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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
Charles has commented on (122) products
Ranger & Other Stories
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, July 18, 2020
This book contains four of Zane Grey's best short stories. These can also be found in the Harper edition published circa 1960, and also in a couple of paperback collections by both Harper and Pocket Books. These stories are a great introduction to Zane Grey and probably why the Franklin Library picked this book as one of the top 100 books ever published.
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Wolf Tracker & Other Animal Tales
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, July 11, 2020
This collection published by Santa Barbara Press contains five stories, “The Wolf Tracker” being the most important as it is hard to locate in its original 1930 printing which was a small sized book of only 98 pages. And the Walter J. Black printing is a rare book as well but not to be confused with this one, as The Wolf Tracker and Other Stories has different stories than is presented here. “Roping Lions in the Grand Canyon” is a firsthand account of Zane Grey’s first trip to the Grand Canyon with Buffalo Jones which inspired him to write “The Heritage of the Desert” and “Riders of the Purple Sage”. Without this trip Zane Grey might not have written the stories he did. It also inspired a fictionalized version featuring Ken Ward—one of his boy’s books. “Land of the Musk Ox” can also be found in Zane Grey’s “Last of the Plainsmen”, his biographical story about Buffalo Jones. “Strange Partners of Two-fold Bay” and “Of Whales and Men” are companion pieces. The first was written by Zane Grey, the second by his younger son, Loren. Both stories tell a tale so fantastic, but absolutely true, that many who first read it could not believe it. That is why Loren wrote the second one, returning to the place where the story actually occurred many years later. These are five great fiction and non-fiction stories.
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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
by
Robin DiAngelo
Charles
, July 10, 2020
If I could give this book less than one star I would. This book is about as bad as it gets. It is one lie after another. If this book has become required reading in schools, God help us. We will no longer exist as a country of law and order or equal justice under the law. The author is purely an intellectual idiot. Trying to shame us into accepting this rot will not work. Don't buy this book!!! Read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to find out what is really right.
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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
by
Robin DiAngelo
Charles
, July 10, 2020
If I could give this book less than one star I would. This book is about as bad as it gets. It is one lie after another. If this book has become required reading in schools, God help us. We will no longer exist as a country of law and order or equal justice under the law. The author is purely an intellectual idiot. Trying to shame us into accepting this rot will not work. Don't buy this book!!! Read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to find out what is really right.
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Rough Air
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, May 10, 2020
Rough Air is a "modern" novel by the historical, western author Ernest Haycox. It is the story of Jim Breed, pilot from Oregon who turns his flying ability into performing stunts for the movie camera in Hollywood. He is your typical Haycox hero, uncertain, and rather jaded about life, but who, when the chips are down comes through. He becomes involved with gangsters, a murder, and a woman, Anne Carson who can best be described as "elusive" and "no child of the woods". One can only imagine that when Haycox wrote this he had hopes of expanding his literary window to include more than "westerns" and the only other "modern" I can recall is The Silver Desert about Hollywood types hanging a ranch. His son, Ernest Haycox, Jr writes in On A Silver Desert that his father wrote another modern story titled, American Beauty, which Collier's rejected as "experimental" but the manuscript has never been found; reportedly Haycox destroyed it. What a shame! for those of us who enjoy his work so immensely. The copy I have of Rough Air I have owned for 30 years and is an A L Burt edition. So far as I know this novel has NEVER been re-printed in paperback, so it is indeed a rare title by the master of fiction writers. If you can obtain a copy, my advice is get it. It's well worth the read.
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Reward
by
Max Brand
Charles
, May 10, 2020
I will not review the content of the story by Max Brand. What is so interesting about this book, if this is a first edition is this: This book has Zane Grey as the author on the title page. It also has a list of books available on the fly leaf with this title and also Rawhide Justice, another Max Brand book published about the same time. So, before you buy this book, if you want this misprint be sure to question the seller. If you are interested in this title with Max Brands name on the title page order a later printing of which there are several. 1979 ISBN is 9780671828929. The reason I gave it a five stars is because I wanted the Zane Grey misprint; have had many years.
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George Washington Frontiersman
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, April 19, 2020
The untold story of our first president when he was in the British Army.
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Boulder Dam
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, April 19, 2020
Zane Grey covers every aspect of this colossal work to harness the Colorado River.
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Zane Greys Greatest Indian Stories
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, April 17, 2020
In Greatest Indian Stories you will find four treatments of the Native American as only Zane Grey could do it. He treated the Indian with the utmost respect, sympathy, and understanding as no other author has ever managed to do. Because of this attitude, he was given unparalleled access to the Indian tribes of the West, thereby learning stories and legends no other white man had ever heard before. And with his latent ability he transformed them into these stories, some of his best writings. The stories are Siena Waits also known as The Great Slave; Haunted Spring an excerpt from Spirit of the Border; Daughter of the Moon aka Blue Feather; and Nophaie's Redemption which is Zane Grey's original ending to Vanishing American. (See my discussion) Overall, this book I highly recommend.
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Heritage Of The Desert
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, April 17, 2020
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Classic Westerns Riders of the Purple Sage & the Rainbow Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, April 13, 2020
The Best Western Ever Written, bar none.
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OTHER MENS HORSES
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
When Elmer Kelton wrote a book 95% of the time you knew you would be getting a story about everyday people doing everyday things at a time when that was what was expected of you. His characters made you feel as if you knew them as friends and understood why they did what they did. Elmer Kelton was the only author, living author, I was purchasing, and now since he has died, I am at a loss as to who to read. I have tried others, but so far no one fills the bill. Was he the last of the "traditional" western writers? I don't know. But of one thing I am sure, his legacy will never be matched. Other Men's Horses stands on its own merits. Read it and come to know Elmer Kelton and the Texas he knew and loved to write about.
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Many A River
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Many A River is the story of two brothers separated when Indians attack and kill their parents and one is taken and the other manages to escape. And in the ensuing years we follow each of them as their lives take shape in the crossing of many rivers to get the point when they once again meet. Many A River is an excellent telling of this kind of incident which I am sure occurred many times in the West. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think you will too.
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The Raiders: Sons of Texas
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Book Two of The Sons of Texas Trilogy written by Elmer Kelton under the Tom Early name continues the Michael and Andrew Lewis family saga as they settle into their new life in early Texas; but an old family feud has followed them from Tennessee, the Blackwood brothers, Isaac, Luke, and one-armed Finis, have arrived and begin causing trouble. This is good, typical Kelton story telling, readable, enjoyable, historical, and worth having in your library. Get the other two well, Sons of Texas and The Rebels.
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Sons of Texas
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
The state of Texas owes Elmer Kelton a big debt of thanks for all of the novels, stories, and tales he set in that geographic location. With this book, Kelton again demonstrates himself to be the chroniclier of western history. No one does it better, sticking to the facts and removing the "myth" that is the west. This book is the 1st of a 3 book set he wrote, Sons of Texas; The Raiders; and The Rebels. Get all three and enjoy a family history lesson in what it was like to uproot your family and move to a "new" and "foreign" country, and the struggles to survive that transition and make a home. Buy this book. Personal note: Elmer Kelton was the only living western author I was buying when this book was published, and was until his death. I know of no one to take his place.
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Rebels Sons Of Texas
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Book three of the Sons of Texas story by Elmer Kelton under the pen name of Tom Early finishes his portion. Mr. Kelton has taken the Lewis family, brothers Michael and Andrew and their descendants from the settlement days with Stephen Austin, through the battle of the Alamo; and no one writes about early Texas better than Elmer Kelton. Get this one to finish the trio for your home library. The others are Sons of Texas, and The Raiders.
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Buffalo Wagons
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Whether writing as Elmer Kelton, Lee McElroy, Alex Hawk, or Tom Early, you will always know you're going to get a good story about life in Texas by one of the best writers of westerns who ever lived. Buffalo Wagons was the first published novel by Mr. Kelton, a story of the buffalo hunters and the near extermination of the buffalo for their hides. The 1870's was the time this occurred along the Arkansas, the Republican, and the Cimarron rivers of Kansas, and Oklahoma and North Texas often invading into Indian Territory. And no one will go into Comanche territory except Gage Jamesom. Read about his adventures as he rides through Dodge City, encountering Comanches along the way to this final hunt. Good book, buy it for yourself.
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Hot Iron
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Rustled cattle, embezzlement and land theft are just some of assignments Espy Norwood has to clear up out on a Texas ranch where trouble lurks behind every tumbleweed. Elmer Kelton at his early best.
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Pecos Crossing
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Pecos Crossing is a reprint of a Balintine Western Original by Elmer Kelton titled Horsehead Crossing which is an actual ford on the Pecos River. It is the story of two cowboys who have left their winter trials behind and are looking for a good time in a town that didn't even show up on most maps, Sonora. But Speck Quitman gets too rowdy and Johnny Frisco runs afoul of a lawman with a short fuse. From then on it is a year and a half of run and jump, hide and wait, until Johnny finds the courage to confront the man tracking them. An exciting yarn full of twists and turns with every page. An exceptional story.
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Bitter Trail and Barbed Wire: Two Complete Novels
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Bitter Trail is not your typical western. Barbed Wire is a tale of range war between some farmers and one rancher, Captain Andrew Rinehart whose ranch encompassed nearly the entire county. A Traditional Western at its best by one of the best, Elmer Kelton.
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Manhunters
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Based on the true life story of a Mexican who shot a sheriff because the sheriff could not understand Spanish that led to a massive manhunt which lasted for weeks involving official law enforcement, trackers, and even the army. Not only that but Chacho was a horse handler, and when he was cheated out of the pretty mare he had tamed it began a long war between him and Texas. Originally published as a Ballantine western original in 1974 this is one of the book which help put Elmer Kelton higher on the list of great writers. Courage, bravery, resourcefulness, and the ability to understand what it takes to surrender when the time finally comes is what this story is all about. Texas and Texas people, including the Mexicans, are things Elmer Kelton knew how to write about and convey to the reading public.
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Shadow Of A Star
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
This is a coming of age story of Jim-Bob McClain, Sheriff Mont Naylor's young deputy. Elmer Kelton does an excellent job in depicting what it might be like to be a young in-experienced man placed into such a demanding position as a law officer, such as when his trouble to clear the saloon of a couple of drunks and the Sheriff has to lend a hand; but later Jim-Bob is determined to face three killers alone.....Good book! by one of the top writers of western fiction, Elmer Kelton.
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Dark Thicket
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
Dark Thicket is an apt title for this book, as it encompasses what took place in Texas after the Civil War as "home guards" who were still loyal to the Confederacy and Union loyalists continued their own local war. When Owen Danforth returns home at war's end he is tired of war, but the conflict continues to rage, and when blood is thicker than water what was he to do forcing him to choose sides in something where there are no winners? Tales of Texas is the perfect title for the novels Mr. Kelton writes, as he deals with every situation possible in the life and history of the state of Texas, and even before it was a state, but a province of Mexico. The love of his home land is evident in every book, this one no exception.
