The Western Story: A Chronological Treasury

Western writers are often thought of as hacks who churn out volumes of cliched prose. Not true, asserts editor Tuska, who has collected 20 generally excellent western short stories into this substantially revised version of his 1982 collection, The American West in Fiction (11 stories are new; six new authors are represented). Examples of the genre here date from 1892 to 1994 and include a stable of notable western writers, including Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Max Brand and Louis L'Amour; among the less well-known but equally proficient authors are Elmer Kelton, B.M. Bower and T.V. Olsen. (The lack of entries by such contemporary high-profile practitioners as Loren D. Estleman and J.R. Lansdale may relate to the fact that every story new to this revised version appears by arrangement with a single literary agency.) Evading stereotype, most of these tales are unique in setting, focus or narrative. The character-driven yarns of Frederic Remington and Kelton and the theme-driven stories of Brand and Ernest Haycox all feature cowboys, soldiers, Indians, outlaws and pioneer women in abundance. Superstition, mystery and murder also have a niche in western writing, as shown in pieces by Les Savage Jr. and Cynthia Haseloff. Unfortunately, Tuska's historically oriented introduction is laden with references to Carl Jung, George Orwell, Herodotus and Polybius. Readers are advised to skip it and directly saddle up to the exciting high plains, hoofbeats and hot lead of the tales themselves. (Sept.)