Synopses & Reviews
By the author of
The Homesman, now a major motion picture The Shootist is John Bernard Books, a gunfighter at the turn of the twentieth century who must confront the greatest Shootist of all: Death. Most men would end their days in bed or take their own lives, but a gunfighter has a third option, one that Books decides to exercise. He may choose his own executioner.
As word spreads that the famous assassin has incurable cancer, an assortment of human vultures gathers to feast on the corpse—among them a gambler, a rustler, a clergyman, an undertaker, an old love, a reporter, even an admiring teenager. What follows is the last courageous act in Bookss own legend.
This classic, Spur Award-winning novel was chosen by the Western Writers of America as one of the best western novels ever written and was the inspiration for John Waynes last great starring role in the acclaimed 1976 film adaptation. The Bison Books edition includes a new introduction by the authors son, Miles Swarthout, in which he discusses his fathers work and the making of the legendary film.
Review
“This is definitely more than a Western; the characterization is flawless, the plot absorbing and convincing.”—Library Journal
Review
“A taut, leathery, masterful tale.”—Los Angeles Times --Barbara Branstad - Library Journal
Review
“A treasured addition to my library.”—Ronald Reagan
Review
“A classic—an incredible tale about an incredible man by an incredible author. . . . It’s a fascinating tale, and once started, is difficult to leave until the final sentence has been absorbed.”—Arizona Republic --Ronald Reagan
Review
“Chilling . . . grisly . . . extremely exciting to the very end.”—Times of London --Robert Shotwell - Arizona Republic
Synopsis
This is an extremely well-written Western and gives the reader vivid insight into the workings of the mind of a wanderer and gunman.―Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday Advocate
By the author of The Homesman, now a major motion picture The Shootist is John Bernard Books, a gunfighter at the turn of the twentieth century who must confront the greatest Shootist of all: Death. Most men would end their days in bed or take their own lives, but a gunfighter has a third option, one that Books decides to exercise. He may choose his own executioner.
As word spreads that the famous assassin has incurable cancer, an assortment of human vultures gathers to feast on the corpse--among them a gambler, a rustler, a clergyman, an undertaker, an old love, a reporter, even an admiring teenager. What follows is the last courageous act in Books's own legend.
This classic, Spur Award-winning novel was chosen by the Western Writers of America as one of the best western novels ever written and was the inspiration for John Wayne's last great starring role in the acclaimed 1976 film adaptation. The Bison Books edition includes a new introduction by the author's son, Miles Swarthout, in which he discusses his father's work and the making of the legendary film.
Synopsis
Here is a rich and serious novel of the violent West. Full of the authentic sounds and colors of Wyoming cattle country in the late nineteenth century, it tells the true story of a long-vanished time—the era of the cowhands and the bloody Johnson County range wars.
Riders of Judgment centers on the three Hammett brothers and their cousin Rosemary, whom all three love. To the oldest brother, Cain, falls the lot of avenging the murder of his father, grandfather, and brother. Cain—who is in a sense a cowboy Hamlet—is torn by conflicts within himself. He desires peace yet is forced to wear a gun. He is a law-abiding man by instinct yet has to take the law into his own hands. He is loved by a woman but rejects her because he feels unworthy of her love.
Then one spring morning the cattle barons invade his territory, and Cains hesitancy vanishes. One mans inner struggle becomes a fight to turn the cattle kingdom into a free country for the small stockman.
Riders of Judgment is the final book in Frederick Manfreds five-volume series, The Buckskin Man Tales.
About the Author
A prolific writer in multiple genres, Glendon Swarthout (1918-92) won the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Western Writers of America and is now in their Hall of Fame. His novels include The Homesman and The Old Colts. Miles Swarthout is the author of The Sergeants Lady and the editor of Glendon Swarthouts short story collection, Easterns and Westerns. He is also a screenwriter who adapted his fathers book for the movie The Shootist.