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Texas Vendetta
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
This book is a continuation of the adventures of Texas Ranger Andy Pickard, Badger Boy, a one time captive of the Comanches, and his ranger friend, Farley Brackett. This time they have to deliver a prisoner for trial. Along the way they become involved in a family feud concerning this prisoner. Andy also runs across a former tutor of his, Rusty Shannon, a retired ranger, and he has an issue or two to resolve. Texas Vendetta is the fifth book in Mr. Kelton's Texas Rangers series, and as always you will find believable characters and authentic locations and history in his books. Enjoy.
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Honor At Daybreak
by
Elmer Kelton
Charles
, April 04, 2020
This is only a readable Kelton book.
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Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott
by
C H Scott
Charles
, March 27, 2020
This loving remembrance of a son for his father is a good read; it allows a person into the home and life of an American Icon in the movie industry. Although Randolph Scott never won an academy award, he indeed gave every acting role the BEST he had, and the average movie go-er who loved westerns knows what to expect when Scott appears on the screen. With the commentary of his son relating incident after incident of his growing up, and the personal pictures collected in this book, one gets an idea of what the man was like, as a father, and as a person in general. If anyone is in anyway interested in actors or the Hollywood of the early to middle and late part of the 20th century I recommend this book. There is a filmography as well.
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Randolph Scott The Gentleman From Virgin
by
Jefferson III Crow
Charles
, March 27, 2020
I recommend this book to anyone who loves the movies or the stars of the Hollywood Era when the studios were in control. My favorite actor is Randolph Scott, closely followed by John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Joel McCrea and Gene Autry. As you can probably guess I love old westerns, and these men made some of the best. These book focuses in on Scott and gives you a sense of what it was like to make movies during the hey-day of westerns. Pictures, pictures and more pictures with a filmography of Scott's films is enough for me. Yes, knowing where he was from and the date of his birth are important, as is some of his struggles and early living in Hollywood. The whispers and innuendo that accompanied his relationship with Cary Grant is widely known, or was, in the Hollywood community, and the less said about that the better. Yes, it is obivious that Jefferson Crow adored Randolph Scott, as do many of us who were born as baby-boomers; but that does not detract from this book,it only adds to it. Do we need a critical review of his body of work? Do we need an indepth telling of his social life and his business acumen which made him one of the wealthiest men in California after he left movie making? It is enough to know that Randolph Scott was the Gentleman From Virginia.
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I Was That Masked Man
by
Clayton Moore
Charles
, March 27, 2020
I Was That Masked Man is a read down memory lane for those of us baby-boomers who were born about the time the Lone Ranger began on television. And the life of Clayton Moore reads like a story of someone who enjoyed every moment of life to the fullest, yet at the same time devoted himself to being true to the character he portrayed on the small screen. Not to many people would devote their entire lives to one character and try to pattern their life by the creed of the character at all times. For that I congratulate him. As a biography this book excells in giving us the story of his life; as a memoir it tells us his attitude and philosophy he lived by; as a movie book it lists the movies and TV shows he was in. This book succeeds on all levels. There are great photographs as well, even some when Clayton Moore wasn't wearing the mask! This book will revive your faith in people, too. Buy it! if you enjoy learning about the golden age of television, the B studio system, the movie industry during WWII, or the movies in general. Clayton Moore/The Lone Ranger/ one and the same.
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I Was That Masked Man
by
Clayton Moore
Charles
, March 27, 2020
I Was That Masked Man is a read down memory lane for those of us baby-boomers who were born about the time the Lone Ranger began on television. And the life of Clayton Moore reads like a story of someone who enjoyed every moment of life to the fullest, yet at the same time devoted himself to being true to the character he portrayed on the small screen. Not to many people would devote their entire lives to one character and try to pattern their life by the creed of the character at all times. For that I congratulate him. As a biography this book excells in giving us the story of his life; as a memoir it tells us his attitude and philosophy he lived by; as a movie book it lists the movies and TV shows he was in. This book succeeds on all levels. There are great photographs as well, even some when Clayton Moore wasn't wearing the mask! This book will revive your faith in people, too. Buy it! if you enjoy learning about the golden age of television, the B studio system, the movie industry during WWII, or the movies in general. Clayton Moore/The Lone Ranger/ one and the same.
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Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry
by
Holly George-Warren
Charles
, March 27, 2020
I find it fascinating reading. The photographs are excellent and introduce you to many people who either help Gene or that he helped along the way. This presents Gene Autry in all of his glory as most of us remember him from his pictures.
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Films Of Hopalong Cassidy
by
Francis M Nevins
Charles
, March 27, 2020
Francis Nevins has done a wonderful job in collecting and displaying a complete record of the career of Hopalong Cassidy on film. And no one could have done a better of job of portraying the character created by Clarence Mulford than William Boyd. Although this book lacks all of the historical data about Boyd's career and near demise or derailment of that career due to an erroneous picture in the newspapers, it does let you know that Willaim Boyd was a man of his word and kept his promise to Harry Sherman the producer of the series.
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Range of No Return
by
D. B. Newton
Charles
, March 27, 2020
Range of No Return is one of those books a person can't put down once they start reading it. The characters and the situations they encounter are real and complicated, just like life really is. D.B. Newton is known for such writing, and for the way he places his characters in these types of activities where nothing is ever simple and easy. And I learned something new about Newton: that he wrote under six different names. I only knew of Dwight Bennett but I now can add to my list, Hank Mitchum, Dan Temple, Ford Logan, Clement Hardin, and Dave Sand. I know the Dwight Bennett and the Clement Hardin books are as good as those under D. B. Newton, about the rest I cannot say for sure, but they most likely are just as good. So, about this book, Range of No Return, it is the story of a man come home to begin anew on the ranch he left after being accused of cattle rustling, but since his accuser is now dead, he feels he can return; yet, the town has doubts about his innocence. When a neighboring rancher is killed, suspicion instantly turns to Herb Cole, especially with the dying man's last breath he names Cole as his killer. This time, though, Cole will not run, he will stand up and fight. Get this book. It's highly enjoyable and readable.
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Born to the Brand
by
D. B. Newton
Charles
, March 27, 2020
D.B. Newton, another of the western writers who lived in the Great Northwest like Giff Chesire, and Wayne D. Overholser, and Ernest Haycox who could spin a yarn with the best of them. And the six short stories or novellas in this book do not disappoint as they are some of his finest work out of a collection of 70 plus novels and dozens upon dozens of shorter works. Newton is known for his characterization and his real life conflicts which lead to adventure like no other writer, with perhaps the exception of Ernest Haycox. These stories do not disappoint. Take for example the title story: Bud Jenkins discovers a dead body and is quickly befriended by the dead man's partner, but Bud will soon learn life is never easy or as uncomplicated as it sometimes seems. Whether writing as D.B. Newton or as Dwight Bennet, Newton never lets the reader down with his tales of adventure and intrigue.
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Panhandle Pioneer
by
Bradford Scott
Charles
, March 27, 2020
A traditional western at its best, by, one of the foremost known writers of westerns, Bradford Scott, who also wrote under his real name of Leslie Scott.
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Lone Star Ranger & the Mysterious Rider
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, March 21, 2020
These two stories compliment one another very well.
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Last of the Plainsmen & Last of the Great Scouts
by
Zane Grey, Helen Cody Wetmore
Charles
, March 21, 2020
First Off: These are not novels, but biographies. Secondly, had The Last of the Plainsmen been left by itself, I would have given a Five Star Rating. Don't let Zane Grey's name fool you into anything, as he only wrote an introduction and an afterward to the book. He had nothing to do with the story of Buffalo Bill. These two, left alone would have been better off.
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Riders of the Purple Sage & Rainbow Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, March 21, 2020
This edition has large enough print for even my tired old eyes, and opens easily enough even though it is 680 pages. A great great addition to any library of Zane Grey's work to have and own.
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Deep West
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
Jim Benbow is a law-abiding citizen; just an average joe, with faults and strengths just like everyone else--your typical Haycox hero. But he is a man strong and touch enough to mete out justice at the point of a gun if need be. And there was need....When a range detective turns up dead across the saddle of a horse, Jim Benbow knows he's got trouble, and he knows just where to look, Cash Gore. The problem was Jim's friend Clay Brand worked for Gore and it was likely Clay was involved in the cattle rustling; still, friend or not Jim had to do what he had to do. Typical "western" fare, yep; but done in the Haycox style, and that makes all the difference! No one writes a better story, with better characters, with more hidden intrigue than Ernest Haycox does. His writing is so far superior to most of the writers of his day, or any day for that matter, there is no comparison. Indeed, he raised the level of "westerns" to heights that even today authors try to reach, but no one has come near. I recommend this book.
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Canyon Passage
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
Logan Stuart and George Camrose are friends with Lucy Overmire and each think they have the inside track with her. Stuart, though, is in no hurry to deepen his relationship with her because he is busy growing his business and making a living. Camrose has a gambling problem, he tries desperately to keep hid. Lucy is independent enough to know her own mind, maybe. The plot and sub-plots in this book make it highly enjoyable and open up the intrigues and mysteries which surround a town full of people; there are no card board characters in this novel! Gold fever, Indian reprisals, greed in general, a mountain wilderness just beginning to grow--all the things necessary to make the country groan and sigh. The movie version with Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward is an excellent adaption of this book, and go quite well together; you can read it first or watch it first, and neither will disappoint or deny you the enjoyment of either. Canyon Passage, a celebrated novel by a celebrated author. Get it.
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Bugles in the Afternoon
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
No one writes like Ernest Haycox, no one. With the possible exception of Zane Grey, no one told the story of the west better. Ernest Haycox had a feel for the written word, and a flair for the dramatic, and that never expresses itself any better in this "historical" novel about Custer's last stand at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Around this event Ernest Haycox places two important characters, Kern Shafter, and Josephine Russell. He is a man with a past, and you have to decide if he is running away from something or running toward something. She is a complete enigma even though she is a western girl returned from the east. The two of them make quite a couple to follow as the book enfolds. Shafter rejoins the army, and she has an insatiable curiosity about him that kept her comparing him and Lieutenant Garnett--the man Shafter had something against, and caused Shafter to be type of man he was. The climax of course happens at the Battle, and when the dust and smoke are cleared away, the living must continue on living. Ernest Haycox's version of the battle and the aftermath are perhaps the most accurate that have ever been put to pen and paper, as he was a consumate historian; and all of his novels show his attention to detail. This is an excellent work.
