Western history, in its most common forms, represents the American version of the oldest and most compelling of man’s legends about himself, that of the sun god hero, the all-conquering brave man who traverses the dangers without getting discouraged, correcting mistakes. defeat villains, rescue the righteous, the weak, and the defenseless, and Western history does this in terms of the common man, in simple symbols close to natural experience. . . representing ordinary men, not knights in armor or knights with feathered swords, the products of aristocratic systems, but ordinary men who could be you and me or our next door neighbors who have become pioneers, shoveling or axing or gun in hand his feats of courage and recklessness. —jack schaefer
The West has always held an important place in the American mindset. from the earliest days, west represented the frontier of this nation. whether it’s kentucky and ohio or colorado and montana or oregon and alaska, as a people we’ve always moved west. and once we cross the mississippi, we are met with a harsh environment like no other. deserts and oases, plains and mountains; it was a land of environmental and climatic extremes.
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It was in this land that the legend of the cowboy was born, particularly in the mid and late 19th century. As Western writer Jack Schaefer points out earlier, the cowboy embodied the strains of the old code of chivalry, but he was not the aristocratic knight in shining armor of England or even the pious, settled farmer of early America; rather, he was a kind of ordinary hero: a normal man who, however, was more autonomous, independent and free than an ordinary guy. riding his trusty steed, he knew how to protect others and how to survive himself, and displayed a taciturn, taciturn, self-made nobility.
Odes to the American cowboy, in the form of the Western novel, began to take shape in the early 20th century, a decade after the u.s. the census bureau declared the border closed; the books captured a nostalgia and romantic longing for an era and a way of life that was about to disappear (and, in a way, never was). Western novels mix real-life details with larger-than-life drama, as all great mythologies do.
The genre was easy to mass-produce, and until the 1940s or so, the dime western led the way. quality writing and quality stories were hard to find (although, as you’ll see below, some gems did make their way into the public sphere). it was in the late 1940s and mid-1970s that Western literature really came into its own. louis l’amour, jack schaefer, edward abbey: this was the era in which legends were born.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a certain decline in the genre, although a couple of exceptional works were produced. The 90s especially were a black hole, but then the 2000s and even today have seen a bit of a resurgence in the genre. the old tropes of cattle drives and small-town shootouts were played out, so writers began taking more risks with stories that actually paid off. I’d say we’ve actually entered another golden age of westerns in the last 20 years or so. although the total volume of published work is not that great, the quality has tended to be excellent. Westerns are distrusted by major publishers, so what ends up in print is pretty good.
For the past year or so, I have read the canon of what is considered the cream of Western literature. I have consumed dozens of books and here I have reduced them to the best 21 that every man should read. I gave each author only one book from the list (although I do mention other titles I enjoyed by certain authors) because I am of the opinion that it is better to read broadly on the genre than to fully immerse yourself in the works of just one guy if you have read a couple of titles of l’amour, he has read them all, and the same can be said of other authors.
The following list covers all sorts of styles, book lengths, plots, etc. Before getting into the matter, we must define gender.
defining the western genre
just being set in the west doesn’t make a western; if so, novels like east of eden or angle of repose would be found here. while not every novel will satisfy every marker, each book listed here includes most of the following elements:
geographically located west of the mississippi river. while some very early westerns are set in kentucky and ohio, the geography that truly captured readers’ attention and defined the legend of the cowboy lies west of the mississippi river. West Mississippi: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, etc. plus, westerns generally don’t make it to the west coast.
schaefer had this to say about the geographic setting of his gender:
the grandeur beyond the mississippi was mostly open grandeur, flashy grandeur, and also violent, raw, capricious grandeur: extremes of topography and climate beyond those to the east, the highest and lowest areas of the entire nation , the warmest and the coldest, the flattest and the most rugged, the driest and the most humid.
Take place during the 19th century. The 19th century, and particularly the mid to late 19th century, was really the period of the western frontiersman and the cowboy. while the machine age arrived in the east, the west remained wild and untamed. Many westerns are set in the 20th century, but the majority on this list takes place during the 19th century.
characters are cowboys, ranchers, farmers, gunslingers/sheriffs/rangers, and/or frontiersmen. a western character’s career is fairly limited and focuses on the aforementioned roles. coming west in the mid to late nineteenth century was usually one of those things. Horses also tend to play an important role and often, though not always, faithfully accompany the human characters in a Western novel.
