As a kid, I can remember my grandfather reading a book pretty much every night. Most of those nights, it was Louia L'amour, but some nights it was William Johnstone, RMEF magazines, Jack O'Connor etc.
When he passed, I grabbed as many of his old books as I could, and I continue to read them. I read through probably 40 of the Louia L'amour books, and am now making my way through the William Johnstone books. (Adamantly, many of the Johnstone books are audio books and I really enjoy the man who reads them.) I especially love the books written about or involving Smoke Jensen.
What other authors or books should I look into? I am nearing the end of both of their publishing's, and I greatly miss Papa, so I enjoy the connection to him through literature.
I enjoy Louis L'Amour very much, especially the Sacketts series!
Terry C. Johnston is another great western author. He wrote several series of books, but the one I liked the most was the mountain man saga that started with Carry the Wind. These are fairly long, involved books that provide a lot of quality reading time, as opposed to the L'Amour novels that are usually quick reads. And from what I can tell, Johnston's work is fairly historically accurate, as is L'Amour's.
Also long but not as historically accurate (but a very good book none the less) is Lonesome Dove, as well as the other books in that series. If you liked the 4-part mini-series/movie, the book takes you into much greater character detail that the movie didn't have time for. Larry McMurtry is a great author although he tends to be dark and even brutal sometimes, but he tells a good story.
Yep read every Louis L'amour book. Read Kelton's too. Currently reading Johnstone. Just finishing up the last of the Mountain man series have a shelf full of his books I have yet to read.
Here is an author especially for the Az folks: JPS Brown. He grew up as a fifth generation rancher. One of Brown’s ancestors in the mid-1800s settled among the rolling hills and lush valleys a few miles north of Mexico about two hours southeast of Tucson in what is now Parker Canyon. As a young boy he and his family moved to a ranch near St. Johns Az. He learned about cowboying there.
Link to his books. I recommend you start with the three book series called the Arizona Saga. (1 Blooded Stock 2 The Horseman 3 Ladino )
He wrote about the areas around the Patagonia Mts, Santa Rita mts, San Rafael Valley and several parts of Mexico. Apaches, Badmen, Rustlers and the cross border activities of Mexican and American ranchers. Some of the books are more modern with stories of stock buying in Mexico and selling in the US with very detailed descriptions. Also detailed accounts of how the Mexicans lived in the past.
"Born in Nogales in 1930, Joe was a fifth-generation Arizonan who went on to study at Notre Dame. He was a Marine, a boxer, a whiskey smuggler, a cowboy through and through. More than that, though, he was a storyteller, weaving his experiences into text that became rich with his voice, his love of Arizona, of horses. Nothing was unfamiliar. Everything was a wonder."
One of his books Jim Kane was made into a movie titled Pocket Money with Paul Newman and Lee Marvin.
He was in the movie Tom Horn as the preacher in the background just before they hung Tom. He taught Steve McQueen how to rope for that movie!
He died in 2021 at 90. from link below:
"Brown, born into one of the earliest Anglo ranching families in Southern Arizona, told his stories of growing up in the Nogales-Patagonia-San Rafael Valley and of his cross-border cattle days in a series of books, largely fictional but based on real characters."
There was an El Pasoan by the name of Tom Lea. He's probably been gone for about 30 years...I can't say I ever read about his death but I know he was a pretty old man by the time I spoke to him back in the early 90s.
Tom Lea was a gifted artist, and I think his oil paintings were his real claim to fame but he also wrote books. One of them was titled The Wonderful Country, which was a very interesting story about a young man whose father was killed along the banks of the Rio Grande (IIRC) and who managed to survive and grow up in Mexico having learned to speak Spanish fluently. The book is written in English, of course, but what was quite interesting was that it is all written in Spanish thought patterns because that is how the boy is living...he thinks in Spanish. It is a very well written story and worth the time.
At the time I spoke with Mr. Lea I was employed (briefly---it was a nightmare job!) by an agency affiliated with a local hospital that provided nursing care on a temporary basis. He was seeing to his brother's care because the man was in hospice at the time. I did take the opportunity to compliment Mr. Lea on that book and he was quite appreciative. He was a nice fellow, I think.
I never did look for more of his writings, but maybe I will look into it.
Don't be the darkness.
America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.
Been reading Louis since my humble tour in the military. Good books for slack time! My Pa enjoyed them in his last years! I still read a couple a week while giving birth to Lieutenants!
Elmore Leonard, William K. Krueger, and Jack London also wrote some good novels. Michael Connelly is one of the best writers of cops-'n-robbers novels.
L.W.
"Always go straight forward, and if you meet the devil, cut him in two and go between the pieces." (William Sturgis, clipper ship captain, 1830s.)