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Alder Gulch
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
Based on the true story of Henry Plummer, a sheriff who ran the outlaw empire in the country, Alder Gulch is authentic from one end the other. Jeff Pierce is on the run from his past when he meets Diana Castle who asks him to accompany her to Virginia City, and the action just jumps from that moment on. When Ernest Haycox was contemplating the writing of this book he consulted anyone he could who might possibly know anything about the Alder Gulch, Montana rush, and luckily he found a man who could describe in vivid detail every street, every business, every activity, the stage routes into the area and where a road agent might attack, whatever went on in Virginia City. Haycox also asked him how a respectable and single young woman might have made it in 1863, and the man wasn't sure, yet perhaps as a waitress, or a seamstress, or a household servant--from On A Silver Desert, a biography of Ernest Haycox. In Alder Gulch Diana Castle opens a restaurant in a tent. Alder Gulch is a solid novel with solid historical background to be the underlying story line; but the characters Haycox creates to fill the action are just as solid and believable. You will become engrossed in each of their lives as they struggle to make it--just as each of us struggle in this mundane world of ours today. Highly entertaining, historically informative, a plain old good read I think you will like.
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Action By Night
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
Tracy Coleman took over the ranch when things were bad, and they only got worse. First of all, his foreman, George Pairvent, would not do things the way he wanted; secondly, Dan Stuart, a neighboring rancher wanted all the valley for himself; thirdly, Ann Stuart complicated things because she was suppose to be another fellow's girl. While this may not be the 'best' Haycox novel, it is still one highly to be enjoyed. Originally published in a magazine, this story HAD to follow certain guidelines in order for it to be published, so if some of it may seem "serial" in content, that is why. But Ernest Haycox was always pushing the boundries with his editors, and the escape sequence down the river with the girl is a fantastic read. Action by Night is well worth the cost and well worth reading time and time again.
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Whispering Range
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
The cover of the paperback version I have says this is, " a supercharged novel of the west in the great tradition of High Noon". And that is an apt comparison in this regard: The killer was no coward, and the hunter was no hero; but he had long ago decided that sometimes the only way to live as a man was to die like one. Dave Denver was no hero; he was a typical man trying to make a living. Yet, he had a past memory he could not get rid of--the memory of his best friend's body lying dead in ambush, and someday he knew the man or men who did this would pay. Eve Leverage is the love interest, and she knows something is not right within Dave, but accepts the inevitable. An early work of Ernest Haycox that shows the coming greatness of the man with his clearly drawn characters and the real life simulating events which take place in this book. Great book.
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Trouble Shooter
by
Ernest Haycox
Charles
, February 29, 2020
Frank Peace, Trouble Shooter, for the Union Pacific railroad. This is the story of the building of the transcontential railroad as only Ernest Haycox could tell it. This is also the basis for the movie, Union Pacific, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Historically accurate, fully detailed, filled with hazards--boiling deserts, rugged mountains, Indians, and outlaws--no one does it better. If you want to know about the history of America in the West just pick up a Haycox novel and enjoy finding out. He is the master of the historical novel when it comes to anything about the west in the 1800's.
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Wyoming
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Based on a diary written about an actual adventure, this book realistically describes what could have really happened during this period of our nation's history. Martha Ann Dixon, a young runaway, makes her way to her uncle's ranch in Wyoming, and while hitchhiking she encounters some rather interesting characters--a ruined war veteran, an elderly couple who would like to adopt her, and a rescue from some hobos by Andrew Bonning who sees her as someone who is only out for the thrill and excitement--the "kicks" of the journey. Instantly he takes a dislike to her. Both Martha Ann and Andrew have things to learn and experience from the West before the inevitable conclusion of the story can take place. But this book is well worth the time and effort to read.
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Wildfire
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
What Jack London did for dogs in Call of the Wild, Zane Grey did for horses in Wildfire. This is indeed the story of a magnificent wild stallion, his capture, his love for a girl, and his race against odds so large, only Zane Grey could imagine and put on paper. The geographic region ZG describes is known today as Monument Valley and you can see his love and his realness in his description; and if you've ever been there, which I have, you can see Wildfire running again in your mind's eye among the turrets, and the shattered upheaval of rock. Also, in the story is how the two main characters Lin Sloan and Lucy Bostil fall in love with the horse's help, of course; and the horse thief who wants to steal this magnificent animal. But the romance is secondary to the story of the horse. Read if for yourself, and see if I am right in my evaluation of this book.
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Wilderness Trek
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Zane Grey does for Australia what he did for the American Southwest, and this is: Make it the place to be! The master of descriptive prose has given the uninformed reader a journey, a travelogue, of what it would be like to cross the Australian Outback. And in spite of the period of history it is set, a suspect the trip would be much the same today. Through the eyes of two American cowboys, Australia comes alive for the reader--the flora, the fauna, the heat, the dust, the water, or lack there of, the strange and the exotic are all displayed. There are rustlers, and stampedes, and romance as well, or it wouldn't be Zane Grey. This book was first printed during the Second World War when there were paper shortages, so this version is not the complete one. Wilderness Trek has been reprinted in its entirety under the title of The Great Trek but this version is very good.A five star recommendation.
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Wild Horse Mesa
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When two brothers fall in love with two sisters what else can you expect but trouble? Add to that a wild stallion one of the brothers has to own--even if it means the risk of losing his sweetheart--you have the ingredients for this Zane Grey romance set in Utah. Chane Weymer loves horses, and when Toddy Nokin, a Piute Indian tells him of Panquitch who is running free on Wild Horse Mesa, Chane decides that he has to have this magnificent wild horse. Although not as great of a novel as "Wildfire" is, this is still a good read from the master story-teller of the West.
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Western Union
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The story of the building of the transcontinental telegraph is given unique treatment by Zane Grey as indicated by the dedication: "To a single strand of iron wire". This is the last novel to be published during Zane Grey's lifetime, and had been dictated to a secretary, as he had suffered a stroke two years previous which prohibited him from using a pencil to write. It is also written in first person, but that does not diminish the power of his prose or descriptive capabilities. Also, this book shows the detailed preparation and research which must have been done; there's so much historical details present. This is a fine novel, one which fittingly belongs among the best written by Zane Grey.
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West Of The Pecos
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Zane Grey was a "formula" writer, and he was the one who created the "formula", the modern western novel. And he used the same plot devices in many of his books. This one uses the girl pretending to be a boy scheme to protect the innocent young girl from being treated harshly by the other drovers. Terrill Lambeth is now an orphan, her father having died, and her adventures are the basis of this story. The fact she can ride and shoot doesn't hurt, but before long, Pecos Smith, the hard riding, fast shooting "man" of the bunch discovers he is a she. And you can probably already imagine the scenarios that follow. This is a "traditional" western, the kind one associates with Zane Grey; it has the broad use of language and the vivid descriptions of the locale he is known for. It is a book well worth reading, and more than once.
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Wanderer of the Wasteland
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
For those of us who are nearing senior citizen age, there is no greater novelist of the West than Zane Grey. And indeed for the younger set, this book will probably not appeal to them, for it is long, and tedious at times. But the descriptions of the desert and of the times and of the people who Wansfell encounters in his search for self and for redemption over the "killing" of his brother are enough to counter the slowness of the novel. And yes, the book may seem dated in its style and colloquial language the characters use, but that is exactly how Zane Grey heard people speak when he encountered them in his travels in the West. I have been a ZG fan for over 40 years, and purchase every "new" book which is published, including those about the man, and it is easy to see that Wanderer of the Wasteland is autobiographical in nature--his life's story, his struggles, his losses, his journey of self discovery as to what the desert meant to him, and how nature and environment shapes lives. Don't dismiss this novel as "just another romance" by Zane Grey, but embrace it for what it was indended to be Zane Grey's Masterpiece--a story to be taken into one's own heart and used to reflect on one's own life. But even if you don't want to do that, this is still a book one can enjoy simply for the adventure.
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Valley Of Wild Horses
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The lead character, Panhandle Smith, has his life told from birth, and his nomadic lifestyle readies him for whatever is thrown in his way; and this is in essence the plot of this book. And he finds his "eldorado" in a rim-rock lined canyon filled with thousands of wild horses, worth a fortune if he can capture and sell them. Of course, one man stands in his way of capturing the horses and between him and the girl. It wouldn't be Zane Grey without the course of romance which never ran smoothly.
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Under The Tonto Rim
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When Lucy Watson takes on the job as a state welfare worker she never dreams what a change will take place in her life among the back woods men and farmers of Cedar Ridge. Her sole aim in life was to help these people live better lives and to lift them out of the poverty she "sees". But love comes her way in the form of Edd Denmeade, a slender wedge shaped man giving the impression of extraordinary strength and suppleness. To complicate matters, Lucy's sister, Clara comes and only adds to the discomfiture of the local boys. This book is classic Zane Grey as only he could pen. Originally titled, The Bee Hunter, for magazine publication it tells of the simple life, the primitive life, the settlers in a wild and rugged country faced and continued to face as they entered the 20th Century. The romance is there, the opposition and the rivalries between families; the fantastic descriptive prowess of Zane Grey displayed in all of its fullness. It's a good romantic novel to settle down with on any given evening.
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Twin Sombreros
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Twin Sombreros is a piece of fluff. I say that not in a disparaging or hurtful way, but merely to say, it is a typical Zane Grey book--"what everybody knows he writes"--and when this book was written during the middle to late 1930's, ZG had pretty much become the writer everyone already said he was--a writer of "westerns", "the sum of which could be written on the back of a postage stamp" one critic decried. Indeed, his best years were behind him; he had said everything he needed to say in such great tomes as Riders of the Purple Sage, The Man of the Forest, Wanderer of the Wasteland, and others. Here he is just writing for profit, and there wasn't much profit to be made during the Great Depression. If it had not been for his wife, Dolly, who managed the business end of things, Zane Grey would most likely have gone bankrupt. Still, with all that being said, Twin Sombreros is a light-hearted, good western filled with action, romance, and remarkable characters, including Brazos Keene, last seen leaving Holly Ripple's ranch in Knights of the Range. I'd recommend it.
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To The Last Man
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Graham-Tewskbury feud on which this story is based is as legendary out West as the Hatfield-McCoy feud is back East. Zane Grey, of course, adds his own twist to the facts, but over-all this is probably the most accurate accounting there will ever be, as Zane Grey was able to talk to old-timers who were still living and had gone through the feud. The one scene with the hogs is the one most readers will never forget, and is based on fact. The "Romeo and Juliet" part is consistent with other romances written by Grey, and has to be in the story line to make it historical romance, which is what he considered himself to be writing---not westerns! In fact, the word, or term, "western" was not even coined until around 1930. By then Zane Grey had been writing this kind of stories for 20 years. We do an injustice to him when we say, "oh, the writer of westerns" when his name is mentioned.
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Thunder Mountain
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Thunder Mountain is a surprise from beginning to end. You think you know what is going to happen, especially if you have read other Zane Grey books, but this one is different. The basic story is of three brothers, the Emersons, who come to Thunder Mountain seeking gold and discover something more--treachery, robbery, murder, vengeance, and for one brother love. From crooked gambling establishments to saloon after saloon, the miners were lured to squander their hard earned gold--the unscrupulous preyed on the unsuspecting or naive, the tenderfoot, the newcomer to the occupation of mining. But someone had to stand against these men, and Kalispel Ermerson was the one to take on the task. This novel is full of characters who faithfully depict those who lived during these wild, tumultous, harrowing circumstances known as "gold fever". Rough, raw, edgy, this book will earn you a new respect for Zane Grey as a writer.
