Author Michael Spradlin researched the short and courageous 18 months of the Pony Express.  Few accurate records remain but this story pieces together the first 11-day journey between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.  Although several riders participated, many names were lost.  However, it is known that on April 3, 1860, Johnny Fry left St. Joseph, MO on the first leg west while Billy Hamilton left Sacramento, CA on the first leg east.  The book is a composite of riders’ experiences throughout the history of the Pony Express.  Each rider carried a mochila, a small locked pouch, of mail to be delivered to the next rider waiting at a station on the trail.  He then helped out at the station until a rider arrived from the opposite direction with another mochila.  He would take that pouch and return to his original base.  Each leg could be hazardous and riders needed to be expert horsemen.  The end-pages contain a map and a timeline of the route.  Layne Johnson’s lively, richly colored oil paintings do an admirable job of illustrating the text.  Along with an author’s note are suggestions for further reading, a bibliography, and websites for more information of this exciting time in out country’s history.