A good read
On Jeff Arnold’s West we have reviewed or discussed various Western books – biographies and novels, mostly. There are about 120 so far. Others will follow. I thought it might be helpful for readers to have easy access to the books, so they are listed below alphabetically with links, and you can always find the list, which I will update as new essays are posted, at the top of the sidebar on the right under aae WESTERN BOOKS.
A Frontier Doctor by Henry F Hoyt; autobiography.
A Serpent’s Tooth by Craig Johnson; novel.
A Texas Cowboy by Charles A Siringo; autobiography.
Al Sieber, Chief of Scouts by Dan L Thrapp; biography.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy; novel.
Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson; novel.
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson; novel.
Bat Masterson: the man and the legend by Robert K DeArment; biography.
Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides; history.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy; novel.
Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B Parker; novel.
Brimstone by Robert B Parker; novel.
Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B Parker; novel.
Brimstone by Robert B Parker; novel.
Buffalo Bill and His Wild West by Joseph G Rosa and Robin May; biography/history.
Bugles in the Afternoon by Ernest Haycox; novel.
Cavalier in Buckskin: George Armstrong Custer and the Western Military Frontier by
Robert M Utley; biography.
Robert M Utley; biography.
Christmas in Absaroka County & Messenger by Craig Johnson; short stories.
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy; novel.
Cloudy in the West by Elmer Kelton; novel.
Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry; novel.
Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company by Harry Carey Jr.; memoir.
Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company by Harry Carey Jr.; memoir.
Crossfire Trail by Louis L’Amour; novel.
Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Dallas Stoudenmire: El Paso Marshal by Leon Metz;
biography.
biography.
Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry; novel.
Deadwood
by Pete Dexter; novel.
by Pete Dexter; novel.
Dear Old Kit: the Historical Christopher Carson by Harvey Lewis Carter; biography.
Death Without Company by Craig Johnson; novel.
Debt of Honor by Luke Short; novel.
Desperadoes by Ron Hansen; novel.
Escape from Five Shadows by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Faillir être flingué by Céline Minard; novel.
Fiddlefoot
by Luke Short; novel.
by Luke Short; novel.
Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Flint
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter; novel.
Gunman’s Rhapsody by Robert B Parker; novel.
Hard Money by Luke Short; novel.
Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson; novel.
High Noon in Lincoln: violence on the Western frontier by Robert M Utley; history.
High Vermilion by Luke Short; novel.
Hombre
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
I, Tom Horn by Will Henry (Henry Wilson Allen); novel.
It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West by Richard White; history.
Jesse James Was His Name by
William A Settle; biography.
William A Settle; biography.
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War by TJ Stiles; biography.
Joe Pepper by Elmer Kelton; novel.
John Ringo: The Gunfighter Who Never Was by Jack Burrows; biography.
John Ringo: The Gunfighter Who Never Was by Jack Burrows; biography.
John Wayne: The Life and Legend by Scott Eyman; biography.
John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas by Leon Metz; biography.
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson; novel.
Killoe
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson; novel.
Law of the Desert Born by Louis L’Amour; graphic novel.
Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter by Tom Horn and John C Coble;
autobiography.
autobiography.
Little Big Man & The Return of Little Big Man by Thomas Berger; novels.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; novel.
Lucky Billy by John Vernon; novel.
Monte Walsh by Jack Schaefer; novel.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy; novel.
Pat Garrett: The Story of a Western Lawman by Leon Metz; biography.
Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford by Scott Eyman; biography.
Pronto
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Raw Land by Luke Short; novel.
Raylan
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Rereading Frederick Jackson Turner, ed. John Mack Faragher; essays.
Resolution by Robert B Parker; novel.
Resolution by Robert B Parker; novel.
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey; novel.
Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard; novel.
Roughing It by Mark Twain; autobiography.
Saddle by Starlight by Luke Short; novel.
Shalako
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
by Louis L’Amour; novel.
Shane
by Jack Schaefer; novel.
by Jack Schaefer; novel.
