Book excerpt: A dreamer of dreams, an adventurer, and a man of many ideas, Roger Pocock was an inveterate, world-ranging traveler who lived the life that all adventurous boys desire. He listened with wonder to the stories of all those he met, be they outlaws like Butch Cassidy, ranchers, or mounted police. Readers of all ages and classes eagerly devoured Pocock's western tales. Outrider of Empire is a testament to a prolific author and extraordinary man whose friends and acquaintances bridged the worlds of theatre, literature, the military, and science.