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Wolf Tracker
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Walter J Black edition of this book is relatively rare, but not nearly as rare as the Harper's edition of 1930 which consisted of only 98 pages. The edition is a fine representation of the content of the story.
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Vanishing American 1st Edition
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When I first read this book more than 40 years ago, I did not really appreciate it for the powerful book it really is, nor understood the full impact it made on the reading public at the time of its publication in the Ladies' Home Journal. Nor did I rate this book as highly as I did other Zane Grey novels; but with each successive reading the higher I place it against such work as Riders of the Purple Sage, or Heritage of the Desert. The Vanishing American IS a great work, one of ZG's finest. Marian Warner's and Nophaie's love story will reach you to your inner self, and the struggle the Indian faces as he battles for his soul in the face of Indian values verses the white man's will touch you and force you to look at your own relationship with God and nature. There is, nor has there ever been, a more powerful book dealing with this subject been written. And even though this one is fiction, and a romance, it tells it like it was, and for the most part afraid still is today on the Indian reservations. Indeed, a sad chapter in the nation's history. I cannot urge you enough to purchase this book!
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U P Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
What can one say about the greatest undertaking ever devised by man--the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's--and its exposition in story form by the greatest writer of the American West, Zane Grey. Historically accurate from beginning to end, descriptively unmatched by any other writer, and filled with characters enough to fill a mini-series. Of course, there is love found and love lost and then found again; it wouldn't be Zane Grey without that! But beyond the romance, the reader will find the heroism, the strength, the men and women with the kind of fortitude and vision that it took to make this country what it is today. And yes, there is a tragic side to the book. The passing of a life-style; the passing of a people--the Indian; for the progress of the railroad with its technology and its ability to bring huge numbers of people into the country meant the destruction of the Indian. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly for anyone--historian, or pleasure reader.
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Trail Driver
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is the story of the cattle drive. From Texas they came, where cattle had little value except for their hides, to Kansas and the railroad where each head was worth about twenty dollars. So a herd of 3000 was worth upwards of sixty thousand dollars--quite a sum back then, and even yet today. In this novel Zane Grey relates to the reader just what it was like for a group of cow punchers to drive a herd up the Chisolm Trail--the dangers, the rivers, the storms, the stampedes, the Indians. Yet, this is also the personal story of love, commitment, honesty, fortitude, and how each of us must face up to these obstacles. The character, Pan Handle Smith, shows up in this one--one of Zane Grey's great heros--to help deliver the cattle and use his guns. If you have ever seen the old TV show, Rawhide, this novels tells it like it really was. Of course, there is the romantic element, without which it would not be Zane Grey. A solid novel, well worth reading more than once.
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Thundering Herd
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Thundering Herd was the first book Zane Grey ever submitted to a publisher without his wife's editorial opinion of the work, or her "touching up" of the final draft. Undoubtedly she was the reason his work was so appreciated and adored by the women of the era. Case in point: This book was first published in The Ladie's Home Journal as a serial, even with all of the blood and gore and the vivid descriptive imagery Zane Grey was known to possess. To us today it seems amazing such a magazine would publish such a book, yet that is the power, the talent Zane Grey had to enthrall and entertain his readership; they couldn't get enough. Thundering Herd is the story of the buffalo and of their near extinction when hide hunters swarmed the plains killing them by the tens of thousands, and at the same time helping to eliminate the Indians by killing their food supply. This book pays homage to the buffalo. The hero, Tom Doan and the heroine Milly Fayre have a rather unique relationship in this book, and Milly's story is the most interesting. I encourage you to get this book and read it. It's worth the price.
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Shepherd Of Guadaloupe
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is perhaps the finest of the Zane Grey "war novels" dealing with the treatment the returning, injured war veterans faced at the end of WW1. Cliff Forrest is his name, and he embodied what Zane Grey saw in the unfair treatment of the crippled soldier who survived the war. Forrest believes he is to die, and the only thing he wants is to make it home to New Mexico before he dies. Virginia Lundeen, the daughter of the man who hated and hindered Forrest's father and who had encroached and settled on Forrest property and began a "feud", sees Cliff's plight. She knows of the injustice done to his family by her father and decides to fight with Cliff to restore the property and to win his heart. This is a poignant love story of a man who only dares to dream of such a woman as Virginia because he knows he is about to die; and the passion of a woman who encourages him and tries her best in every way possible to see he does not die. The Shepherd of Guadaloupe is a masterpiece of romantic, historical fiction any lover of that genre should want to read. Don't let the name Zane Grey drive you away because you think of him as a "western" author. I encourage you to get this book and enjoy the pleasure of reading a great, great book.
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The Rustlers of Pecos County
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Written earlier in his career, and in first person, this story about the Texas Rangers is typical "western" material. Having said that, I by no means mean this is inferior stuff, but you can see, if you are a devotee of Zane Grey that this book was a model for many of the more famous works that came later, making him famous. Many of his books are interconnected with scenes and prologues that are in other stories--provided you have read them all, and have a good memory. The one thing Zane Grey did not do well, in my opinion, is tell a fiction story well in 1st person. His fishing books, and camp and trail books are superbly told this way, but his fiction lacks something when he uses this literary device. This is still a good enough book to buy and read, so if you don't have it, get it, and enjoy.
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Reef Girl
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When this book was published in 1977 it was listed as the "last" novel. Since then those of us who love Zane Grey know other books have been released and who is to say when the "last" one will be printed. But this book is as good as any Zane Grey 'western' ever published since his death in 1939, in their "original" form by Harpers. Indeed, Zane Grey could have made a good living by writing about the South Seas and the ocean as he did by writing about the South West. True, at the time this book was presented for publication before he died, it was quite risque and daring for the Zane Grey personna, but hardly more so than other writers of the day. There are typical ZG characters in typical ZG settings, but his descriptive presentation is well worth the book all by itself. Zane Grey was unparalleled when it came to research into a subject and to being faithful to the time and place of the story. Yes, some of the language is dated; and yes, his characters do act in often outrageous ways; but they had to do so to carry the book to its proper conclusion. The Reef Girl is well worth reading.
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Ranger & Other Stories
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This book contains four of Zane Grey's best short novels, all of which were published in the 1920's in the magazine market, and collected here in one volume to give the public the opportunity to read the best of the best. No one knew the Old West like Zane Grey. He traveled extensively over the region, learning the lay of the land, and the tales spun by the old timers who were still around. He got to know the land and the people who settled it, and out of that relationship came these stories--The Ranger, about a Texas ranger who risks his life to rescue the woman he loves; Canyon Walls, about an outlaw wanting to go straight who finds a family who will take him in, with no questions asked; Avalanche, about two brothers who fight over a beautiful girl who.....; and From Missouri, about an Eastern female school teacher who ventures West with unrealized dreams on her mind. These are the "bread and butter" type of stories Zane Grey wrote, and the female readership of the day couldn't get enough. It was the fact over 50 percent of his readership were women, and he didn't disappoint as many of the lead characters in his books were women, strong women, women who knew their minds, and had the nerve to back it up with action. Get this book, and read it for yourself. If you have never read a Zane Grey novel before, these stories are a great introduction to him.
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Rainbow Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Rainbow Trail brings closure to the novel Riders of the Purple Sage. It answers the question, What happened to Jane and Lassiter? But more importantly, it opens up a new series of events and characters that a reader can identify with and become emotionally involved with. Zane Grey knew how to get the reader hooked and then keep him on the line to the finish, just like he knew how to fish for world record sharks in the ocean. With the back drop being the desert and plateau and canyon country of Utah and Arizona which Zane Grey could so vividly and memorable describe in words no other author has managed to emulate, he tells a story so unique and compelling that I am sure when it was published no one could resist to read it, especially since it brought Riders to a conclusion. Standing alone, it holds up just as well today. A defrocked minister comes west after hearing the story of Fay Larkin, and Jane and Lassiter, from two of his parishioners and decides to hunt for them, and in so doing find himself and his God. The twists and turns he faces in his search make for good mystery and good romance. I proudly recommend it.
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Mysterious Rider
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Mysterious Rider perhaps would have been better titled, Beauty and the Beast, and I am not in any way being disparaging. Zane Grey used the same type of plot lines for many of his books, and then added an extra character to bring the book to its logical conclusion. A young girl, the adopted daughter of a wealthy rancher, is forced to marry the rancher's no-good, drunk of a son, while the young girl loves another cowboy as different from the son as could possibly be--a similar scenario is found in Heritage of the Desert. But here a "mysterious stranger" is on the scene to make things right. And we can all guess who this "mysterious stranger" is, can't we? If you can't guess, I'm not going to tell you and ruin the book. Still, having said that, this book is a good Zane Grey romance told as only the master of historical romance could tell it, and worth reading--even more than once.
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Maverick Queen
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Maverick Queen is an exceptional book that is based on a real incident which happened all those years ago. When first printed in this form it had certain parts excised out--such as what Kit Bandon did for a living in addition to cattle rustling--and I'll let you guess what that was, or read the unexpurgated version printed by Pocket Books in 1982. But this is the story of Linc Bradway who is on the trail of the person who killed his best friend and the trail leads him to South Pass Wyoming, a town over run by gamblers and gunfighters. There he meets Lucy Bandon, Kit's niece, which complicates matters quite a lot. But then with Zane Grey the course of true love never ran smoothly. The resolution to Linc's situation and the final scenes in the book make it one of Zane Grey's most powerful books. I highly recommend it.
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Man of the Forest
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Zane Grey begins to relate his ideas on ecology and the loss of the natural resources; as well as telling us a story about a "loner" who is uncertain about his own future. Yet, when Helen Rayner appears to be in "real" trouble he leaves his solitariness to defend and befriend her and her little sister who have come west to visit relatives, and to escape a past. There are some good characters and characterizations in this book that lend creedence to the research of location and personage as only Zane Grey could do it
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Lost Wagon Train
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
I'm sorry, but this is one Zane Grey book I do not like. I have only managed to read the entire thing just one time. It's boring; it's flat; it's unbelievable. Stephen Latch, the main character, is not some one you can have any sympathy for, or at least be able to think, well, maybe, perhaps; or even have any mercy for. I'm not some one to criticize an author for what he writes because I know he has something he wants to say, or an opinion; but I just don't understand what Zane Grey was doing with this book. My advice is skip it, and pick a better one and then come back to this one. I know not every book an author creates is perfect, or great; Zane Grey just missed this time out.
