hunting his brother. He wanted Brad to give up before it was too late. Julia Web and Owen had a see-saw relationship going. Everything continues as the world spins. Jake Kincaid continues his bulldog act on Oklahoma. His sights were now set on political Oklahoma, as was Kansas once upon a time. Jake was also becoming interested in oil. The demise of the Dolan Gang eventually settles Owen’s dilemma once and for all, but not his conscience.
The Battle of San Juan Hill was a major battle of the Spanish–American War in 1898. Owen returns home wounded after performing his service in the war. Oil has come to Oklahoma! The major oil companies swooped in, steamrolling over all the independent drillers. For the first time in his business career, Jake was taken back and felt just a sliver of doubt. As history tends to repeat itself, Oklahoma is following the same downward path as Kansas. For the first time, Jake considered his age. I don’t believe Jake could withstand another failure. He had to go out fighting.

After all is said and done, Jake was a visionary; Witchita, Kansas, Guthrie, Oklahoma, this is Jake’s legacy. Oklahoma 1920-1924; Prohibition. Introduction to Owen’s son, Morgan Kincaid, returning home after his service in France during WWI. The war to end all wars became a sham and a delusion. Within months, the stock market crashed, jobs were scarce, and farm prices slumped. Bringing an economic recession that left millions unemployed. Owen’s daughter, Elizabeth was a handful of “new women” in the 1920s. According to Owen, women receiving the vote was the height of folly. Elizabeth was a woman of that age. Grace “Six-killer” Kincaid retained her place in the house. War in Europe shot oil and gasoline prices through the roof. Even after the war, the oil prices boomed. Owen was out of his league in the business world. His timing and premonition were always amiss. Owen was no visionary. By the spring of 1921 seismographs were being used to map subsurface formations. Jake, by request of the Governor, took on one more wild town; Cromwell. Morg and Beth would assume the Kincaid legacy. This is an excellent historical fiction treatise on 1800s Kansas and Oklahoma, a tour de force on three generations of one family. Btw, does the narrator, Alex Boyles sound like Audie Murphy to any of you “boomers”?