The Dude Ranger: A Western Story

by Zane Grey

Upon the death of his uncle, Ernest Selby, a young man from Iowa, inherits the Red Rock Ranch in Arizona. When he learns that the ranch's 20,000 cattle have dwindled to 6000 he suspects foul play. Ernest decides to go under cover in order to investigate these strange circumstances and lands a job on his own ranch, posing as a tenderfoot cowboy under a different name. As he makes friends and enemies and courts Annie, the daughter of the crooked foreman, Ernest learns to enjoy cowboy life. He knows that his charade must end eventually, but not until he can find the truth behind the disappearance of so many cattle—and win Annie’s heart.

The Dude Ranger is a classic western story written by Zane Grey, one of the best-selling authors of all time. Follow Ernest Selby as the young dude quickly learns to be a rancher, a law-enforcer, and a cowboy.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Romance

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1930

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

[Gary Sites · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of Zane Grey’s books, and loved them all. This one is no exception, although it was a bit different than his other westerns. The only gun play that occurred here was described second hand by one of the characters. Don’t get me wrong--there wasn’t a thing wrong with it, just different. Grey was a master writer of gunfights and any other action or setting he chose to describe. Riders of the Purple Sage, his most famous novel, is a prime example of Zane’s magic with words. His main character in this fine novel carries a gun from time to time, but he never uses it. Nothing wrong with that either, it just seemed to me a little strange.
Grey didn’t care much for the “western” label put upon his work, preferring the term “romance”. He said that he wrote romances that just happened to be set in the old west. This book fits more into that frame of reference than any of his others that I have read. There are four “romances” simultaneously taking place here. Two involve cowboys who are sweet on the only two female characters. The other romances are a man’s love for the west, and the friendship that evolves between three of the cowboys.
Grey could overwrite at times, but unlike most authors who do the same, Grey’s indulgence is a pleasure to read. I almost wish he'd written more. I was sorry when this one came to an end. Top-notch western romance from a master.

[melita · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ THIS BOOK!!!

It was a great western story! The action started right away and kept me turning every page without wanting to set it down for a minute. I love the way Grey describes the landscapes and personalities of the great west. It really created an image of an epic western movie in my mind. I wished that it didnt end I was still reading about what happens next... but unfortunately thats not how it works. oh well for me... I'll just have to find more Zane Grey books to read!

[Jennifer Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband reads Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour to exclusion (almost) of all other authors, so I thought I'd pick one up. I picked up the wrong one a couple of years ago, and hadn't gone back. Then he stayed up all night reading The Dude Ranger. I asked him about the plot and fell in love with the story before I even cracked the cover. Ernest inherits a ranch in Arizona he's never seen. He decides to masquerade as a common cowpuncher to check out the ranch (which may or may not be run by a corrupt ranch manager) before declaring his true identity as the new owner. When he arrives, sure enough, there's shady dealing--but the rotten manager also has the most beautiful daughter Ernest has ever seen. He has to decide whether to take over things immediately or get the daughter to fall in love with him first as a common cowboy--a thing she's sworn never to stoop to because her heart is with the ranch and she wants to marry the owner. But Ernest wants her to marry him for love, not mercernary purposes.

I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging the story was, and the writing was fun, and I liked hearing about places in Arizona I'd seen. One stylistic thing that annoyed me (a lot) was the phonetic spelling of the dialect within all the dialogue. Sigh. Drove me crazy. I guess it was the thing to do at the time. Otherwise, a perfectly lovely dose of Western fluff!

[Elizabeth Scheller Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that I read years ago and recently read again. Thank you Internet Archive for having a copy of this book.