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Lone Star Ranger
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
What has traditionally been one of the best selling of Zane Grey's novels, and considered by some to be one of his best, I find far inferior to the two novels from which this book was created by the editors at Harper Brothers. The two novels, Last of the Duanes and Rangers of the Lone Star stand far above this book. There are too many missing events and characters in this version. The female love interest is completely missing in Part Two of the book and there are many other unanswered questions created by the melding of these two works. But, if one is to have a complete set of Zane Grey, then this book is collectable and readable; but NOT one of his best. It is however far superior to anything being published today. I'd say this book is average, or little below average.
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Light Of Western Stars
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Light of Western Stars is one of my favorite Zane Grey romances. And when easterner Madeline Hammond gets off the train near midnight and things begin to happen right away, you know that this is going to be a good one. Gene Stewart, the other half of the romance is a man's man with the traditional western values but who has at first kind of lost his way because of drinking too much. But that gets straightened out through the love of a woman. The cast of characters includes some cowboys, old time cowboys, you will never forget. There's an animal, a magnificent horse, in the story; an automobile, driven by a cowboy who loves to go fast and scare his passengers, and this plays a vital role in the climax of the story as only ZG can describe and tell it. This is another of his books which take place in contemporary times, written when these events were playing themselves out along the US-Mexico border. This is another of his books which is told primarily from the woman's perspective and would indeed appeal to the female reader; it's NOT a bang, bang shoot'em up with street duels and impossible violence, but realistic characters and events. It's a great book for anyone to enjoy, a historical romance set in the West; not a "western". Buy it.
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Last Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Last Trail is the final installment of the trilogy Zane Grey wrote about his ancestors and the part they played in the American Revolution, and the establishment of the frontier. This book focuses on Jonathan Zane and Lew Wetzel both "border men" who either lived with the Indians, or as in Wetzel's case fervently hated the red man. But without the likes of either there was no way the frontier could be made safe for the influx of settlers. This is the country where Zane Grey grew up, fished, and tramped through the woods learning the woodcraft and skill to know of which things he wrote with unsurpassed accuracy, and it shows in his books. Romanticized, to be sure, yet accurate to a T in history, this book makes for a great read for anyone who wants to learn more about this country in its earliest of days. I recommend it without hesitation.
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Hash Knife Outfit
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Before you read this book I suggest you read The Drift Fence first. You don't have to, as they are independent enough stories to stand alone, but for the full effect and enjoyment they need to be read in order. In this story, Jim Traft's sister, Glorianna, arrives to visit her still tenderfoot brother, but there is trouble on the range as the Hash Knife Outfit is rustling cattle and terrorizing the Basin. As Glorianna is seeking adventure and excitement, she fully expects and wants to meet a "real desperado". When she does, she regrets her wish and becomes captive of the outfit. Her resolve and her growth as she faces this ordeal makes the book. There are enough fights and blazing guns to make this a "real" western--a Zane Grey western. And they are the best!
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Fugitive Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is a similar, but shorter version of "Shadow on the Trail" in that the main character is fleeing arrest and seeking some place to begin life anew. Only this time Bruce Lockheart is innocent; he took the blame for his brother. Also, and perhaps most distinctively, we find Trinity Melrose as she takes chase after Bruce, whom she loves and NOT the brother which is what Bruce believes. And Captain Maggard is determined to "ride the man down". Fugitive Trail is a fine book with few, if any, flaws--good and bad characters, nice pace, local color, historical personages appear--a Zane Grey book I approve and recommend.
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Dude Ranger
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This book is mis-titled; it should be, The Dude Rancher, as Ernest Selby is a greenhorn from Iowa who inherits an Arizona ranch from his uncle, only to find himself pitted against a crooked foreman and his band of outlaws. Many are his trials and tribulations--some quite comic--which he has to overcome after pretending to be a cowboy on his arrival. The foreman, John Hepford, Anne's father and Selby's love interest, is suspected of dishonesty by Selby's partner, Nebraskie Kemp, who has taken a liking to Selby after an initial disliking. All in all this is an entertaining book, fast paced, easily read, no inherent, hidden plot devices, a simple story told well by the master of western fiction.
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Drift Fence
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This novel and its companion work, The Hash Knife Outfit, need to be read together to get the full effect of what Zane Grey was trying to depict. Be sure to read this one first. This is another Tonto Basin story, based in fact, told with the excitement and language inflictions only Zane Grey could tell. The embodiment of the story is this: Jim Traft had never been west. He didn't know cattle. But his uncle makes him foreman of the Diamond ranch. Molly Dunn, the sister of the fastest gunfighter in the Tonto, Slinger Dunn, who by the way, threatens to hang Jim Traft's hide on the drift fence being built, falls in love with Jim. This is their story, of how Jim Traft earned the respect of his cowboys, fought to save the ranch from rustlers, and win Molly Dunn. I highly recommend it.
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Desert Of Wheat
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Whether you are an old hand, or a greenhorn who has heard of Zane Grey and willing to try one of his books, The Desert of Wheat will not disappoint....unless you are expecting cowboys on horses or shoot-outs in the streets. This book has neither, but it does give us a taste of the conditions which existed during the period of years surrounding the 1st World War--especially the activity and philosophy of a group called the IWW. There is espionage, arson, murder, and intrigue all set in the wheat growing district of Washington state known as the Columbia Basin. Also, as with any Zane Grey book the vivid descriptions of landscape and his fully rounded and well developed characters are there, as well as the romance, all heightened amid the backdrop of the War--a German father who hates America; the son who wants to fight for American; the daughter of a rich banker who will do anything to keep the man she loves from going to war. The theme, the intense interaction of the characters involved make for one of the best of Zane Grey. A note of reminder: This was a contemporary novel, written and set and published during the time period it displays, so some of the language may seem dated in places, but true to the period and times.
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Deer Stalker
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The actual driving of deer which this book relates was pretty much a fiasco; but the fact the Forest Service even tried to round up deer and drive them like cattle is historical fact little known today. The reason for this attempt was: The deer were starving due to over population caused by the eradication of natural predators, and the "need" of some ranchers who wanted more government grazing land. Thad Eburne, the story's hero, speaking for Zane Grey as an advocate of conservation, a protector of nature and wildlife, and who hates the job he has been forced to do, just because of the ranchers, tries with all his energy to make the drive successful. Also, in the cast is Patricia Edgerton, a world famous model who has tired of her sophisticated life and seeks a change. She comes to the Grand Canyon and is awed by the magnificence of nature, and decides to stay for the summer visiting the other natural wonders of the area--The Petrified Forest, Monument Valley, and the like. She is seeking a new life, tired of the decadent lifestyle, and seeking value and worth in life. This theme Zane Grey used effectively in many other of his heroines--Carly Birch, Call of the Canyon; Madeline Hammond, The Light of Western Stars; etal. This is a well crafted book, well thought out and easily brings out the message Zane Grey intended.
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Day Of The Beast
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Day of the Beast will never be one of ZG's big sellers, and for years the ending left me wondering if he actually wrote the book this way; but I have come to know more about him as a person through my study of him as a writer and can now see what he was trying to say with this book. If you read this book for what it was intended, then you will not be disappointed. On the dust cover of the first printing of this book in 1922 it had these words in bold letters, NOT A WESTERN, as if to warn the potential buyer what they would be getting was not the usual Zane Grey fare, and most likely contributed to the low sales of the book. Harpers had no faith in this book, nor did ZG's wife, Dolly, who had urged him not to write it. This book may seem dated, the use of language and its descriptive qualities have changed somewhat, but all in all this book does a good job in depicting what was happening in the country following WW1.
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Camp Robber & Other Stories
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is the only true first edition of Zane Grey's works published by Walter J Black among the titles they reprinted over a period of thirty years. This collection of short stories or novellas contains some of the best short work by Zane Grey. Some of them have since then been reprinted in other collections, and stand alone volumes under other titles. But at the time of this printing none of these stories had appeared in book form. The lead story, The Camp Robber had appeared in McCall's Magazine in 1928; Amber's Mirage in Ladies' Home Journal in 1929; Fantoms of Peace in Munsey's in 1913; but the other three On Location; John Silver's Revenge, and Loose Bridles had never been published previously. All in all, this collection represents both Zane Grey's earliest work, and some of his later material written in the 1930's when his fame had waned, and the Depression had dried up many of the markets where he used to sell his work. That in no way lessens the value or content of the work, nor the entertainment one can enjoy from reading a Zane Grey story. I highly recommend this book.
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The Call of the Canyon
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Call of the Canyon is another of Zane Grey's "war novels" which is to say, it deals with the subject of the mistreatment of returning veterans from the first world war. But it is also the coming of age of a modern "sophisticated" woman who learns the real meaning of love, and what it means to love someone. The story has several scenes which take place in New York City as well as at Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona. For pure romance, this book can not be beat. Carly Birch is one of Zane Grey's finest female characters, and again I will say he often wrote from the woman's point of view which is why the vast majority of his work was published in the leading "women's" magazines of the day, and his readership was more than half women. So, ladies, please don't dismiss Zane Grey as a "western" writer; he was so much more than that.
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Border Legion
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Border Legion has without a doubt the greatest of Zane Grey's villains--the blond beast, Gulden, whose way with women was a rope and a cave, the most vicious and depraved of the border bandits. When Joan Randle decides to follow her 'boyfriend' Jim Cleve after he departs because of a quarrel she finds herself captured by this outlaw gang and held, only to find out Jim has joined them as well. (She had accused Jim of not being man enough to even be bad, so he sets out to prove her wrong.) This book is a fascinating look at what happens to men, I should say, mankind, when driven by their passions and left to revert to the barbaric when the environment is one of dog eat dog.
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Arizona Clan
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Lilley clan has a problem. And who should arrive on the scene but John "Dodge" Mercer, a gun man along the lines of Buck Duane or Brazos Keene, someone willing to use his skill to help someone in trouble. Yet, he had hoped to leave all that behind -to "dodge" trouble. But when illegal white mule whiskey and cattle thieves try to ruin the Lilleys, Dodge has no choice but to intervene. At first, Nan Lilley opposes his intervention to confront Hathaway's moonshine operation because Hathaway has a lien on Lilley property and might foreclose, but she finally concludes that it had to happen--that things had to get worse before they could get better for the family. This short, for Zane Grey, novel is one good enough to read because it is Zane Grey--there are no spectacular events, or people, just a solid story as only Zane Grey could tell it.
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Tappans Burro & Other Stories
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The lonely prospector with his faihthful companion, the lowly burro, receives the respect and admiration they so richly deserve in the title story in this collection of five short stories or novellas. The character of Tappan is your usual grizzled, haunted by the past, type; but his faithfulness and loyalty to his beloved partner more than makes up for the sterotype. Jenet, the burro, has a most prominent role in the story, and this story is as good as the ones ZG wrote about the lion dog, Don, or the wild stallion, Wildfire. The other stories in this collection are just as good, and these people come to life as only Zane Grey can make it happen. A solid group of tales of adventure ranging from the desert Southwest to the jungles of Central America. I recommend this book most highly.