The focus is often on the harsh but beautiful landscape. the land itself often plays a role as a main character in westerns. long descriptions of the environment are common, and the obstacles of nature (drought, storms, mountains, wild animals) often play a role in the main conflict or story. the main characters also tend to care for and deeply respect nature and what it represents; even when they hunt or make ranches on the land, men fight to preserve the natural and disdain the advances of modernity.
contains characters that display skill, toughness, resilience, and vitality. Whether cowboys or ranchers, the characters that populate Western novels often share a common constellation of traits and qualities.
one is the possession of a broad, hard skill. cowboys and other western types are experts at everything from lassoing and horseback riding to hunting and cooking. they are at home in a wild environment, and what they don’t have at hand, they can improvise.
Western characters also have a remarkably tough character. schaefer again:
If there is any distinctive quality of Western history in its many variations, that quality is an all-pervasive vitality, a vitality not just of action but of the spirit behind the action. . . a healthy and progressive attitude towards life.
Westerns that contain the elements listed above invariably tend to have this less definable element present as well. it’s almost a byproduct of writing strong characters in a harsh landscape. great westerns are infused with a masculinity and spirit that are hard to find in other genres.
21 western novels every man should read
Given the above set of inclusion criteria and selected for their overall excellence in plot, characterization, readability, etc., here are my picks for the best Westerns ever written, arranged chronologically by publication date :
the trunk of a cowboy by andy adams (1903)
Among the short list of very early westerns (before 1910 or so), you’ll often see owen wister’s the virginian (1902) at the top. however, I didn’t find that title very readable and actually gave up halfway through. a cowboy’s log, on the other hand, was remarkably legible and easily held my attention the entire way.
Collecting various stories and anecdotes from real life (including his own experience as a cowboy for over a decade), Adams recounts a fictional cattle drive from Texas to Montana through the eyes of young Tom Quirk. there’s not much in the way of overarching plot or core conflict, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. From cattle runs to brutal droughts, dangerous river crossings, hostile Indians and outlaws, the reader truly experiences everything an old western cattle drive had to offer. and that includes the minutiae of paperwork, hours of boredom, how on-call duties were divvied up, etc. Adams’ narrative is often considered the most realistic depiction of a cattle drive that ever existed, and in fact he wrote the novel out of disgust for the unrealistic cowboy fiction being written at the time.
a dry read, but recommended for any fan of western novels. If you’re in any doubt about its place in the canon, you’ll quickly see how much Larry McMurtry’s lone dove was inspired by early Adams novels; the plot scheme is basically the same.
riders of the purple sage by zane gray (1912)
Grey was the early king of the dime western. his output was prolific, but the more he wrote, the more negative reviews he received from critics. (Critics are always skeptical of people who apparently write too much!) I don’t think there is merit to those criticisms, as I find much of Grey’s work eminently readable and entertaining today, especially given that most of his work It was published more than 100 years ago. years ago.
Riders of the Purple Sage, published in 1912, is definitely the best of the bunch, and is universally found on “best western novels” lists for a reason.
A more complex plot than often found in Westerns, the story follows Jane Withersteen and her harassment at the hands of a group of Mormon fundamentalists. Elder Tull wants to marry Jane, but she refuses. As you can imagine, that’s when trouble starts, and she needs the help of her friends Bern Venters and a mysterious gunslinger named Lassiter who is searching for a long-lost sister. there are a number of threads here, and some excellent plot twists. again, it’s more complex, in a good way, than you’d normally see in the genre.
Required reading for fans of Western novels. Gray’s short stories and novellas are also very good (“Avalanche” is my favorite, though it’s a bit hard to find).
the oxen ark incident by walter van tilburg clark (1940)
Cowboys Art Croft and Gil Carter have ridden to Bridger’s Wells, Nevada to find a charged atmosphere. cattle have been disappearing (probably stolen) and a man named kinkaid has just been killed. the townspeople are mad as hell and are looking for justice. factions form almost immediately; one group wants to capture the suspected culprits from top to bottom, to engage the judge and bailiff and make sure no adverse behavior occurs. Another group wants to form a posse to chase down thieves, vigilante style, and take care of business with Wild West justice: a hanging at dawn. they argue that using the legal system takes too long and that too often men get away with it.
In fact, a gang forms and eventually catches up with the would-be thieves. are men lynched? Are they given a chance at a fair trial in the city of Bridger’s Wells? are they released?
