Play Book Tag discussion

(Whew, finished this right on time!)

Late 1870s Texas. Woodrow Call and Augustus “Gus” McCrae are retired Texas Rangers, now run a cattle farm and livery in Lonesome Dove, Texas, with the so-called Hat Creek Outfit: them, two men, a cook and a seventeen-year-old boy. When another old Ranger called Jake Spoon shows up and tells them Montana is like paradise for cattle, Call decides to go settle up there. He collects some young cowboys around town, gathers up thousands of heads of beef (mostly from Mexico), and they all take off for the long trek across the US, through territory as yet occupied by nobody but Natives.

I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, and yet here we are. This was definitely an epic ride, full of stories and characters that will keep you riveted from beginning to end. I laughed and I cried, but it never dips into the pathetic. Everything feels so real all the time, the characters know exactly what they’re doing and who they are all the time.

If this wasn’t such a chonker (858 pages in the edition I had), I’d read it over and over again. But I guess I’ll have to content myself with the three other books in the series, one sequel and two prequels.

Even if you’re not a fan of cowboys or of doorstoppers, I warmly recommend this one.

Very nice review. This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it twice, and plan on a third time very soon. :-)

I love this book and I read all the books in the series.

I love this book too. I couldn't get into the miniseries when it first came out. Right after I read the book, I got the miniseries, and I loved it. The views on film were amazing. I'd like to read it again someday.

How are the other books in the series? Are they as good?

I surprised myself by loving it too, years ago. I generally don’t read Westerns, but it’s so much more.

I also loved this one. I read it for a F2F book group some years back and by the time I was finished my copy sprouted a veritable "Mohawk" of neon colored sticky notes!