Classic cowboy Stories; 18 Extraordinary Tales of the Old West

by Michael McCoy

Cowpokes, caballeros, and cattle drives--they fill the pages of these classic stories of life on the range, eighteen of the finest ficitonal works and true narratives of the American West.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

344 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were to pick a number of classic cowboy stories for a collection like this, I would probably chose much differently. There are 18 stories included here and on the surface, they would seem to be good choices. Afterall, they include stories by the likes of Zane Gray, Owen Wister, O. Henry, Clarence Mumford, and more, all classic storytellers to be sure. However, quite a few of these stories, if not most of them, are actually excerpts from novels. We have an excerpt from Owen Wister’s “The Virginian”, an excerpt from Clarence Mumford’s “Bar-20“of Hopalong Cassidy fame. And so on and so on.

Don’t get me wrong. There is some excellent writing in here and sometimes the excerpts work as complete stories. More often than not, however, they seem like what they are: parts of a larger work and therefore incomplete. Some surprises are included as well. An essay by Theodore Roosevelt from his time as a young man in Dakota Territory, or a story by Frederick Remington whom I only ever thought of as a painter and sculptor. All were originally published between 1897 and 1922, and thus don’t read quite the same way as more modern action yarns do. Not boring so much as artistic, almost poetic.

[The Book Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wandered, by chance, into a small bookstore in Old Town San Diego, and my eye caught the title. I was drawn it like magnet to steel and before you can bat an eye, I was buying it. I peek at the table of contents and realize that there are some renowned authors, such as Zane Grey. Love it. Then, I see Frederic Remington's name and wonder, is this one and the same (the famous sculpturer)? Truly, it is! What a delight!
I would have to say my favorite is "Em'ly" by Owen Wister:
Em'ly is an eccentric hen that knows no boundaries. She will sit upon anything that is possible to sit on, including potatoes, and is sure that she will hatch them: "She was an egregious fowl. She was huge and gaunt, with great yellow beak, and she stood straight and alert in the manner of responsible people." [page 18]
So strong was her mothering instincts that she stole baby bantams from their mother, then deserted them one day when she caught sight of some baby turkeys following their mother and attempted to steal them away, too. Mother turkey would have nothing to do with that, though, and the baby bantums were returned to their rightful mother by the farm hands.
The adventures go on and on, so delightfully entertaining, I did not want the story to end.
From this point I will not give away the rest of the story. I highly recommend this book, filled with shorts that are sure to make you smile.

[David Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it four stars, but it's more of a 3.5. First thing, if you're expecting a short story collection, you'll get half of one. The other half of the book is a mix of chapters from novels and non-fiction accounts of the time. And I think that's the biggest drawback. I've never liked chapters taken out of context from novels, it does a disservice to the novel, and to the short story as a format, which is a differently beast entirely. Given the number of western short stories written, they could've easily filled a volume like this without random chapters. The non-fiction stuff wasn't as bad.

The content itself is a good mix of the western genre, thought it focuses more on a literary approach to it. Most of the stories are character-driven, with one or two being more pulpy. One story, Zane Grey's 'Cowboy Golf' is outright humorous. The story 'Hearts and Crosses' is of a more romantic/relationship bent. The editor does a good job mixing up the sub-types of the genre to show it's flexibility in storytelling terms. Decent for fans of the genre, despite my objections.

[Joe Stack · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the the writing in this collection is very good, but I think the best of the collection are the short stories by O. Henry, Zane Grey, and excerpts from Owen Wister and Theodore Roosevelt. Many of the pieces in this collection are excerpts from longer books which I think makes them harder to appreciate because you don't have the full picture.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of some of the earliest “Cowboy” stories written. The stories in this collection are from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. While the writing is a bit uneven due to differences in style and pace, as a whole they help define the genre of what embodies a “cowboy” story.

[C. Patrick G. Erker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me almost two years to finish reading aloud these classic Cowboy stories from a hardcover version I bought at Aardvark Books on Church in SF just before they closed down for good. That storefront remains empty, to the city and book lovers’ detriment.

I have strong affinities for Wyoming, a state I went to every year or so for more than two decades. Many of these stories take place there or nearby. At least one (Cowboy Golf) references my hometown of St Louis.

As expected, some stories are better than others. Although it’s the longest in the book, and last, “In Search of Christmas” may be my favorite. Some of the stories were more descriptions of cowboys, which, while informative, weren’t as compelling from a narrative point of view.

I read many of them to one of my two sons and others solo, all aloud, often in my best Cowboy voice, which really is just a bad southern drawl out of my mouth. But it’s fun to be silly sometimes.

Reading these makes me want to read some classic American westerns. I bought a set from the Library of America that I need to crack into.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a neat book! I'm definitely not into westerns and cowboys, but these are both fiction and non-fiction by such authors as Teddy Roosevelt, Zane Grey, Frederic Remington (I didn't even know he wrote!!), and O. Henry, to name a few. They're interesting and fun to read! And you can skip all around if you want to do so!

[Toby White · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was lovely to read these excerpts from a time now gone, an insight into something that people now will not necessarily be able to appreciate.