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Although it’s not as fast-paced as many westerns on this list, the moral embedded in its 80-year-old pages is still very relevant. it’s an ethical discussion of the mob mentality dressed in cowboy flannel and leather holsters. While other Western writers of the time, such as L’Amour and Grey, could be said to idealize the West and its heroes, Clark is more comparable to Dashiell Hammett. all the characters, protagonists and antagonists alike, are deeply flawed, and the reader can’t decide who, if anyone, they’re siding with.
shane by jack schaefer (1949)
shane is considered by many to be the best Western novel of all time. It’s compact, but that just means every page is bursting with manly energy, just like Shane himself, the book’s main character.
narrated by young bob starrett, the story follows his version of events at a small outpost in the wyoming territory. Seemingly out of nowhere, the mysterious Shane (is that his given name? last name? made up name?) rides into town on horseback and temporarily takes up residence at the Starrett household. Shane grows closer to the family, and Bob especially comes to see the Horseman as a mythical and divine figure. Meanwhile, Luke Fletcher, cattle driver and all bad guy, is trying to take land from a group of settlers (including the Starretts). I won’t reveal anything other than to say that shane is involved in scattering the bad guys.
the sheer masculinity of the novel and of shane himself is unrivaled in western literature. if you are not moved by this novel, you have no blood running through your veins. shane is absolutely one of the top 3 western novels. Schaefer’s Mount Walsh is also magnificent.
deep by louis l’amour (1953)
no mention of western novels is complete without a nod to l’amour. Her books alone could keep you reading for about a decade at a rate of one per month. I’ve read a handful and agree with most others that deep is his best. interestingly, the john wayne movie came first, and l’amour then novelized that (although the movie was inspired by a l’amour short story, it’s a bit circular).
hondo lane is a quintessential southwestern man, shaped as much by the desert landscape as anything else. Lane, a former cavalry officer, has had to learn Apache ways in order to survive in the harsh environment. After escaping from an ambush, he comes across the house of Angie Lowe and her young son, and the husband and father are nowhere to be found. Throw the warrior Vittoro into the mix and you get a dramatic tale of love, war and honor that is as representative of the Western genre as a story can get.
Now, with the sheer number of titles he’s produced, it’s true that the stories of l’amour tend to overlap a bit. They’re also slightly formulaic, and you really wouldn’t classify his writing as lyrical or Pulitzer Prize-winning. but, his books are really entertaining. It’s like the fast and furious movies don’t win any awards, but I’ll be damned if I don’t watch them all for their entertainment value.
kilkenny and the tall stranger were two other de l’amour favorites for me.
the searchers by alan le may (1954)
If there’s a Moby Dick story on this list, it’s the Seekers. While the movie is often considered one of the best westerns of all time, the book also deserves its place of recognition.
With one of the most devastating openings on this list, a Comanche raid destroys the entire Edwards family, killing the men and kidnapping the women. What follows is a years-long search by Marty (a virtually adopted young man who is part of the Edwards family) and Amos (the Edwards patriarch’s brother) to find the missing women. if you’ve seen the movie, you know more or less how the rest of the story goes, and if you haven’t, I won’t reveal anything else.
The book deserves a place on this list because of its lively and down-to-earth writing, but also because it portrays the struggles early settlers had trying to make a living on the often dangerous frontier. while in fact some Native Americans were harshly portrayed as violent savages, the reality is that many were incredibly violent and did not like new people settling in their territories.
edward abbey’s brave cowboy (1956)
edward abbey is a legend of environmentalist, anarchist and western writing. He wrote essays, novels, and works of nonfiction, including Solitary in the Desert, which appears on several lists of the best nonfiction books of all time.
the brave cowboy certainly falls into the category of a western novel, but it is also more than that. in particular, it is a lament of how the modern world, which was the 1950s at the time of writing the book, is taking something from our lives and, perhaps more importantly, from our lands. the era of jet planes and city streets was taking over.
Cowboy Jack Burns is an itinerant farmhand on a ranch in 1950s New Mexico who refuses to join modern society. (The scenes of his horse, named whiskey, crossing roads and walking tentatively on the pavement are quite memorable.) this alone makes it stand out from other cowboy stories, which almost always take place in the 19th century. Burns tries to break his friend Paul Bondi out of prison, but things don’t go as planned, and Burns ends up on the run with nothing but his guitar and his trusty steed.
