Relates the history of the Pony Express from when it began to carry messages across the American West in April 1860 until the telegraph replaced it in October 1861.

In 1860, with North and South about to be divided by war, East and West were united through an extraordinary venture -- the Pony Express. Over the course of ten days in April, eighty riders and five hundred horses delivered mail between California and Missouri -- a mission that took three weeks by stagecoach.

Although it existed for only a year and a half, the Pony Express remains a legendary chapter in American history and a symbol of the bold, adventurous character of the Old West. The spirit of the brave riders and their ponies is captured perfectly in Cheryl Harness's lively, brightly illustrated, and information-filled account.