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Sunset Pass 1st Edition
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Sunset Pass is vintage Zane Grey--what most people expect to find. Trueman Rock, a man who can use a gun to fight cattle rustlers and crooked men, when he returns home to Wagontongue, he expects trouble from his old enemies, but he finds new enemies as well. Ash Preston was the meanest, most violent man True has ever come up against, and not only that, the brother of the girl he loves, Thiry Preston. This is a good book; solid, with believable characters, reasonable, difficult situations for the hero and heroine to overcome, and romance as only Zane Grey can tell it. Four out of five stars is about right as to a rating. Good, but not great; better than almost anything written today. I recommend it.
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Stranger From The Tonto
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is another of the canyon country books with a hidden outlaw haven. Here lives the outlaw leader when not living a double life on the outside; there is an innocent young girl, and then a hero who is sent on a mission by his old friend to rescue the girl. In a scene reminiscent to the prologue of "Desert Gold" Kent Wingfield is told about Lucy Bonesteel and sent to save her. Riding and depending on his faithful horse, Spades, Wingfield enters the canyon hideout of Avil Bonesteel and his outlaw gang. On the outside Bonesteel is known as Luce Chaney respectable rancher and cattle dealer. This is a wonderful book, one of my favorites, and I think one anybody would enjoy as well--full of action, passion, and characters you won't soon forget.
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Stairs of Sand
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Before reading this book one almost HAS to read Wanderer of the Wasteland. This is in reality the conclusion of the other book, as it leaves many questions unanswered on the last page. Adam Larey, aka Wansfell the Wanderer, is here and his story is completed by the love of a woman, Ruth Virey. Helping the romance along is Merryvale, Adam's partner for the last four years of his wandering. Returning as well is Adam's brother, Guerd, and Collishaw, a fierce gunfighter and former sheriff from Texas. In Stairs of Sand, he runs a string of gambling halls, and with Guerd plans to steal the water holes along which he has learned the route of the new railroad would take. Ruth lives at Lost Lake,one of the water holes, and is abducted by Collishaw's cohorts, and eventually Adam kills Collishaw; but that does not end all of the complications Adam must face before Ruth can be his wife. Ruth had demons as well from her past which she has to face and conquer and climb. Stairs of Sand is an apt sequel; is more readable, faster paced, more action than Wanderer; a fitting conclusion to Adam Larey's story. You need to read it.
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The Spirit of the Border
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Spirit of the Border is the second book in the Ohio Valley Triogy composed of Betty Zane, the first book Zane Grey ever wrote, and The Last Trail. All three books detail the life of the Zane family as they carved out a home and community in what was then the frontier, or the 'west'. Historically accurate as to the characters involved, except for the lead hero and heroine, these books are great history about a time and a place few people know about--the years leading up to and just after the American Revolution, and how these early pioneers lived, the conditions they faced, the outlaws they encountered, and the Indians who either made life miserable or who could become your greatest ally in survival. The chapters dealing with the Moravian missionaries and the settlement the Indians called the Village of Peace and its destruction are worth the price of the book all by themselves. This book is an excellent read.
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Shadow On The Trail
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
In the forward of this book, Zane Grey poses a question which he attempts to answer with this novel: What became of so many desperate outlaws who were never heard of again? From this single query which he asked himself, Zane Grey produces one of his best works of historical fiction. "Ride the Man Down!" was the cry of the Texas Rangers whenever an outlaw would escape, and the Texas Rangers were kind of like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police--they always got there man--almost. Wade Holden, but with a new name, Tex Brandon, and added facial hair, a beard, rides far and wide in search of someplace he could live out his days, live down his past, and he finds it on an Arizona ranch. Their he is introduced to the daughter of the ranch owner, Jacqueline Pencarrow, and they fall in love, yet he fears, "the step on his trail". How this is resolved make for an exceptional novel, a triumph of human spirit and emotion, as seen through the eyes and heart of someone who can't believe in the possible. As one of his later works, this book excels in every aspect--speech, description, characterization, plot, and resolution. Five of Five Stars without question!
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Rogue River Feud A Western Story
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is perhaps my favorite of all the Zane Grey "war novels" ---and it's NOT A WESTERN---except for the fact it is set in Oregon. Keven Bell has come home from WW1 a changed man, and he comes home seeking something to live for, having been injured in a training accident which resulted in losing part of the vision in one eye and part of his jaw is missing--and Zane Grey having been a practicing dentist gets to use his talents in fixing his face. Keven is so changed his father does not recognize him; his father had not even heard from him in two years--the two years Keven spent recovering in the hospital. Worse, his father has little to offer his son, having fallen on hard times. Keven's one salvation is his love of fishing, and with the help of Garry Lord they begin a fishing business to sell salmon to the local cannery. In so doing they discover other fishermen who were illegally netting across the mouth of the river with a nets with opennings too small effective capturing all the fish. This book is Zane Grey's protest against this form of fishing in order to try to protect the salmon before they might be fished to extinction.
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Robbers Roost
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Hank Hayes was the leader of a band of outlaws hidden away in a deep, dark canyon. Jim Wall is the stranger who had lived on both sides of the law, and didn't care which one. When Helen Herrick is taken prisoner by Hayes, Wall has had enough and decides to do the "right thing" and save her if he can. Yet he knows that might be impossible considering where he is and with whom he is associated. Although dismissed by most critics as typical Zane Grey "drivel", it fills the bill for me because it offers true escapism that a lover of traditional westerns expects--fist fights, gun battles, fast horses, startling landscape and romance. Yes, the plot may seem trite and conventional by today's standard, but Zane Grey knew how to tell a story and keep you turning the page.
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Riders of the Purple Sage
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
What can one say about "Riders of the Purple Sage"? For as long as man has dreamed of the west, he has written about it or sought it out for himself. "Riders of the Purple Sage" has everything a person has come to know and understand that belongs in a story of the west--the taciturn gunfighter; the woman in distress fighting a losing battle; great scenery; fast horses; and evil men. Yet "Riders" is more than that. It has sub-plots upon sub-plots that keep the reader wondering what is going to happen next, and this book "fills the bill". And, what most people don't know or realize today, Zane Grey wrote quite often from a woman's viewpoint, and does so in this book. At the time of ZG's greatest popularity more than half of his readership were women, and he was published in such magazines as, Cosmopolitan, Colliers, and Ladies Home Journal. If you have never read a "western" I whole-heartedly urge you to try this one.
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Raiders Of Spanish Peaks
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
"Laramie's horse went lame, and as it was the only living creature he had to care for, he halted at mid-day, without thought of his own needs." With this opening line Zane Grey introduces another of his famous gunfighters, and with the addition of a couple of companions, he helps John Lindsey and his family settle in on the range known as Spanish Peaks. Lindsey had come west because of an illness in hopes the drier climate would ease his illness, but Spanish Peaks set smack dab in the middle of a dangerous gang of outlaws and cattle thieves who effectively controlled the area. Harriet Lindsey, the oldest daughter, is asked by her father to persuade Laramie to stay on at the ranch when it seems he is quitting so, "he can have a free hand" after Lenta is taken captive. Lindsey fears Laramie will simply ride on when the job is finished and they need him to head the protective organization, and he knows money won't keep him; so, it was only right the daughter is to persuade him to stay. Zane Grey is at his best creating conflict and romance.
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Nevada
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When Jim Lacy rides away for his partner, Ben Ide, he is at a loss as what to do. He had settled his debt to his friend in the book "Forlorn River" and despite having fallen in love with Ben' sister, Hettie, he knows the RIGHT thing to do was to ride away; for he was not worthy of Hettie's love. "Nevada" has always been considered one of Zane Grey's best loved and known works--much more so than "Forlorn River". And I really don't understand why that is the case. Unless the reason is: More people can recognize more of themselves with character of Jim Lacey than they can with Ben Ide. But for whatever reason this book has always been rated higher on the scale of Zane Grey's books. Nevada has left Ben and returned to Nevada where he known as Jim Lacy, and after a series of adventures and two passing years he overhears a conversation between his boss and a judge about his old friend, who is now in Arizona. Their suspicions about Ben cause Nevada to offer his services, as range detective, his only condition, if he lives through this ordeal, his name will be cleared. They agree. During these years, Hettie Ide has longed for Nevada, not undersanding why he had run away; for she loved Nevada, and love was all that mattered to her. Nevada IS one of Zane Grey's best books, I even rate it as high as its sequel, but I do like the first novel better, and I suggest you had better read "Forlorn River" first to make the story fully understandable.
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Majestys Rancho
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
In this the sequel to The Light of Western Stars written twenty years earlier, we are introduced to Madge Stewart, the daughter of Gene Stewart and Madeline Hammond, the hero and heroine of TLofWS. She is a fun-loving, "modern" girl that trouble always seems to find, and Lance Sidway, an ex-Hollywood hopeful because of his great horse, Umpqua; he himself shied away from being an actor, and he hated doubling for the "handsome Apollos" of the silver screen. This novel has gangsters and kidnappers, and cattle thieves who use trucks--just like those good old Gene Autry movies I love to watch. Is the book dated? Yes, somewhat, by the exaggerated slang ZG uses, and for which in later years he was harshly criticized, but overall this is a good book, a very readable one, an enjoyable time with the written word as only Zane Grey can produce.
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Lost Pueblo
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
First published as "The Water Hole" in Collier's magazine in 1927, this is the love story between a 20 year old spoiled rich girl who was never deprived of anything in her life, and a young archaeologist who is hoping to make the discovery of a "lost" pueblo. The distinct differences of personalities--she free and easy and wild, and he, quiet, reserved, "old fashioned"--is cause for quite interesting circumstances to erupt between them. It makes for a different kind of book, with lots of twists and turns as Janey Endicot and Phillip Randolph struggle with their relationship. At one point Phillip "spanks" Janey; something that could only happen in a Zane Grey story. There are villains and pseudo-villains, a kidnapping, and a near lynching--enough action and pace to go along with all the romantic difficulties. It's a good read.
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Knights of the Range
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The Knights of the Round Table go West is how this book has always been depicted in reviews over the years, but I am here to tell you: That is a gross misconception of this book. Actually, this is the story of a young woman, Holly Ripple, who loses her father and inherits a large cattle empire overrun with rustlers and desperados. And yes, a group of young devil-may-care cowboys, led by Renn Frayne, come to the rescue. The story is really all about her; her strength, her determination to build a ranch the likes of which had never been seen. Also, introduced in this book is Brazos Keene who shoots his way through this novel and stars in "Twin Sombreros". Knights of the Range is classic Zane Grey--not a spectacular book like the early novels, but a pleasurable, good read.
