The Westerners

by Zane Grey

Part history, part legend, an electrifying collection of stories, capturing the danger and excitement of the American West, features "The Ranger," which was originally published in 1929. Reprint.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Pearl Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short book, despite the title, the cover, and the famous author, is NOT a western! It is a light romantic romp, a love story between an wealthy eastern urban woman and a hardworking western man who is “clean” and “hard”. All the action takes place in Reno, Nevada, where the two youngsters “meet cute” in a joint effort to stop their mothers from getting divorced (this is in the 1930s — people travelled to Reno for divorces back then).

Besides the cover, which has nothing to do with the content, there are also a dozen or more full page illustrations of generic western scenes— none having anything whatsoever to do with this book.

A strange package, then. Even more strange is the fact there is another Zane Grey book called “The Westerners” (plural) which is a collection of short works and includes this romantic romp.

This volume, however, is just one love story, silly and predictable. The deceptive, fluffy packaging merits a one star demotion.

[Jenna Semon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of short stories in general. Some of these were fairly good and some I didn’t enjoy as much.

[Teri Heyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Zane Grey books off and on for years. The Westerners is a good selection of short stories/tales, including one by Loren Grey. I particularly liked the one about Death Valley which perfectly describes the desolate and colorful vista. I've been to Death Valley several times over the years and love the stark beauty of the landscape. Zane Grey has been one of my fav authors for many years. Of course, my fav is Riders of the Purple Sage which I've read several times.

[Delonna Oskouee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the short stories but.....

They don't compare in my mind to the novels ., no* I'm a little ashamed to say that I wasn't paying attention to the fact that this book full of short stories was written by Zane Grey. I recognized that the voice was different. But until I finished I still thought I'd read a book by Louis L'Amour.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by Zane Grey and his son, Loren, mostly set in the American West, except for the last two, which are set in Australia, and may be the most interesting of the bunch.

[James Reeves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like flow, very predictable.

Didn't care for the storyline. Wanted a more Western theme not modern Western.
.this was more of a soap opera.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice stories

[Mike Ely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story by Zane Grey but not his best work. I mainly read it since it's set in Reno, NV which is my birthplace. I'd recommend other westerns by Grey before reading this one.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

love it!

[Foxglow · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my life, I've heard of Zane Grey and how well he wrote. I didn't read him though, I'm not into westerns. However, I was camping and read through the novels I'd brought with me. I found "Riders of the Purple Sage" in a thrift store. It was amazing! I'm working my way through the rest of his work.

[Dm32blue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... some of the stories were okay but not a great example of Grey's ability. I highly recommend Woman of the Frontier by this author.