swap_horiz Stand Proud Alternatives

1

This House of Sky

Ivan Doig’s *This House of Sky* offers a deeply personal account of life on a Montana sheep ranch during the late 19th a...

Montana Ranching 1978 Ivan Doig

9.2 Excellent

2

Death Comes for the Archbishop

Death Comes for the Archbishop is a historical western novel by Willa Cather. It portrays the experiences of Father Seba...

Historical Catholic Church New Mexico 1927

9.1 Excellent

3

The Time It Never Rained

The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton portrays the profound impact of a prolonged drought on a Texas ranching family...

Texas Ranching 1973 Elmer Kelton

8.8 Great

4

English Creek

English Creek is a 1984 Western novel by Ivan Doig that serves as the foundational entry in his beloved Montana trilogy...

Montana Coming Of Age 1984 Ivan Doig

8.6 Great

5

The Day the Cowboys Quit

Elmer Kelton's The Day the Cowboys Quit is a 1971 historical Western novel inspired by the real-life 1883 Canadian River...

Texas 1971 Labor Elmer Kelton

8.3 Great

6

The Good Old Boys

The Good Old Boys is a 1978 Western novel by Elmer Kelton following a traditional, wandering cowboy struggling to adapt...

Character Study Texas 1978 Elmer Kelton

8.0 Great

7

Horseman, Pass By

Larry McMurtry's 1961 debut novel set on a Texas cattle ranch, exploring generational conflict between a rancher and his...

Coming Of Age Texas 1961 Ranch

7.8 Good

8

Fire on the Mountain

Edward Abbey's 1962 novel about an elderly New Mexico rancher who refuses to surrender his land to a government missile...

Resistance Ranching 1962 New Mexico

7.8 Good

9

Creek Mary's Blood

Dee Brown's 1980 epic novel tracing five generations of a Native American family across the 19th-century frontier, writt...

Historical Native American 1980 Dee Brown

7.8 Good

10

I, Tom Horn

Will Henry's I, Tom Horn is a 1975 fictionalized autobiography of the infamous frontier scout and hired gun, notable for...

Wyoming Historical 1975 Will Henry

7.7 Good

11

Comanche Moon

Written by Larry McMurtry in 1997, Comanche Moon is a notable Western novel that serves as the sweeping prequel to his P...

Texas 1997 Comanche Larry Mcmurtry

7.6 Good

12

From Where the Sun Now Stands

Written by Will Henry, From Where the Sun Now Stands is a 1976 historical Western novel that earned a Spur Award for its...

Historical 1960 Will Henry Nez Perce

7.5 Good

13

The Saga of Billy the Kid

The Saga of Billy the Kid is a 1926 biographical novel by Walter Noble Burns that significantly shaped the legendary myt...

Historical 1926 New Mexico Billy The Kid

7.4 Good

14

Leaving Cheyenne

Larry McMurtry's 1963 novel tracing a decades-long love triangle among two cowboys and a rancher's daughter in Texas, la...

Texas 1963 Ranch Larry Mcmurtry

7.3 Good

15

The Last Frontier

The Last Frontier is a 1941 historical Western novel by Howard Fast that chronicles the tragic true story of the Norther...

Historical 1941 Howard Fast Cheyenne

7.2 Good

16

Buffalo Girls

Larry McMurtry's 1990 novel told partly through letters by Calamity Jane, portraying the twilight of the Wild West along...

Historical Frontier 1990 Larry Mcmurtry

7.1 Good

17

Buffalo Wagons

Published in 1984, Buffalo Wagons by Elmer Kelton is a notable frontier adventure novel focusing on the dangerous commer...

Texas Western 1956 Buffalo Hunting

7.0 Good

18

Sam Chance

Benjamin Capps's 1965 novel portraying the life of a Texas cattleman across several decades, from the open-range era thr...

Character Study Texas 1965 Ranching

7.0 Good

19

This Old Bill

Loren D. Estleman's 1984 biographical novel following Buffalo Bill Cody from his frontier scouting days through the long...

Historical 1984 Loren D Estleman Buffalo Bill

6.8 Fair

20

Massacre at Goliad

Massacre at Goliad is a mid-twentieth-century historical Western novel that dramatizes the infamous 1836 execution of pr...

Historical 1965 Elmer Kelton Texas Revolution

6.7 Fair