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Horse Heaven Hill
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
The editors at Harpers, believing it would make the book more Zane Grey decided to alter the time period of the piece by moving it back to the 1870's or 1880's instead of leaving it in the early 20th century as was originally intended by Zane Grey. The plot revolves around Lark Burrell, who grew up on a ranch in Idaho, her mother a Nez Perce Indian, who loves wild horses. She is forced to leave there when her father dies and go live with the Wades, distant cousins. Her cousin Marigold is engaged to Stanley Weston, a college graduate like Marigold, but he soon discovers after returning home to run the ranch for his invalid father that he has more in common with Lark than he does with Marigold. Lark knows ranching and loves wild horses. It all comes to a head when Hurd Blanding decides to capture a herd of wild horses to sell then for chicken feed--which both Stanley and Lark violently oppose. But only Lark has the will to immediately do something about it. This is typical Zane Grey romance with its usual conflicts and complications between the two eventual lovers; highly readable, easily enjoyable.
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George Washington Frontiersman
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
In this the "last" novel by the greatest of the Western authors, Zane Grey pay homage to the area of the country which began his long career as a writer--the Ohio River Valley, which includes Pennsyvania, Kentucky, Ohio and all of the "border" country arround the Allegany Mountains. Yes, this book has all of the historical data in all of its correctness, and yes, at times the book is slow because of this; but who is to say that this book is not one a person should not own to complete a collection of Zane Grey's works? Indeed, 50 plus years had elapsed between creation and publication, and maybe there is some doubt as to who really penned some of the words--ZG or an editor--but that happens with every book published. George Washington, Frontiersman is a well-crafted book, with real historical characters, acting out in real situations what happened in the years just prior to the American Revolution, and if you want to know the historical George Washington that is rarely, if ever, told in history classes, you need to get this book and read it.
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Forlorn River
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
For my money "Forlorn River" is the better of the two books that comprise the story about Jim Lacey, the other being its sequel, "Nevada". But the story of Ben Ide, a young man who is at odds with his father over whether Ben was going to amount to anything because Ben loved to chase wild horses, and Ina Blaine, the second daughter of Hart Blaine, who thinks his daughter's four years at college has given her some strange ideas, and who will not be forced to marry Sewell McAdam, the son of a business partner of her father, makes for a rare good time in reading. When Ben is accused of cattle rustling he is forced to abandon his ranch, so he sets out to find who the real thieves are, but becomes side tracked because he is given the opportunity to catch "California Red" the fastest, most magnificent piece of horseflesh known in four states. Nevada, as Jim Lacy is known, had arrived at Ben's ranch and without any questions or seeming curiosity Ben takes care of his physical needs and let's Nevada stay on, again without knowing in the least who he is. Very quickly they become fast friends, and Nevada the go-between for Ben and Ina because their fathers do not get along due to some deal in which Ina's father took advantage. This story ends with Ben marrying Ina, and Ben's sister Hettie pining away for Nevada who leaves. This is an excellent book I highly recommend you read.
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Fighting Caravans
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This is the story of the freight system that carried goods from St. Louis to Santa Fe, NM in the mid 19th Century, and the perils and dangers they faced as they crossed Indian country to deliver their merchandise. The hero, Buff Belmet, had to grow up fast after his mother and father are killed in Comanche raids. But aided by Kit Carson he delivers the goods over the trail. When he falls in love with May Bell, he encounters another enemy even worse than the Indians--Lee Murdock--who wants not only the girl for himself, but the valuable supplies. Fighting Caravans is an historical novel with real people who lived during the period who appear or are mentioned as the story line progresses. A fine read.
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Dorn Of The Mountains
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Dorn of the Mountains is the novel, The Man of the Forest, by Zane Grey published as he wrote it before the editors got a hold of it. Five Star/Gale/Cengage is doing a wonderful thing by bringing out these Zane Grey masterpieces as he wrote them, so we as Zane Grey fans can "see" the real Zane Grey. It's a battle every writer fights when he writes something and wants to get it published--compromise. Even the great ones faced this, even after they became great. In the Man of the Forest version the lead male character is Milt Dale; here he is Milt Dorn. The reason for the change was this novel was first published in 1918 and angry German sentiment was running high because of the 1st World War. But in this book Zane Grey begins to relate his ideas on ecology and the loss of the natural resources; as well as telling us a story about a "loner" who is uncertain about his own future. Yet, when Helen Rayner appears to be in "real" trouble he leaves his solitariness to defend and befriend her, and her little sister who have come west to visit relatives, and escape a past. There are some good characters and characterizations in this book that lend creedence to the research of location and personage as only Zane Grey could do it. I HIGHLY recommend this version; it is far superior to the "original".
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Heritage Of The Desert
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Perhaps, with the exception of Riders of the Purple Sage, Heritage of the Desert is the best western Zane Grey ever wrote. It combines every thing one expects to find in the genre, and then adds a little bit more you don't expect to find. It is the basic story of a young man, John Hare, who has come west to regain his health and to find his place in life only to be branded "Dene's spy" and becomes a hunted man. There is the Mormon element, only in this book they receive favorable treatment by Zane Grey; there are animal heros; a faithful Indian companion to the heroine, a half-Indian girl, Mescal; rustlers and land thieves; a favored son gone bad; and the canyon country of Utah described as only the master detailer can depict it in all of its glory and spendor. With this book Zane Grey set the standard by which he himself had to live up to with each succeeding novel, and HE DID. This edition is based on the Harpers edition of 1910 so is faithful to the original printing. However in the last few years books have been published based on Zane Grey's holograghic or hand written manuscripts and the parts which editors at Harpers had deleted have been restored sometimes lending new insight as to just what Zane Grey was trying to say in his books. But if you can't afford one of them this book will do just fine to introduce you to Zane Grey, if you are not already a fan. This is a fantastic book. There is not much more I can say to give it praise.
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Desert Gold
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
I'll admit: The first time I started to read this book I only got as far as the prologue, and I quit. This was 40 years ago. Instead, I picked up another Zane Grey book and read it. Then I came back to this one. Boy or boy what I could have missed! by not reading this one! Once you get past the slow and dry prologue, the book takes off like a bullet and never slows down. The hero, Richard Gale, a transplanted easterner, soon finds himself engaged in the border war between the US and Mexico. Set in contemporary times, at least when it was written, it detailed the troubles along the border at that time--events appearing in the newspapers on a daily basis. Along the way, you will meet one of ZG's greatest Indian heroes, Yacqi, and one of his vilest of villains,the Mexican Rojas. And the fight scene between the two is more than a classic; it's one never to be forgotten, nor repeated by any writer at any time. There is a secret which must be revealed as well, which affects the life of Nell Belding, and her relationship with Richard. For sheer excitement and romance and history, buy this book for yourself and have an enjoyable time getting lost in Zane Grey's West.
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Code Of The West
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When the area that is left of the 100th meridian on the map is looked at, the first response is, "THE WEST". Along with that goes, "the code of the West". School teacher Mary Stockwell is joined out west in the Tonto Basin of Arizona by her sister, Georgianna, sent there by her parents because of her outrageous behavior which has caused a "bad" lung. And her doctor, Dr. Jones, agreed: "Georgie had danced and gadded herself into a rundown condition." Code of the West is another Zane Grey novel which speaks to the riotous and unrestrained times in the country. To say Zane Grey was a moralist might be going too far since certain things concerning his life have been revealed in recent years; but he did not smoke nor drink, and he saw such behavior as was exhibited by the younger generation, especially as bad, and as injurious to the country, so he wrote against these social problems whenever he could. Laying all that aside, Code of the West, is an entertaining story with characters you will long remember,especially Tuck Merry,and with fond thoughts as you go back in time to the early years of the 20th century. For most today this is nostalgic, and romantic to think about, yet when this was published it was contemporary. It is indeed surprising when one examines the body of Zane Grey's work just how many of his novels were set in the time and day in which he wrote them, and not in the "Old West" of the 19th century. This is a most delightful book, I would advise anyone to read.
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Code Of The West
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When the area that is left of the 100th meridian on the map is looked at, the first response is, "THE WEST". Along with that goes, "the code of the West". School teacher Mary Stockwell is joined out west in the Tonto Basin of Arizona by her sister, Georgianna, sent there by her parents because of her outrageous behavior which has caused a "bad" lung. And her doctor, Dr. Jones, agreed: "Georgie had danced and gadded herself into a rundown condition." Code of the West is another Zane Grey novel which speaks to the riotous and unrestrained times in the country. To say Zane Grey was a moralist might be going too far since certain things concerning his life have been revealed in recent years; but he did not smoke nor drink, and he saw such behavior as was exhibited by the younger generation, especially as bad, and as injurious to the country, so he wrote against these social problems whenever he could. Laying all that aside, Code of the West, is an entertaining story with characters you will long remember,especially Tuck Merry,and with fond thoughts as you go back in time to the early years of the 20th century. For most today this is nostalgic, and romantic to think about, yet when this was published it was contemporary. It is indeed surprising when one examines the body of Zane Grey's work just how many of his novels were set in the time and day in which he wrote them, and not in the "Old West" of the 19th century. This is a most delightful book, I would advise anyone to read.
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Captives Of The Desert
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This novel when I first read it years ago I put back on the shelf giving it no higher than a three rating. It was readable. But subsequent readings have upped my rating to five stars, as either my taste in literature has changed, or I have come to appreciate Zane Grey more as a writer. I think perhaps it is the latter. In most of his novels, Zane Grey has something he wanted to say, be it environmental, or social commentary, or a plea for the returning WW1 veterans. Captives of the Desert has its social commentary on the sacredness of marriage, and its religious undertones--how the desert can take hold of a person and fashion them into its own image, or can exert a force, of an inexplicable kind, to bring peace and contentment over the soul--a communing with God, so to speak. These are the concepts for which Zane Grey based most of his novels, and it has taken me years to figure this out and understand why he sometimes used the plot devices he used. "Desert Bound" was the magazine title for this novel and that title is even more appropriate. This is a complex novel. The ensemble of characters--a mixture of westerners, native Americans, and easterners coming for health reasons--and the principles' stories are laid bare for the reader to either sympathize with, or assuredly hate; there is little or no middle ground. Zane Grey writes with a woman's voice, a woman's point of view, as he does in other works. This book deserves to be read and more highly respected.
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Cabin Gulch
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Cabin Gulch is the restored version of The Border Legion and has without a doubt the greatest of Zane Grey's villains--the blond beast, Gulden, whose way with women was a rope and a cave, the most vicious and depraved of the border bandits. And as in earlier works by Zane Grey this novel had undergone many editorial changes demanded by his publisher before they would print it. Things today which seem very tame indeed, but yet his editors felt did not belong in fiction, regardless of how historically accurate Zane Grey was being to actual events upon which this book was based. When Joan Randle decides to follow her 'boyfriend' Jim Cleve after he departs because of a quarrel she finds herself captured by this outlaw gang and held, only to find out Jim has joined them as well. (She had accused Jim of not being man enough to even be bad, so he sets out to prove her wrong.) Cabin Gulch is a fascinating look at what happens to men, I should say, mankind, when driven by their passions and left to revert to the barbaric when the environment is one of dog eat dog i.e. "survival of the fittest" a phrase used by Darwin and popularized by Zane Grey, as he subscribed to some of Darwin's theories, as seen in many of his novels as he expressed his philosophy of life, and concerns for America in his writings. But if one goes beyond any "hidden" agenda and reads this book as a novel of escapism and adventure and romance it is a good read I think you will enjoy.
