The Cremation of Sam McGee

An historical novel set in 1898 during the days of Yellow Journalism, the Spanish-American War and the Klondike Gold Rush. At the behest of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, celebrated correspondent Jayson Kelley goes to Havana to report on the escalating tensions in Cuba's bid for independence. Except most of his front-page stories are fabricated to spread warmongering propaganda and boost readership in journalism's own circulation war at home. When Jayson meets Sam McGee and his beautiful but aloof sister Luisa, he knows he has his next story, crafting an unbelievable tale of heroism that leaves Sam dead and Luisa on the run. As the Spanish-American War unfolds, Jayson travels from the heat of Havana to the frozen Klondike at the height of the Gold Rush to fulfill an impossible promise he made to the best friend he's ever known and find the woman who stole his heart. Based on the poems of Robert W. Service, Del Leonard Jones's debut novel is a richly-told historical fable about yellow journalism, fame, love, lies and redemption that isn't too far from the truth-and feels eerily believable in today's political climate, twenty-four-hour news cycle, and the cutthroat competition for clicks. Sam McGee is an epic battle for the high ground of honesty that continues to this day.