The crazies A cattleman, a wind farm, and a 21st century range war

Amy Gamerman

Book - 2025

"This is a story about a fight between neighbors when the folks next-door are on the Forbes 400 list and you're the guy fixing an irrigation ditch in a vest mended with duct-tape. Big Timber, Montana is one of the windiest towns in one of the windiest states in the country. Mountain gap winds howl down from the Crazies like a coyote, rattling windows in their frames and nudging semi-trucks sideways on Interstate 90. Most locals learn to live with the wind. Rick Jarrett sought his fortune in it. A fifth-generation rancher deep in debt, he didn't much believe in climate change. But like the prospectors who rushed to the Treasure State to mine copper and gold, he believed in his right to make a living off his goddamn land. His d...ecision to erect Crazy Mountain Wind would spark fifteen years of legal tussles, pitting him against a Texas oil magnate, a flashy Vegas criminal defense attorney, the heir to the largest privately held company in America, and a former cop committed to conserving and preserving this last best place on earth. As the years dragged on, the battle over Crazy Mountain Wind would devolve into a fight over the values that define us as Americans, pulling in an ever wider cast of characters, including a San Francisco private equity firm, strict constructionist Public Service Commissioners, and a Crow activist determined to regain his tribe's right to climb the mountains they hold sacred. A riotous patchwork portrait of a community of cowboys and billionaires and billionaire cowboys, The Crazies is a heartbreaking story about what it means to be a good neighbor and how to care for a place you love"-- more