Synopses & Reviews
No one is more evocative of the dusty, gutsy hey-day of the American West than Elmore Leonard. And no story about a young writer struggling to launch his career ever matched its subject matter better than the tale behind Leonard's Western oeuvre.
In 1950, fresh out of college having written two "pointless" stories, as he describes them Leonard decided he needed to pick a market, a big one, which would give him a better chance to be published while he learned to write. In choosing between crime and Westerns, the latter had an irresistible pull Leonard loved movies set in the West. As he researched deeper into settings, Arizona in the 1880s captured his imagination: the Spanish influence, the standoffs and shootouts between Apache Indians and the U.S. cavalry...
His first dozen stories sold for 2 cents a word, for $100 each. The rest is history.
This first-ever complete collection of Leonard's thirty Western tales will thrill lovers of the genre, his die-hard fans, and everyone in between and makes a terrific study of the launch of a phenomenal career.
From his very first story ever published "The Trail of the Apache" through five decades of classic Western tales, The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard demonstrates again and again the superb talent for language and gripping narrative that has made Leonard one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of our time.
Review
"[I]t's fascinating to watch a young writer fill his tool chest and work at his chosen craft. Hokey or not, even the earliest of his western yarns show Leonard to be a master storyteller." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
This complete collection of short stories that launched Elmore Leonard's career begins with the very first story he ever wrote and continues through five decades of classic western tales.
Synopsis
A stellar collection of short fiction that spans the beloved master's writing career
The legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with another stellar collection of Western short fiction. In these classic tales that span more than five decades--including the first story he ever published, "The Trail of the Apache"--Elmore Leonard once again demonstrates the superb talent for language and gripping narrative that have made him one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of our time.
Synopsis
The New 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 story he ever published, "The Trail of the Apache"--Elmore Leonard once again demonstrates the superb talent for language and gripping narrative that have made him one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of our time.
About the Author
Elmore Leonard has written more than three dozen books during his highly successful writing career, including the bestsellers Tishomingo Blues, Be Cool, Get Shorty, and Rum Punch, and his most recent critically acclaimed collection of short stories, When the Women Come Out to Dance. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight. He is the recipient of the Grand Master Award of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife, Christine, in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.