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This western novel’s storyline is somewhat opposite of the usual western fare. In this story, a young man from Iowa, Ernest Selby, travels west to Arizona to take over ownership of a large ranch he inherited from his uncle. Ernest studies the ranches records as he travels west and he realizes that his uncle was being cheated as thousands of head of cattle are missing. Are they being rustled by criminal gangs, or sold out from under the absentee owner by the current ranch manager? To find out the truth, Ernest decides to take a job as a cowhand at the ranch to get a lay of the land prior to revealing his true identity as the new owner. To complicate matters, the current ranch manager has a beautiful daughter that Ernest cannot help but to fall head over heels for. Of course, she has no real interest in an itinerant cowhand. So instead of a beautiful, young women being cheated out of her ranch, a young man is being cheated out of his ranch and a beautiful, young girl may well be part of the plot to defraud the owner. That is quite the opposite angle of many a western yarn. It is a well-done plot and many interesting western characters, including a gunman named Hyslip who works there as ranch-hand and also admires and desires the manager’s daughter. Plenty of intrigue and plots twist confront Ernest as he tries to discover the truth behind the lost or stolen cattle.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Zane Grey, and my feelings are mixed. I like the idea he crafted- an heir going undercover at his own ranch to discover why it's losing money and cattle. The reality of it is a different story. I found the language difficult to read at times, and had to say some passages out loud to decipher the meaning of certain phrases. The narrative focused too much on romance for my taste; the main character was obsessed with Anne, and being in his head was overwhelming at times. It was also frustrating because Anne was not a good person, and played with all the cowboy's emotions like toys because she knew she could. The story stalled and the middle third was almost a chore to get through. The big baddie gets killed off page and we get a second-hand story about it. The reveal at the end happened too quickly, and I really would have liked to have seen more of that, honestly. As it stands, it was an okay read, and I would consider reading another of Grey's in the future, but I think I prefer L'amour.

[R.Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read

This was a thoroughly enjoyable story in spite of the old fashioned style of
writing, the many typos in the text, and the incredibly sexist attitude of both the men and women in the story. Boy,have we come a LONG way! Read at your own peril!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very enjoyable read. The words Zane Grey used back in the twenties are very different from what we hear now. Interesting! I like the simplicity of the cowboy stories that he writes about. Also!, no swearing and foul language.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow, laconic, overstuffed western novel. Very little action, mostly mental arguments and feelings that come forward. Can be caled a Western Love Story

[William Thornhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great exciting western story. Kept wanting to continue reading without quiting.

[MARY CAE WAEVER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

Zane did it again.Probably his best! Give it a try you won't be sorry. Love the way he writes...clever! Ohboy

[Jon Nielson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Westerns, always good.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Western Story

First time reading a Zane Grey book. Enjoyed it, liked descriptions of the cowboys and the scenery. Will read another Zane Grey

[larry brashear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Tale!

A very good book, exciting, interesting and wholly enjoyable all the way. Probably one of the best Westerns i ever read.

[Mark]

Another great Zane Grey novel.

[Al Kent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two love sick rangers drove me crazy. But I finished it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple but a little interesting

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few twists in this book made it more appealing for me.

[Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good cowpunchin western classic. Though the writing is simple and the story equally so, it is still a good read and one I would recommend. If you are looking for an easy read and something that doesn't require a lot of focus to figure out, this is just that book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any book where the phrase "mosey along" is used 3 times in the first 5 pages can't be all bad.
The book has not aged well, but it was good to read an old fashioned tale of the west.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one wrote "dude" westerns like Zane Grey. And this is probably the best of his dude tales. Farm boy from Iowa inherits a ranch from a rich uncle (we could all do with one of those). But the ranch is losing money -- why? The dude goes undercover to find out. I'm a big fan of excellent genre fiction.

[David Roark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well-written, as usual for Zane Grey. I like the friendship of Ernest and Nebraskie, and how Ernest tries to win Anne. It all unfolded interestingly, and wrapped up well, with the author keeping things waiting til their appropriate time for each point of the story as Ernest figures out how to bring everything off.

[Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd like to go 2.5 stars. As much about relationships as the old west. Not a bad thing, just not what I was wanting. I'll try some more of Grey's books for myself before giving up on him. Some might call it a "Women's Western".

[Brett Wallach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great Western, with predictable plot and outcome.

[Mr Andrew C Sparkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Typical Zane Beautiful story fight, love and intrigue from page one to the last a page turning marvel from the master of western stories

[Elizabeth Sarango]

nice