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Boulder Dam
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Boulder Dam is one of Zane Grey's best books, and it shows in his text. Every aspect of the construction is detailed with vivid description and accuracy. This book shows his care and love for his work as a writer of "good" historical romance. The wild and wooly west was still alive and present when the dam was built and Zane Grey covers the kind of illicit activity was occurring when construction was taking place, and he tells of the dangers the men faced as the dam came into existence. The story is told through the eyes of one man who performs nearly all the jobs that made the dam possible, so the reader gets to "see" for himself what a colossal undertaking this was. Along the way he meets a girl in trouble and he helps her and, of course, falls in love. This is an excellent book and it makes one wonder why it took so long to get it published either before or after his death. Zane Grey is synonymous with the West and this book does not disappoint because it is "all there"--everything you would ever want in a book by Zane Grey. Five Stars all the way!
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Black Mesa
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
When this book was published in the mid 1950's, some 15 years after Zane Grey died, it under went considerable editorial changes by Loren Grey to make the book publishable. How much is the original, and how much is Loren's is subject to debate, just as is Valley of Wild Horses which was amended and enlarged by a "ghost" writer to make it long enough, or so the editors at Harpers thought. Black Mesa is a complicated book to follow in the many plots and subplots, but overall if one can keep the time and place of the action in your mind, then this book is a readable one. Paul Manning the main protagonist is a beginning writer, hurt by a woman, has fled to the desert because his friend Wes Kintell tells him it will either kill him or cure him. And once again, nature does what nature does in affecting the characters in this book. Zane Grey grew up in the era of Darwin's theory of evolution--survival of the fittest--a phrase made popular by Zane Grey in his works. Aside from that, this is also a story of the harsh and sad treatment of the Indian by the white man which Zane Grey told fantastically in The Vanishing American. There are characters in this story you will never forget, and situations you thought could only happen in books, yet are real, as Zane Grey traveled to every place he wrote about and gathered information from the "old timers" who were still alive when he visited these places.
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Betty Zane
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
For a first novel, Betty Zane, has to rank as one of the best ever done by an inexperienced writer. And why it was rejected so many times is still a question many people must ask themselves after reading this book. Guided by a journal left by his ancestors Zane Grey crafted one of the most notalble works about one of the final battles of the American Revolution. Along the way, the reader will encournter many members of the Zane family, Lew Wetzel, and the Girty brothers, all real people; and Betty Zane, the heroine who saves Fort Henry. This book gives you a feeling of what it would have been like to live at that time and in that place. It is only fitting that such a book was the beginning of a literary career unsurpassed in the genre of historical romance. Read this and its two follow up books, The Spirit of the Border, and The Last Trail.
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Arizona Ames
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
Zane Grey loved the Tonto Basin country of Arizona, and the stories he wrote about this area were based on stories the old timers who lived back then told him. Whether this is one of these or not is subject to debate; but what can be said is: The characters depicted and the ways they spoke are authentic to the time and place. Zane Grey has been overly criticized for his use of colloquialisms and phonetically spelled words, but he wrote it the way it sounded to him. x No, this is not the best ZG book, but it is considered one of his finest hero characters. McCall's magazine printed the initial offering of this work for the public, and for a "ladies'" magazine to offer it, it must have some appeal for the female readership. And it does!
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Tales of the Angler's Eldorado: New Zeland
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
I have been a Zane Grey fan for more than 40 years, and in just this year have I decided to purchase his "fishing" books. I always knew they would be good and well worth reading, even though I am not a fisherman at all. Yet it is Zane Grey, and the "fishing" books read like his other work--full of magnificent description of flora and fauna, and with plenty of action and adventure to keep one interested. This book is also filled with plenty of pictures and illustrations to keep you informed as you read the text. Zane Grey loved being the first at anything; going where no one had gone before; and through his writing we can go along with him as he battles gigantic swordfish, striped marlin, or fly fish for trout in the mountain streams of New Zealand. It did not matter what fish Zane Grey was catching, as it was the catching which was important to him. If you are in to fishing, or would just love to read about adventure and travel then this book is for you.
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An American Angler In Australia
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 24, 2020
This was the last fishing book published while Zane Grey was alive, and it certainly shows his love of Australia, and the belief the seas surrounding her coast was excellent for fishing. This book contains the usual descriptive quality for which ZG is known, and also gives the reader his opinion on various subjects;and you are left with little doubt where he stands on any of them. The photographs of the many sharks and other fish he caught while on this trip are also quite fascinating. A well put together travelogue of places and activities one must visit when in the land down under. Whether you are a fisherman or not, this book will satisfy you as it is Zane Grey at his best, describing what he loved to do. Elsewhere, it has been reported he fished an average of 300 days a year. This may not be his best book on fishing, but one I'm sure you will enjoy.
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Silvermane: A Western Quartet
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
Silvermane is comprised of four shorter works. The title story first appeared in a paperback in 1979 titled The Rustlers of Pecos County as part of a double-header of “never before in paperback” stories. It had also appeared in a Walter J. Black hardback, The Wolf Tracker in 1975 using the title, Lightning. Tappan's Burro had appeared in the Ladies’ Home Journal in 1923; and Tappan's Burro is probably the most famous of these works, and it along with these others, have been returned to the imagery and mastery of Zane Grey—not some editor's idea of Zane Grey. Canyon Walls was also published in Ladies’ Home Journal in 1930.From Missouri, was a story having seen first light in McCall's magazine in 1926. This story appears as written by Zane Grey using his holographic manuscript, as the magazine version differed from what he wrote to some extent, but not nearly so much as the one published by Harpers in 1960 in the collection The Ranger & Other Stories which it has now been revealed to have been re-written by Tom Curry for appearance in that volume. These four stories will help reveal the real Zane Grey.
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War Comes to the Big Bend: A Western Story
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
Whether you are an old hand or a greenhorn who has heard of Zane Grey and willing to try one of his books, War Comes to the Big Bend will NOT disappoint....unless you are expecting cowboys on horses or shoot-outs in the streets. This book has neither, but it does give us a taste of the conditions which existed during the period of years surrounding the First World War, especially the activity and philosophy of a group called the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World—a real organization at the time. There is espionage, arson, murder, and intrigue all set in the wheat growing district of Washington state known as the Columbia Basin. Also, as with any Zane Grey book, the vivid descriptions of landscape and his fully rounded and well developed characters are there, as well as the romance, all heightened amid the backdrop of the War. There is a German father who hates America; the son who wants to fight for American values; and the daughter of a rich banker who will do anything to keep the man she loves from going to war. The theme, the intense interaction of the characters involved, make for one of the best of Zane Grey.
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Union Pacific A Western Story
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
In 1916 when Zane Grey decided to write his first historical novel he selected the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad because of the stories his old friend and guide, Al Doyle, had told him around many a camp fire. He took his time to plan out a detailed outline of the book he intended to write and the themes he wished to have portrayed. Zane Grey’s ultimate objective was to rise to a higher level of literature. Union Pacific was a step up. A person can read for themselves what Zane Grey really intended to say: The end of “beauty, lonesomeness, silence, wilderness…(and on the last page) the Indian’s setting sun” because of the construction of this epic railroad.
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Rangle River
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
Rangle River, the title story from this collection, is set in Australia and is a good “cowboy” story and, as with most of Zane Grey's shorter works, he intensifies his characterizations. It's a good story, and probably the outline for his novel, The Great Trek. In a slightly differing form Amber's Mirage, the other short novel in this collection, was used as a prologue or the background for two other Zane Grey novels, Desert Gold and Stranger From the Tonto, but it stands well alone. There are two first-hand accounts of Zane Grey's travels found here as well—Don: the Story of a Lion Dog; and Nonnezoshe, the Rainbow Bridge, a story detailing Zane Grey's first trip to the Rainbow Bridge and through Monument Valley, a trip which inspired his early works—Riders of the Purple Sage, and The Desert Crucible. You will meet the Mormons and the Indians who taught Zane Grey about the west, and meet fictional characters you will want to read about again, and again in The Kidnapping of Collie Younger and Call of the County also known as John Silver’s Revenge. Whether fiction or non-fiction Zane Grey cannot be beat when it comes to description of times, places, or people.
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Rangers Of The Lone Star
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
Rangers of the Lone Star, parts of which were published in the 1970's as The Rustlers of Pecos County using different character and place names. It is one of only a handful of Zane Grey fiction books written in first person. Personally, my opinion is: With the exception of Western Union Zane Grey didn't handle first person prose very well when writing fiction. However his fishing books and outdoor stories are excellent in this format. But aside from that, this book is a basic shoot-em up written early in his career, rejected by Harpers editors, and eventually combined with another book, Last of the Duanes, to form what many consider one of Zane Grey's best, The Lone Star Ranger. To fashion and custom of the times, this book is historically accurate and well crafted. But for me it just lacks the one element to make it great which I have yet to put my finger on. It's not bad; there are others just better.
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Last Of The Duanes
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
The premise for this novel was the fact, even the desire, to live by the gun and the bloody desire to kill comes from the blood line of the father who was the same kind of man. This says much about the period of time Zane Grey was born and lived in. Charles Darwin had a great effect on Zane Grey and much of the educational field during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th with his theories of natural selection and evolution. Today, we know Darwin was correct in some ideas and grossly wrong in others, but Zane Grey used these ideas and theories to his advantage in creating some of the best and worst characters in publishing history. Buck Duane is one of them. And, in what I call the companion novel with this one, Rangers of the Lone Star, it makes for an interesting read of how a man develops and either grows or regresses in his interaction with nature and society. Buck Duane undergoes tremendous changes in this book, and for that alone this book is worth reading.
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Buffalo Stampede
by
Zane Grey
Charles
, February 22, 2020
Buffalo Stampede is the story of the buffalo and of their near extinction when hide hunters swarmed the plains killing them by the tens of thousands, and at the same time helping to eliminate the Indians by killing their food supply. This book pays homage to the buffalo as Zane Grey originally intended. There is nothing triumphal about this book. The passing of the buffalo is heart rendering and even sad, a powerful testimonial to a beast so native to America. The hero, Tom Doan and the heroine Molly Fayre have a rather unique relationship in this book, and Molly's story is the most interesting as they find each and lose each other and find each other during the course of the story. Molly is a heroine of the same type as Betty Zane, in that she is young and innocent, but having mettle, pluck and courage. She manages to escape from her evil step-father, Jett, only to be trapped by a herd of buffalo which surrounds her wagon. She proves herself to be a fitting mate for Tom Doan.
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