I’ve been fascinated by the Wild West since I was a little boy, playing Cowboy vs Indian with a plastic six-shooter and bow-and-arrow set. I grew up watching movies and reading books about the Wild West, and probably that sense of adventure and necessary courage required in such settings helped build the foundation that led me to join the Marines. It took guts to move out West. (Or desperation.) But either way, the settling of the Wild West is one of our core American stories. To me, the stories of the West are even more enthralling today than they were even fifty years ago.
I wrote...
Little Man, and the Dixon County War
ByStan R. Mitchell,Danah Mitchell (illustrator),
What is my book about?
Good vs evil. Right vs wrong. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. And when a young lawman pins on a badge in the West, he’ll find out why most (honest) lawmen end up dead.
(But if you're still not convinced, there's also loads of action, gunplay, and an abducted woman, who even the U.S. Marshal won't go save.)
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The books I picked & why
Appaloosa
ByRobert B. Parker,
Why did I love this book?
This book is the perfect example of a great Western. A stern, courageous lawman, tougher than forged steel. A young sidekick by his side. A beautiful woman in town that everyone wants.
Put those elements onto the page and then throw into it a cruel, evil rancher, who’s already killed the city marshal and one of his deputies. What do you end up with? A kick-ass Western.
Appaloosa
ByRobert B. Parker,
Why should I read it?
2authors pickedAppaloosaas one of their favorite books, and they sharewhy you should read it.
What is this book about?
When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a town suffering at the hands of a renegade rancher who's already left the city marshal and one of his deputies dead. Cole and Hitch are used to cleaning up after scavengers, but this one raises the stakes by playing not with the rules-but with emotion.
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Why do people like this book?
Topics
Outlaws
Ranches
Pioneers
Genres
Mystery
Historical fiction
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Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
ByElmore Leonard,
Why did I love this book?
The thing I love about Three-Ten to Yuma is the under-dog nature of the entire situation. And I also love its brevity. It seems impossible that such a story can be so tight and compact, so crammed full of suspense (the entire plot that the movie is based on is actually a short story). It still boggles the mind and shows the genius that Elmore Leonard was.
Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
ByElmore Leonard,
Why should I read it?
3authors pickedThree-Ten to Yuma and Other Storiesas one of their favorite books, and they sharewhy you should read it.
What is this book about?
TheNew York Times-bestselling Grand Master of suspense deftly displays the other side of his genius, with seven classic western tales of destiny and fatal decision . . . and trust as essential to survival as it is hard-earned.
Trust was rare and precious in the wide-open towns that sprung up like weeds on America's frontier—with hustlers and hucksters arriving in droves by horse, coach, wagon, and rail, and gunmen working both sides of the law, all too eager to end a man's life with a well-placed bullet. In these classic tales that span more than five decades—including the first…
A confederate soldier, Paul Cable, returns from the Civil War to find Union men have taken over his farm. Cable thinks his fighting is over, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
The book is tense and moves quickly. It’s also short, yet packs a punch far above its weight. Highly recommend.
Last Stand at Saber River
ByElmore Leonard,
Why should I read it?
1author pickedLast Stand at Saber Riveras one of their favorite books, and they sharewhy you should read it.
What is this book about?
A nail-biting, tough-talking classic western from the author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN.
In LAST STAND AT SABER RIVER, a Civil War veteran returns home to find a Yankee's private army living on his land, while another enemy waits to strike...
Paul Cable has fought - and lost - for the Confederacy but when he returns home he finds that his own war is far from over. The Union Army and two brothers - and a beautiful woman - have taken over Cable's spread and are refusing to give it back. But Cable is determined that no one is…
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Topics
The American West
Veterans
Arizona
The American Civil War
Pioneers
Genres
Mystery romance
Romance
Hard boiled
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Hondo (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures)
ByLouis L'Amour,
Why did I love this book?
This book is a great read by Louis L'Amour, who’s arguably one of the greatest Western writers to ever live.
L'Amour executes the book brilliantly, placing a woman and her six-year-old son in grave danger from some angry, fired-up Apaches, who are on the warpath.
All that stands between them and their safety is one tough man and his dog.
Hondo (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures)
ByLouis L'Amour,
Why should I read it?
1author pickedHondo (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures)as one of their favorite books, and they sharewhy you should read it.
What is this book about?
As part of the Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures series, this edition contains exclusive bonus materials!
He was etched by the desert’s howling winds, a big, broad-shouldered man who knew the ways of the Apache and the ways of staying alive. She was a woman alone raising a young son on a remote Arizona ranch. And between Hondo Lane and Angie Lowe was the warrior Vittoro, whose people were preparing to rise against the white men. Now the pioneer woman, the gunman, and the Apache warrior are caught in a drama of love, war, and honor.
I saved perhaps the best for last.This is an epic story, so grand in scale that it made the list of top 50 books ever written and won a Pulitzer Prize. It’s also one of fewer than five books that almost made me cry. And that’s saying something. The book tells the story of two Texas Rangers, who are just a touch beyond their prime. But not by much. They’ve got more than enough experience to handle anything that comes their way, except for aging and boredom.It’s these two things that they can’t whip, but damn do they try, taking off on one of the most incredible adventures that you can possibly imagine.If you’ve never read Lonesome Dove, then I’d go buy it today. You’ll remember the story thirty years from now.
Lonesome Dove
ByLarry McMurtry,
Why should I read it?
11authors pickedLonesome Doveas one of their favorite books, and they sharewhy you should read it.
What is this book about?
Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a powerful, triumphant portrayal of the American West as it really was. From Texas to Montana, it follows cowboys on a grueling cattle drive through the wilderness.
It begins in the office of The Hat Creek Cattle Company of the Rio Grande. It ends as a journey into the heart of every adventurer who ever lived . . .
More than a love story, more than an adventure, Lonesome Dove is an epic: a monumental novel which embraces the spirit of the last defiant wilderness of America.
Legend and fact, heroes and outlaws,…
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Topics
Cowboys
American frontier
Texas
Genres
Historical fiction
Classics
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You might also like...
Coyote Weather
ByAmanda co*ckrell,
New book alert!
Sponsored by Amanda co*ckrellAuthor
Who am I?
AuthorReaderDog walkerLapsed academic
Amanda's 3 favorite reads in 2023
What is my book about?
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.
Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he doesn’t think that, in the shadow of Vietnam, the Cold War, and atomic bomb drills, there is going to be one. Ellen is determined to have a plan because nothing else seems capable of keeping the world from tilting. And the Ghost, who isn’t exactly dead, just wants to go home to a place that won’t let him in, the small California town where they all grew up.
Coyote Weather
ByAmanda co*ckrell,
What is this book about?
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season in California, when everything is drought-stricken and ready to catch fire. It's 1967 and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcing its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war. Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he believes that, in the shadow of Vietnam, the Cold War and atomic bomb drills, there won't be one. Ellen's determined to have a plan, because nothing else can keep the world from tilting. And the Ghost just wants to go home to a place that won't…
Topics
Nuclear weapons
The Cold War
The Vietnam War
Genres
Historical fiction
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5 book lists we think you will like!
The best Westerns that will transport you to the American frontier
The best books that will make you fall in love with Montana
The best westerns to read if you don’t read westerns
The best books for elements of historical adventure fiction
The best books about frontier life in early 19th century Canada
9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.Browse their picks for the best books aboutAmerican frontier,cowboys,andthe Apache.
American FrontierExplore 79 books about American frontier
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