From there, it’s a gripping cat and mouse tale set in the desert. The abbey’s descriptions of the landscape are impressive and unmatched in Western literature.
butcher’s crossing by john williams (1960)
In my opinion, Butcher’s Crossing is the most underrated book in the western genre. You’ve probably never heard of it, but it should be on your reading list ASAP.
Considered one of the first to de-romanticize frontier life, the story is set in the 1870s and follows young Will Andrews, who dropped out of Harvard and was inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson to go west with order to find. . . something. sense? objective? the same? all of the above, most likely.
Butcher’s Crossing is the small Kansas town you land in and soon after join a buffalo hunting expedition headed for the Colorado Mountains. they deal with everything the Old West has to offer: extreme dehydration and thirst, early snowfalls, struggling animals (both domestic and wild), and raging spring rivers, all within a ruthless buffalo hunt (massacre, really). Andrews learns some hard truths not only about the land, but about his very nature. but he also finds something significant and ultimately he has to choose between going back east or venturing further west. he legitimately didn’t know what he would choose to do until the very end (and I won’t tell you, of course), which is a sign of a superbly written character.
robert olmstead’s recent wild country also adopts the buffalo hunt plot, and while it’s pretty good, the butcher’s crossover was much better.
little big man by thomas berger (1964)
berger writes the fictional story of the life of jack crabb, our 111 year old narrator. Crabb is thrust into Cheyenne Indian life as a young boy in the mid-19th century after his family is massacred while traveling west. From there, the story jumps back and forth between Crabb’s various forays in and out of the worlds of the Indians and white men. Along the way, we meet numerous famous real-life Westerners, including Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and, in particular, General Custer (Crabb claims to be the only white survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn).
is partly a satire, but it also quite accurately portrays both the unfortunate stereotypes attributed to American Indians and the reality of their lives on the plains. there are a lot of hard-to-believe plot twists, but that’s part of the epic, semi-quirky nature of the book.
It’s written largely as a narrative, with little dialogue, so it’s not a quick read. however, it is extremely well written and more authentically voiced than many westerns. he actually reminded me of lonesome dove in terms of his writing style, which is the highest compliment that can be paid.
great courage by charles portis (1968)
Although the story has twice been made into a feature film, it was Portis’s 1968 novella that first introduced audiences to two of the most memorable and, naturally, bravest characters in Western history: Mattie , of 14 years. ross and the one-eyed rooster quarterback cogburn.
an older ross tells the story of when she sought revenge for her father’s murder. young mattie ventures to fort smith, arkansas, to find a man to help her on this quest. She settles on Cogburn, who has a penchant for violence and a quick finger on the trigger, because he believes he has the “guts” to get the job done (which means, of course, getting rid of the killer). Cogburn agrees, but is infuriated when Mattie insists on accompanying him; she tries to lose her several times, but her ross shows her own tenacity and holds on.
the language and dialogue are almost old-fashionedly exaggerated and therefore seem a bit unrealistic (although, for some reason, they work especially well with this story). Despite that, Portis writes some of the most memorable scenes in the entire genre. If you are afraid of snakes, there is one in particular that could haunt you in your dreams.
the time it never rained by elmer kelton (1973)
Voted by his peers at the Western Writers Association as the greatest Western writer of all time and winner of a record 7 Spur Awards, Kelton is the author of a number of books that could appear on such a list. I read a handful and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one; however, the best of the bunch, in my opinion, is the time it never rained.
West Texas had suffered from droughts before, but nothing like the real-life destructive drought of the 1950s. Kelton tells the story of this drought through fictional elderly rancher Charlie Flagg. As the drought worsens with each passing season, no one, from the Flores family (the loyal ranch hands), to twentysomething wannabe rodeo cowboy Tom Flagg (Charlie’s son), to the local bankers and landowners, to the many Mexican immigrants who cross the border in search of food and work remains unscathed.
Ultimately, the townspeople begin to drift away or turn to the government for supplies. Flagg, however, a bit of a stubborn curmudgeon, rejects federal aid and tries to stick to his self-sufficiency through it all. Will he survive the drought or will harsh conditions force him to leave behind the only life he’s ever known? Kelton not only creates relatable and memorable characters that he will root for, he paints a vivid picture of the control Mother Nature had over western cities and families.
