One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, this is Jack Shaefer's famous cowboy story which was made into an outstanding film. The tale is told by the boy into whose family corral a mysterious stranger rode in the summer of 1889.

"I had lain in my bed thinking of our visitor out in the bunk in the barn. It scarce seemed possible that he was the same man I had first seen, stern and chilling in his dark solitude, riding up our road. Something in father, something not of words or of actions but of the essential substance of the human spirit, had reached out and spoken to him and he had replied to it and had unlocked a part of himself to us. He was far off and unapproachable at times even when he was right there with you." The Starrett family's life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm in 1889. Young Bob Starrett is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane, and make it known that he is not welcome. But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starretts--and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud. This classic Western, originally published in 1949, is a profoundly moving story of the influence of a singular character on one boy's life.

'If you read only one western in your life, this is the one' Roland Smith, author of Peak He rode into our valley in the summer of 1889, a slim man, dressed in black. 'Call me Shane,' he said. He never told us more. There was a deadly calm in the valley that summer, a slow, climbing tension that seemed to focus on Shane. Seen through the eyes of a young boy, Bob Starrett, SHANE is the classic story of a lone stranger. At first sight, the boy realises there is something unusual about the approaching man, but as Bob gets to know Shane, he realises that there is an inner sadness in him. SHANE is the story of a gunfighter who tries to hang up his gun but is drawn to the side of the boy's family and other homesteaders in their struggle to keep from being forced off their land.

Schaefer shares the individual stories of seven people-rancher, sheepherder, homesteader, town settler, soldier, miner, and cowboy-in this collection. He tells the tales as they can only be told: in the open spaces of the Old West. In these memorable narratives Schaefer depicts the unique conflicts of settler life and captures the spirit of the resolute, willful, determined, and broken characters found on the Western frontier.

"Shane" was made into an award-winning film that--like the novel--became a standard by which later westerns were judged. Readers who have already felt the novel's power or are approaching it for the first time, will find this edition indispensable for coming to terms with its fascinating simplicity, its richness, and its puzzles.

This edition reprints the original text of the novel (in 1954 it was edited to remove words that might offend). In addition, the best critical essays about Schaefer and about Shane are included to provide historical and comparative background. An interview with Jack Schaefer and an afterword written by him complete this volume.

Readers searching for courage and adventure will find just that and more in the engaging prose of Jack Schaefer in this vintage collection of Western vignettes. Exploring varied tales of life in the West, Schaefer shares the stories of exceptional characters conflicted with humanity as they navigate the challenges and opportunities that can only be found on the frontier. From the humor in "Cat Nipped" to the common concerns found in "Prudence by Name," Jack Schaefer again places himself as the authentic voice of the West. Other stories in the collection include "Something Lost," "Leander Frailey," "That Mark Horse," "My Town," "Harvey Kendall," "Out of the Past," "Old Anse," "Takes a Real Man," and "Hugo Kertchak, Builder." Published throughout the early 1950s, these stories have captured our hearts and imaginations as true classics in Western fiction and will continue to do so time and time again.

This classic novel of courage and redemption introduces Jared Heath. Heath, a captain in the Union army, is stripped of rank and court-martialed for cowardice after refusing to march his men into a suicide mission. Yet he has a chance to regain his honor when he is charged with leading Company Q, a unit of misfit officers also disgraced and charged with cowardice. If Heath can make them an effective fighting force, there is a possibility that all of them will be redeemed and pardoned. Will this unit of outcasts prevail and succeed when given the opportunity to show their courage, or will they find defeat deep in Comanche country?

Originally published in 1963, Monte Walsh continues to delight readers as a Western classic and popular favorite. The novel explores the cowboy lives of Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins as they carouse, ride, and work at the Slash Y with Cal Brennan. As the West changes and their cowboy antics are challenged, the two must part ways to pursue new ways of life. Chet marries and goes on to become a successful merchant and then a politician, while Monte can only find solace in continuing the cowboy's way of life until the very end.