Born in 1875, Pearl Zane Grey was raised in Zanesville, Ohio, a town founded by his mother's family, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. His passion for the American West was aroused in 1907 when Grey had an opportunity to tour the West with Buffalo Jones, a longtime hunter and adventurer. He published a total of eighty-five books before dying on October 23, 1939, at his home in Altadena, California.