There are few writers whose entire canon ends up on my to-read list, but Kelton is one.
centenary of james michener (1974)
if you’re looking for a single book that encapsulates all the subgenres of western literature, michener’s 900-page centennial epic is the way to go. Although set and named for a fictional northeastern Colorado town, the book actually begins long before any town is established. In fact, Michener begins with a chapter on the geological and even dinosaurian beginnings of the western American landscape. from there, each chapter covers an aspect of typical western literature, all set in or around the centennial city: indigenous life, hunters and trappers moving from east to west, battles between whites and indigenous people, buffalo hunting, herding cattle and more. where centennial goes further is in its depiction of Western life after the 19th century, when agriculture, small-town crime, and Mexican immigration became part of everyday life.
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At 900 pages, it’s not a quick nor necessarily an easy read. (You might think that would be obvious, but a tome like lonesome dove is, in fact, quick and easy). each other chapter. the novel roughly follows a family tree over the centuries, but the plot points differ, and in fact the chapters can almost be read like short stories.
indeed, michener’s lyrical writing is superb, and it’s a pleasure to read a chapter of it from time to time (at least that’s how I did it).
the shooter by glendon swarthout (1975)
How many different ways can the story of a western gunslinger really be told? Glendon Swarthout took on that challenge and created the exceptional story of dying gunslinger J.B. books.
Having been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, the infamous gunslinger decides that he will spend his last days in the pass. the town is not very happy with his presence there and tries to convince him to leave, but he stubbornly stays. Being an infamous man, several people come out of nowhere when word gets out that he is dying on the pass, including journalists waiting for a story and other gunmen looking to bolster his reputation by killing books.
You’d think the story might be more about books telling the stories of his life, but it’s really just about those last few months and an older man trying to redeem his seedy reputation a bit. and the way the books choose to go out on their own terms at the end is as memorable a scene as you’ll ever find.
the murder of jesse james by the cowardly robert ford by ron hansen (1983)
hansen’s 1983 novel borders on the true biography of (in)famous bank robber jesse james and his killer, young bob ford. Somewhat lacking in the action form (James’ gang robberies are only briefly covered) it is primarily a character study of the eccentric James and his obsessive and devoted henchman, Bob Ford.
It was only when Ford became convinced that James would kill him (and when the reward money became too high to ignore) that the 20-year-old killed James in his own home, with his back turned and his gun sheathed remote. Ford thought he would be a hero, but even though the Governor of Missouri pardoned him, he became an outcast. He was a terribly interesting figure himself, and in fact the last quarter of the book covers Ford’s life after the assassination.
hansen noted that he did not deviate from any known facts or even dialogue; he simply imagined some of the scenes and added more detail than was perhaps known. It’s not a quick read, but it sure is a good one.
lone dove by larry mcmurtry (1985)
There’s a reason I’ve often compared the other books on this list to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Larry McMurtry’s The Lonely Dove: It can easily be considered the Western on which a book is judged. everyone else. Of the many dozens of books I read to compile this list, lonesome dove was hands down the best.
The story is deceptively simple: two old friends, Augustus (gus) McCrae and Woodrow Call, along with a motley crew of ranch hands, embark on a cattle drive from the Rio Grande to Montana. Along the way they meet outlaws, Indians, old flames and much more. mcmurtry needs over 800 pages to tell this story, but it’s so good that you’ll be pretty sad when it comes to an end (which will be too fast).
There are also three other books in the series. while lonely dove was the first and best of the bunch, the others are also great: streets of laredo (1993), dead man’s walk (1995), and comanche moon (1997). read them in internal chronological order if you want (in which case ld is the third), but you don’t have to. I read them in the order they were published, and didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
if you read a western in your life, let it be lonely dove.
the revenant by michael punke (2002)
more of a survival story than a true western, but the setting (1820s wyoming and montana) deserves its place on this list. If you’ve seen the award-winning film, you know the general plot lines: After being savagely attacked by a bear, frontiersman Hugh Glass is barely alive. His comrades take him with them for a couple of days, but he slows down the group too much. They decide that glass will die at any moment and leave him behind with two men who are tasked with taking care of him until that time arrives and then burying him. however, the two men leave early, taking all of the glass supplies with them. Against all odds, Glass regains consciousness, mends his own broken leg, and crawls/limps for over 200 miles to the nearest outpost, even allowing maggots to eat the dead flesh off him to stave off gangrene.
While the elements have certainly been embellished over the years, it is based on an incredible true story. unlike the movie version, which is largely fictional and deviates quite a bit from the original historical accounts, the novel that movie is based on stuck to them as much as possible, with only imagined conversations and thoughts.
