Hey partner, thanks for stopping by our Western books site. Now, click a little closer to me, Brokeback style, and let’s talk about some great books.

Western Novels

Westerns have a solid unshakable place in the mishmash of American literature. While sci-fi, romance novels, mysteries, and even horror fiction have mass appeal in every language, Western paperbacks have a unique culture that belongs to Americans alone. Zane Grey sold a lot of books, but was never published in Farsi. Ditto Louis L ‘Amour. Western paperbacks can be found at yard sales, airport gift shops, and used books stores all over the US, and are still one of the most popular genres read today.

“True Grit” and Grits

The thing that makes the Western novel so, well, novel, is that our own folk history comes into play. The rugged cowhand, the wild and untamed cowboy, the frontier whore, the noble savage, and the doctor who removed limbs for a bottle of whiskey are all reoccurring characters in most Westerns. Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Jim Bridger, Eulalie Bonneville, Kit Carson, John Wesley Hardin, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and even George Armstrong Custer have all had biographies written about their adventures and mishaps in the Wild West. It should be noted that Custer’s  bio was oddly short.

Heck, we even gave the world the Marlboro Man, who was born out of the rugged Western book. In turn, the Marlboro Man gave us lung cancer.

Western Novels and Strikin’  Paper

Western books are great reading in the wintertime, preferably by a crackling hickory fire while the wind howls around the corners of the house.  A few hours with Bendigo Shafter, Chuckwalla Bill, and Augustus McCrae revisit the latter part of the 19th century, when America was just beginning to open up the wide open spaces of the West.  In addition, a big thick Western novel is just the book to leave in the bathroom for private reading.

Novels, Navels, and National Awards

The town of Lonesome Dove, on the Comanche crossing of the Rio Grande, is a fictional place, but Larry McMurtry managed to take all he knew about the West and distill it into a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about the last great cattle drive.  Zane Grey sold millions of books about broke gold miners, and Jake Logan wrote over 70 novels about John Slocum, a fictional character who manages to screw every eligible woman in sight, from preacher’s daughter to the schoolmarm. Western novels are not always about Western novelties, but sometimes include Western navels.

Western Book Bestsellers

America is lucky to have its “BrokeBack Moutains,” its “Comanche Moons,” and Zane Grey’s classic ‘Montana!” as part  of our literary heritage. No other country could come up with these tales, because the characters, flavor, and language belong to America alone. And on a cold night, somewhere in the 21st century, a young man can take down a well-worn Western book, open it up, and immerse himself in the hoarse voices of sweat-drenched cowboys pushing another herd of cattle to the crossing on the Red River.