Westerns

The American West is a favorite setting for adventure stories about lawmen, outlaws, cowboys, pioneers, Native Americans, homesteaders, and other adventurous spirits. Westerns often feature a strong, independent male hero and offer a lot of action and a fast-moving plot.

The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days, Andy Adams
Year of the Horse, Justin Allen
Luke Dawson: Wells Fargo Gun, Denny Andrews
Showdown at Deer Creek, D.J. Bishop
Come Sundown, Mike Blakely
A Long and Winding Road: A Novel of the Mountain Men, Win Blevins
Northfield: A Western Story, Johnny D. Boggs
Acres of Unrest: A Western Story, Max Brand
Border Snakes, Peter Brandvold
Territory, Emma Bull
Brother’s Keeper, Terry Burns
The Signal, Ron Carlson
West of Washoe: A Western Story, Tim Champlin
Matheson’s Legacy, James Clay
Shavetail, Thomas Cobb
The Elk-Dog Heritage, Don Coldsmith
Shootout on the Sabine, Kent Conwell
Gun Country, Ralph W. Cotton
The Chase, Clive Cussler
Deadwood, Pete Dexter
The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig
Aftermath, Jerry S. Drake
St. Agnes’ Stand, Tom Eidson
The Book of Murdock, Loren D. Estleman
Longarm and Shotgun Sallie, Tabor Evans
The Wild Girl: The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932, Jim Fergus
A Sudden Country, Karen Fisher
The Man from Laramie, T.T. Flynn
Shannon: The Road to Whiskey Creek, Charles E. Friend
Roy Bean’s Gold: A Western Story, W.R. Garwood
The Heritage of the Desert, Zane Grey
The Big Sky, A.B. Guthrie, Jr.
Tumbleweeds: Frontier Stories, Will Henry
A Crack in the Lens, Steve Hockensmith
The Shadow Riders, Owen G. Irons
The Fifth Ace, Loretta Jackson
Snake River Slaughter, William W. Johnstone
The Hanging at Leadville, Cameron Judd
Other Men’s Horses, Elmer Kelton
Etta, Gerald Kolpan
The God of Animals, Aryn Kyle
Hondo, Louis L’Amour
Drifter, Karl Lassiter
Three-Ten to Yuma: And Other Stories, Elmore Leonard
The Dangerous Dawn, Frank Leslie
Rhino Ranch, Larry McMurtry
Ghosts of Timber Wolf, V.S. Meszaros
Crucifixion River, Marcia Muller
A Tale Out of Luck, Willie Nelson
Stranger in Thunder Basin, John D. Nesbitt
Redemption Falls, Joseph O’Connor
Blue-Eyed Devil, Robert B. Parker
The Treasure of St. Woody, I.J. Parnham
The Hangings, Bill Pronzini
Stash, Robert H. Redding
Brady’s Revenge, L.W. Rogers
Black Rock Cañon: A Western Story, Les Savage
Shane, Jack Schaefer
The Hidden Truth, Michael Senuta
Rocky Mountain Revenge, Jon Sharpe
The Star Garden, Nancy E. Turner
North Star: A Barnaby Skye Novel, Richard S. Wheeler

You will find that many of the authors on this list have written other westerns. Among the prolific are: Johnny D. Boggs, Max Brand, Kent Conwell, Zane Grey, William W. Johnstone, Louis L’Amour, Jon Sharpe, and Richard S. Wheeler.

In recent years some authors have blended the western with other genres, such as Christian fiction and romance. If you would like help finding this type of western, Ask Readers Services!

St. Charles Public Library

For more reading suggestions, explore What to Read , or Ask Readers Services! 

JHL
REV. 5/10