Wild West: Short Stories

by Elmer Kelton

Compiled for the first time in book form, seven-time Spur Award-winning author Elmer Kelton's short story collection, Wild West.

From rodeos to rustlers, from ranch life to the outlaw trail, Elmer Kelton offers us tales of the American West, both modern and mythical. Readers will meet a rodeo clown who seeks redemption through romance, a recently-released prisoner trying to reform himself via ranch work, and an embattled veteran with just enough courage left to conquer his last foe—when a town and the love of his life are at stake. Every bit as important as the men are Kelton’s powerful women—a cattle buyer’s daughter who can hold her own with any man on the trail, a renowned outlaw who rules her gang with her gun, and a judge’s daughter who is determined to end local mob rule now that “the day of the gun is almost over.” These are characters whom you’ll never forget, every one of whom shows us how life was back then: simpler, but harder, with danger always present.

As in all of Elmer Kelton’s work, readers will, once again, encounter the timeless strength of the human heart and the human spirit when everything else has gone awry. Filled with adventure and imbued with a love of the time, the people, and the place, these stories take us from the earliest days of the Wild West well into the twentieth century, each one embodying a passion for life that’s as wide as Texas sky.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2017

About the author

Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/elmerk...

Reviews

[Joe Stack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eleven short stories that move brisquely. A good portion of these stories were originally published in “Ranch Romances” and they are to varying degrees what you might expect with a western romance. Regardless, Kelton’s writing vividly brings the western environment to the reader. I found you could taste the dust, feel the heat, see the mesquite. I think the longer stories were the stronger stories. I found the last three stories (“Poison,” “Ride a Straight Road,” & “Deadly Homecoming”) the best of this collection worth 3-4 stars. Altogether, a light, entertaining collection.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most short story collections this one contained many that were great, a few that were merely good and a couple of disappointments. Overall it is classic Elmer Kelton with rough and tumble cowboy heroes and bad guys, lonely but tough ladies and a romantic entanglement or two in every story. Well worth the read.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb selection of short stories as only Elmer Kelton can set to paper.

Great variety, excellent characters, plenty of action and surprises to the end. Classic old west and well worth the time.