Showdown at Yellow Butte by Louis L’Amour; novel.
Silver Rock by Luke Short; novel.
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson; novella.
Stage to Lordsburg by Ernest Haycox; short story.
Telling Western Stories by Richard W Etulain; literary criticism.
Ten Shoes Up by Gary L Stuart; novel.
Tennessee’s Partner by Bret Harte; novella.
The Adventures of Don Valiente and the Apache Canyon Kid by John Aragon & Mary
Walters; novel.
Walters; novel.
The Apache Kid by Will Henry; novel.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
by Ron Hansen; novel.
by Ron Hansen; novel.
The Bounty Hunters by Elmore Leonard; novel.
The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane; short story.
The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson; novel.
The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard; short stories.
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy; novel.
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson; novel.
The Earp Brothers of Tombstone by Frank Waters; biography.
The First Fast Draw by Louis L’Amour; novel.
The First Fast Draw by Louis L’Amour; novel.
The Friends of Pancho Villa by James Carlos Blake; novel.
The Furies by Niven Busch; novel.
The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco; novel.
The Gunfighter by Joseph G Rosa; history.
The Homesman by Glendon Swarthout; novel.
The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull by Robert M Utley;
biography.
biography.
The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill by Don Russell; biography.
The Lone Ranger, Volume 1: Now and Forever by Sergio Cariello and writer Brett
Matthews; comic book.
Matthews; comic book.
The Lone Ranger, Volume 2: Lines Not Crossed by Sergio Cariello and writer Brett
Matthews; comic book.
Matthews; comic book.
The Mammoth Book of Westerns, ed. Jon E Lewis; short stories.
The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte; novella.
The Philosophy of the Western, ed. Jennifer L McMahon & Steve Csaki;
philosophy.
philosophy.
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout; novel.
The Significance of the Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner;
history.
history.
The Son by Philipp Meyer; novel.
The Spoilers by Rex Beach; novel.
The Valles Caldera by Gary L Stuart; novel.
The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales by Forrest Carter; novel.
The Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch novels by Robert B Parker.
The Virginian by Owen Wister; novel.
They Called Him Wild Bill by Joseph G Rosa; biography.
Three Bad Men by Scott Nollen Allen; biography (of John Ford, John Wayne and Ward Bond).
True Grit by Charles Portis; novel.
Twelve Peers by Max Brand; novella.
Vengeance Valley by Luke Short; novel.
Warlock by Oakley Hall; novel.
Wildwood Boys by James Carlos Blake; novel.
Warlock by Oakley Hall; novel.
Wildwood Boys by James Carlos Blake; novel.
Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal by Stuart N Lake; biography.
Wyatt Earp: the life behind the legend by Casey Tefertiller; biography.
6 Responses
I have a big box of western novels in my attic, mostly bought by me c. the late 1950s. From time to time I feel the need to pull one out and read (or even re-read) it. There can be something very satisfying about reading a good western novel (a bit like watching a western film and yet a quite different experience). Elmore Leonard, Ernest Haycox, Max Brand, Luke Short, Louis L'Amour and many lesser-known names – all worth reading.
Enjoyed your list, Jeff.
I too have a big pile of Western books which I re-read from time to time. Elmore Leonards and Luke Shorts are my favorites!
Jeff
Hi Jeff
Another good read is 'Skeletons' by Swarthout: sort of a modern crime novel situated in a typîcal western town, with flashbacks to the past in the 19th century.
I always liked this one.
Bart
Thanks for the tip!
Jeff
Jeff, one day you might add The Wonderful Country by Tom Lea – also a well respected painter and artist with a very interesting life -, a great novel far different from its – excellent though with probably one of the best Bob Mitchum role – film adaptation. It has benn published in French under the French film's title L'Aventurier du Rio Grande by Actes Sud with its original Lea's sketches, thanks to Bertrand Tavernier ever lasting efforts. JM
Thanks for the tip. I haven't read that one – yet!
Jeff