Popular Western Books for Adults
Hundreds of books are added to the Library's collection each month. Here are the most popular Western books for adults.
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Of Mice and Men
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression A Penguin Classic Over seventy-five years since its first publication, Steinbeck's tale of commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss remains one of America's most widely read and taught novels. An unlikely pair, George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, grasp for their American Dream. They hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him. Of Mice and Men represents an experiment in form, which Steinbeck described as "a kind of playable novel, written in a novel form but so scened and set that it can be played as it stands." A rarity in American letters, it achieved remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films. This edition features an introduction by Susan Shillinglaw, one of today's leading Steinbeck scholars. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. (syndetics)
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Outlawed: A Novel
"The Crucible meets True Grit in this riveting adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West. In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all. Featuring an irresistibly no-nonsense, courageous, and determined heroine, Outlawed dusts off the myth of the old West and reignites the glimmering promise of the frontier with an entirely new set of feminist stakes. Anna North has crafted a pulse-racing, page-turning saga about the search for hope in the wake of death, and for truth in a climate of small-mindedness and fear"--
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains
Considered the greatest western of all time-- "When you call me that, smile " finds its origins in the book--this classic tells the story of the Wyoming ranch foreman known only as the Virginian, his courtship of school teacher Molly Wood, and his encounters with the murdering cattle rustler, Trampas. Made into a feature film no less than five times since it was first published in 1902, The Virginian was voted by the Western American Writers in 1977 as the greatest western novel of all time. The 100th Anniversary Edition, published in cooperation with the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, features specially commissioned art from contemporary western artist Thom Ross in two editions, a trade and a limited. The limited edition, signed and numbered by the artist, is encased in a clamshell box and also includes an additional Ross lithograph. (syndetics)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Lonesome Dove
The Pulitzer Prize-winning American classic of the American West that follows two aging Texas Rangers embarking on one last adventure. An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America. Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember. (syndetics)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Jump-off Creek
A reading group favorite, The Jump-Off Creek is the unforgettable story of widowed homesteader Lydia Sanderson and her struggles to settle in the mountains of Oregon in the 1890s. "Every gritty line of the story rings true" (Seattle Times) as Molly Gloss delivers an authentic and moving portrait of the American West. "A powerful novel of struggle and loss" (Dallas Morning News), The Jump-Off Creek gives readers an intimate look at the hardships of frontier life and a courageous woman determined to survive. (syndetics)
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Availability: Available
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The Son
Comanche Indian captive Eli McCullough must carve a place for himself in a world in which he does not fully belong -- a journey of adventure, tragedy, hardship, grit, and luck that reverberates in the lives of his progeny.
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The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Bo Mason, his wife, Elsa, and their two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks out his fortune--in the hotel business, in new farmland, and, eventually, in illegal rum-running through the treacherous back roads of the American Northwest.
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Availability: All copies in use
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The Last Crossing
The Last Crossing is a sweeping tale of breathtaking quests, adventurous detours, and hard-won redemption. Englishmen Charles and Addington Gaunt are ordered by their tyrannical industrialist father to find their brother Simon, who has gone missing in the wilds of the American West. Charles, a disillusioned artist, and Addington, a disgraced military captain, set off to remote Fort Benton on the edge of the Montana frontier. The brothers hire the enigmatic Jerry Potts, a half Blackfoot, half Scot guide, to lead them North, where Simon was last seen. Addington takes command of the mission, buying enough provisions to fill two wagons, and hires sycophantic journalist Caleb Ayto to record the journey for posterity. As the party heads out, it grows to include the fiery Lucy Stoveall, Civil War veteran Custis Straw, and saloonkeeper Aloysius Dooley. This unlikely posse becomes entangled in an unfolding drama that forces each one of them to confront personal demons. Told from alternating points of view with vivid flashbacks, The Last Crossing is a novel of ruggedness and salvation, an epic masterpiece set in a time when worlds collided, were destroyed, and were built anew. (syndetics)
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Black Hills Blood Hunt
"Deadwood, South Dakota. Miners flock there seeking fortunes, while cardsharps, bandits, and businessmen seek to deprive those who strike gold by means fair and foul. Legendary former lawman Seth Bullock plans to keep the peace by any means necessary --- especially when his good friend, President Theodore Roosevelt, is expected in town to celebrate the anniversary of Deadwood's founding. Delayed in Washington, the President has sent his wife and children to the boomtown ahead of his arrival. But Ambrose Neill, a former New York City policeman jailed by Roosevelt for corruption, has kidnapped the President's daughter. Backed by a gang of trigger-happy outlaws and supported by a ruthless senator, Neill plans to politically control the Commander-in-Chief before slaughtering him. But what Neill and his cohorts don't realize is that Roosevelt has gathered a deadly posse of rough riders including Bullock --- and the legendary father-son gunfighters Frank and Conrad Morgan --- who are more likely to bring the gang to justice dead than alive . . ."--FantasticFiction.com.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Red River Vengeance
"They rode into town like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four armed outlaws bringing their own brand of hell to Paris, Texas. First they rob the First National Bank. Then they take a woman hostage as insurance. When Perley Gates learns that local waitress Becky Morris is in the hands of these tough customers, he rides alone to get her back. Problem is, the outlaws are heading toward the Red River--straight into Indian Territory. That's where the ranch hands draw the line. But Perley won't give up. He manages to rescue the girl, but not before killing the gang's leader. Now he's incurred the wrath of the other three. come hell or high water, Perley has to get Becky across the Red River before three vengeful devils make it flow with their blood."--Back cover. (3/23/2023 11:27:36 PM)
Format: Large Print
Availability: All copies in use
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