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Tales of Lonely Trails
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300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1922
126 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Zane Grey
2,112 books592 followersPearl 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 27, 2018
Four hunting holidays with the godfather of the Western.
The first trail is through Monument Valley, the site of so many Westerns, then onto Nonnezoshe Boco, the Rainbow Bridge, at that almost inaccessible and seen by very few eyes, now a national park.
At first sight Grey called it 'the one great natural phenomenon, the one grand spectacle which I had ever seen that did not at first give vague disappointment, a confounding of reality, a disenchantment of contrast with what the mind had conceived.'
For the next trail Grey takes us trout fishing at ten thousand feet amongst the spruce-lined lakes of the Rocky Mountains, the wind soughing through the pines, cactus, juniper, manzanita and - yes - purple sage.
I had read about Grey's adventures hunting mountain lions with Buffalo Jones before in his book about him, The Last of the Plainsmen. Needless to say it's dangerous work for both man and hound, and of course for cougar. Jones liked to catch them alive with ropes, even so they ended up killing almost as many as they captured through various mishaps.
Grey looked into the eyes of particularly viscous one they treed and tied: 'I stepped closer and put my face within six inches of the lion's. He promptly spat on me. I had to steel my nerve to keep so close. But I wanted to see a wild lion's eyes at close range. They were exquisitely beautiful, their physical properties as wonderful as their expression. Great half globes of tawny amber, streaked with delicate wavy lines of black, surrounding pupils of intense purple fire.'
The final trail through Tonto Basin was close to book length on its own and not particularly interesting. One year he took his son along and if the poor kid would have ended up with a gunshot wound the father could hardly have complained there were s many rifles hanging around (he did get a knife wound).
He went back to the same place the next year sans son to hunt bears with his brother. I despise the idea of hunting for sport, and Grey talked about his own conflict about it more than once.
Didn't seem to stop him though.
The first trail is through Monument Valley, the site of so many Westerns, then onto Nonnezoshe Boco, the Rainbow Bridge, at that almost inaccessible and seen by very few eyes, now a national park.
At first sight Grey called it 'the one great natural phenomenon, the one grand spectacle which I had ever seen that did not at first give vague disappointment, a confounding of reality, a disenchantment of contrast with what the mind had conceived.'
For the next trail Grey takes us trout fishing at ten thousand feet amongst the spruce-lined lakes of the Rocky Mountains, the wind soughing through the pines, cactus, juniper, manzanita and - yes - purple sage.
I had read about Grey's adventures hunting mountain lions with Buffalo Jones before in his book about him, The Last of the Plainsmen. Needless to say it's dangerous work for both man and hound, and of course for cougar. Jones liked to catch them alive with ropes, even so they ended up killing almost as many as they captured through various mishaps.
Grey looked into the eyes of particularly viscous one they treed and tied: 'I stepped closer and put my face within six inches of the lion's. He promptly spat on me. I had to steel my nerve to keep so close. But I wanted to see a wild lion's eyes at close range. They were exquisitely beautiful, their physical properties as wonderful as their expression. Great half globes of tawny amber, streaked with delicate wavy lines of black, surrounding pupils of intense purple fire.'
The final trail through Tonto Basin was close to book length on its own and not particularly interesting. One year he took his son along and if the poor kid would have ended up with a gunshot wound the father could hardly have complained there were s many rifles hanging around (he did get a knife wound).
He went back to the same place the next year sans son to hunt bears with his brother. I despise the idea of hunting for sport, and Grey talked about his own conflict about it more than once.
Didn't seem to stop him though.
November 2, 2012
Following Zane Grey during his hunting expeditions you receive the gift of his unmatched eye for the scene. This book will not be for everyone, it's not a quick read and is not meant for cheap entertainment; it has a calming effect on the reader who enjoys an author that takes pains to describe the sight before his eyes down to the most minuscule of details.