Scenes of primitive self-surgery, miles of belly-crawling through harsh terrain, and hunting and foraging without any tools are the stuff of survival legend. it’s like axe on steroids and for adults. while you will surely skim through it, the story won’t leave your mind anytime soon.
no country for old men by cormac mccarthy (2005)
mccarthy has several westerns that could qualify for this list, but my favorite by far was 2005’s no country for old men.
Unlike many Westerns on this list, it’s set in the relatively modern 1980s, on the border of Texas and Mexico. while hunting in the desert, llewelyn moss stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and claims two million dollars for himself which he finds among the carnage. Of course, that missing money won’t go unnoticed, and almost immediately some really bad guys are hunting moss, including one of the scariest villains in Western history, Anton Chigurh.
In my opinion, the best parts of the story focus on elderly Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, who investigates the crime and sets out to protect Moss and his young wife Carla Jean. Since he’s a staple of the genre, Bell laments how things are changing in the West. he cannot keep up with the increasing senseless violence. Will he be able to protect the mosses? you’ll have to read to find out (or watch the excellent movie).
perhaps surprisingly, i didn’t like mccarthy’s almost universally praised blood meridian, and while the frontier trilogy was enjoyable, i see not country for old men as McCarthy’s unmissable western.
the brothers of the sisters by patrick dewitt (2011)
sisters eli and charles, the sisters, are assassins who have been hired to kill a gold prospector in 1850s california. their employer, the commodore, has told them that this prospector is a thief. Of course, the truth is a bit more complex than that.
As with many Westerns, the relationship between sisters’ brothers is also complex. there is jealousy, disdain, even anger. but ultimately, there is a deep-seated family love between them. For a modern novel, DeWitt’s language, in the form of Brother Eli’s narrative, is surprisingly believable as coming from the place and time period. there is also a lot of humor and misadventures to accompany the seriousness of the plot. it’s a nice balance, and one that many of the best Western novels tend to strike.
philipp meyer’s son (2013)
Spanning a handful of generations of the McCullough family, the story is told primarily through the lives of three main characters: Colonel Eli, his son Peter, and his great-granddaughter Jeanna.
The Colonel survived a Comanche raid as a child and lived with the tribe for 3 years. When he returned, he eventually became a Texas Ranger, and then a rancher, often falling out with the neighboring Garcia family. the son, peter, is a disgrace to the colonel because he is soft and falls in love with a garcia daughter. Jeanne spends many years of training with the colonel, and she has been the one who acquired his drive for business and empire. in her later years, however, she contemplates who will take over the family business in a world that is rapidly abandoning its uses for cattle and oil.
is a western story within a family epic set in texas. chronicles the cowboy and rancher ways of the old west, along with how that culture largely disappeared as the world modernized.
the step of winston groom (2016)
Winston Groom is best known for writing 1986’s Forrest Gump, as well as a trove of powerful and masterful history books. In 2016, for the first time in some 20 years, Groom published a new novel, a fantasy western called El Paso.
It is the story of a kidnapping in the middle of the Mexican revolution of Pancho Villa. Villa takes the grandchildren of a wealthy railroad tycoon hostage, and what follows is a hilarious story of an eclectic cast of characters trying to win them back. The great thing about the book is the number of real life characters including: Ambrose Bierce (who has his own fascinating story), Woodrow Wilson, George S. Patton (whose auspicious start came in the Mexican Revolution), and a few other railroad magnates.
The book really has it all: gunfights, romantic drama, an epic bullfight, a cross-country race between a train and a plane, and some history lessons on the first American armed conflict of the 20th century. It’s almost 500 pages long, but it’s a very fast read and deserves a place among the best westerns of this new era of the genre.
dragon teeth by michael crichton (2017)
Taking on a forgotten aspect of Western exploration, legendary techno-thriller author Michael Crichton originally wrote Dragon’s Teeth in 1974, but it wasn’t published until last year, nearly a decade after it was published. his death. . Set in the 1870s, the fictional story follows the real-life “Bone Wars” between dinosaur hunters Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope.
Back then, there was a lot of glory (and of course money) in the discovery of dinosaur bones, especially in the west. this led to some vicious rivalries, most notably between marsh and cope. In Dragon Teeth, William Johnson is a fictional Yale student who takes a summer off to work for the two dinosaur hunters (you must find out how he comes to work for not just one but both).
is a super fun, entertaining and edgy story about a little-known aspect of the West. Beyond cattle drives and buffalo hunting, the Bone Wars really captured the American imagination and spirit of adventure.
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