RENO 1947—The WILD WEST OF DIVORCE Tired of your cheating spouse? Ready to move on? In 1947, there was just one easy way out of a marriage— six weeks in Reno! Dubbed the "Divorce Capital of the World," Reno welcomed thousands of divorce seekers from all walks of life. For the wealthy, the place to stay was the Flying M E , an exclusive divorce ranch on the outskirts of town. Enter Bill McGee , a ruggedly handsome cowboy from Montana, hired as the ranch’s dude wrangler. Bill entertained Eastern heiresses with names like Astor and du Pont , and rubbed elbows with movie legends Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. “At age 22, surrounded by all those women, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” he’d later recall. Now, for the first time, Bill McGee’s lively, firsthand stories bring the glitz and glamour of Reno’s divorce ranch days back to life played out against the backdrop of the American West. Featuring 180 rare vintage images. “Like an old Hollywood movie coming to life.” – Judd Pillot, Writer/Producer “A treasure for the photos alone.” – Deb Caletti, The Secrets She Keeps “The only memoir written by a former Nevada divorce ranch wrangler.” – Lynn Downey, American Dude Ranch WHAT READERS ARE SAYING... "A stunning book!" "I love the magazine-style design. I can read cover-to-cover or skip around." "This book would make a great streaming series!" "As someone who enjoys a good story more than a bunch of facts, I appreciate how Sandra McGee seamlessly interweaves Bill McGee's personal story with historical information. I read the entire book in one day, and I think that is largely due to the design. Short articles with one or more vintage photos on most pages transported me back to the events, places, and people being described. I learned a lot and enjoyed the ride. Thoroughly researched yet told with a bit of whimsy, The Divorce Seekers will appeal to all kinds of readers interested in the Nevada divorce ranch era." (See more in Customer Reviews.) EDITORIAL REVIEWS "Bill McGee is charming as he candidly recounts his experiences, dropping entertaining snippets of divorce ranch life that are lighthearted and fun to read..." - The BookLife Prize "The images—with their smoky, black and white, retro allure—are what brought the time and place alive for me so that I could bring my characters to life in my novel. The book is a treasure if only for the photos alone—images of cowboys, the ranch, old Reno, and Moscow mule-sipping socialites in the midst of their six-week cure." - Deb Caletti, author of The Secrets She Keeps , a divorce ranch novel " The Divorce Seekers is the 'bible' of Reno divorce ranch lore." - Judd Pillot, writer/producer "The dude ranch culture seems now like part of a bygone culture. It feels like a past more colorful than the present (but most everything is these days). I can't think of it now without envisioning Clark Gable meeting a new divorcée or two beneath the tall pines, and romance developing. It was a special culture where marriages ended and new romances began." - Charles Champlin, former film critic and arts editor of the Los Angeles Times "The excellent photos, like the words, capture the rustic glamour of a bygone era." - Nevada Magazine The Divorce Seekers is the best book yet about Nevada's famous divorce ranch business." - Eric Moody, Nevada Historical Society, Reno "The title alone is enough to make you pick this hefty volume up, but the fact that this is a firsthand account by someone who saw that epic era of the six-week Reno divorce makes this book tough to put down ... a real page-turner." - Cowboys & Indians Magazine "Delightful reading about bygone times and glamorous people, but also a valuable history of a unique epoch of the West." - Barnaby Conrad, author of Matador " The Divorce Seekers is filled with candid shots of East Coast women with names like Astor or du Pont modeling their new Levi's and silver belt buckles.... This casual, heartfelt history of the Nevada divorce ranch era is a fascinating social document spangled with many of the period's socialites and movie stars at their most vulnerable." - Library Journal A FEW WORDS FROM BILL MCGEE PREFACE In keeping with my reputation as a straight talker, I'll be brief. From 1947 to 1949, I was the dude wrangler on Nevada's famous Flying M E, an exclusive divorce ranch twenty miles south of Reno on the old 395 Reno-Carson highway. "Divorce ranch" was lingo for a dude ranch that catered to divorce seekers wanting to take advantage of Nevada's "quickie" six-week divorce. The Flying M E catered strictly to the wealthy who wanted their privacy from the press and to spend their six weeks in the comfort and luxury they were used to at home. My job was to entertain the guests on trail rides and take care of the horses. More than one person urged me to write about those years. After all, I may be the only former Nevada divorce ranch wrangler "still