Grey has a talent for transporting the reader to a place and time where you could be surrounded by nature, feel small in the presence of such daunting beauty and ruggedness. If you don't have the time or resources to trek out to the middle of the wilderness, just pick up this book and your mind will be fooled into thinking you've been dropped into the middle of a Hudson river valley painting.
Grey has a talent for transporting the reader to a place and time where you could be surrounded by nature, feel small in the presence of such daunting beauty and ruggedness. If you don't have the time or resources to trek out to the middle of the wilderness, just pick up this book and your mind will be fooled into thinking you've been dropped into the middle of a Hudson river valley painting.
January 3, 2021
If you are a hunter you might enjoy this work by Zane Grey. He recalls his annual hunting trips in great detail. His descriptions of the mountains and valleys and forests make you feel that you are right there with him. Unfortunately this becomes quite repetitive. Mountain lions, bears and deer are the targets and it seems that the animals came out ahead most of the time. Again the descriptions of the hunts seemed to be very repetitive. I'm not a hunter so all of the descriptions of these adventures got pretty boring after about the third time through. I did find his musings about the psychology of hunting interesting. He actually began to question his motives for killing animals for sport. I don't think he gave up his annual trip though.
June 22, 2017
Zane Grey remains a favorite because of his remarkable skills for recognizing and describing the most minute details of nature. While I love and appreciate nature, my level of appreciation does not reach as deep as his, so I needed almost as much time to read this biography of two hunting trips in Northern Arizona and one trek across Death Valley as he needed for those trips.
I would love to have met this man and spent some time with him but reading this book falls short of the enjoyable experience I have come to expect of his more popular western adventures.
I would love to have met this man and spent some time with him but reading this book falls short of the enjoyable experience I have come to expect of his more popular western adventures.
October 18, 2017
Review of "Tales of lonely trails" by John Lietzke
I didn't care for this book because I do not care to read about the exploits of the author. I only read a little more half of the book because I got bored(not my cup of tea). The book reads like a diary or journal made into sentences.
I didn't care for this book because I do not care to read about the exploits of the author. I only read a little more half of the book because I got bored(not my cup of tea). The book reads like a diary or journal made into sentences.
June 15, 2019
Lovely descriptions of the western scenery. Zane Grey was one of my grandfather's favorite authors, so I'd read a few of his novels. This non-fiction book is much better.
October 6, 2019
Finally read a Western. Enjoyed the narration of Death Valley and other places I recently visited.
January 1, 2026
A collection of short stories and novellas. The hunting stories went on too long.
April 19, 2015
I have not read a lot of Zane Grey, but this non fiction work affords insights into the author of the popular western fiction of a century ago. He was clearly a man who loved the rugged outdoors. The descriptions of parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Death Valley in California are detailed to the degree one can picture being in these places where he hunted and fished. I am no particular fan of hunting, but after reading about the author's descriptions of his expeditions helped me to understand the draw the activity has for some. If you have enjoyed the solitude of the mountains and the camaraderie around a campfire, this may be a book for you.
September 24, 2019
Zane Grey is by far my favorite author of westerns. Perhaps that's because his writings have been instrumental in furthering my love for Arizona.
Most of his books are fiction. This one is based upon actual experience.
This book focuses mostly on mountain lion hunting. Although the hunt is very exciting, it leaves you feeling sorry for the animals, which is what the author seems to be trying to do.
Most of his books are fiction. This one is based upon actual experience.
This book focuses mostly on mountain lion hunting. Although the hunt is very exciting, it leaves you feeling sorry for the animals, which is what the author seems to be trying to do.
September 22, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. I am a fan of Grey's adventure novels, and I like this one for the descriptions of the geographical and geological features of the west. However a good bit of this book is about sport hunting of mountain lions, bears, and any other non-human creatures that crossed their paths. The narrative at points made me cheer for the animals, and made me grateful that Grey wasn't a better marksman.
January 29, 2015
It was O.K., but Zane Grey attempted to describe everything in such detail that it just kept going and going and was overkill.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews