American West : Twenty New Stories from the Western Writers of America

From Publishers Weekly
In a continuing attempt to revive publishing interest in western writing, the Western Writers of America showcase themselves in this superior anthology of short fiction. It's safe to say that if all western writing measured up even to the lesser stories in this volume, the American western would be alive and well and looking forward to a new frontier in the nation's world of books. Among the 20 entries in the volume, three are especially good. Loren D. Estleman, who also provides an introduction, shines with "Thirteen Coils," a unique look at a hangman's duties on the cusp of the modernization of capital punishment. JoAnn Levy's "A Woman 49er" offers an unsentimental but moving portrait of a hopeless and long-suffering widow in the California mining camps; it stands out as an example of the modern short story at its best. Richard S. Wheeler's "The Last Days of Dominic Prince" offers a poignant and telling tour de force study of the impact of changing times and attitudes on the traditional westerner. Other thoroughly excellent short fictions by Johnny D. Boggs, Elmer Kelton, Judy Magnuson Lilly, Patti Sherlock and Deborah Morgan demonstrate the genuine vitality that can be derived from traditional plots and themes, and point out that a writer needn't "show off" his or her research and deep emotional ties to history in order to spin a good yarn. It remains to be seen whether a short story collection will spark new interest in western writing in general, but this volumes proves writers are at least keeping the faith. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The traditional western of high-noon showdowns and heart-of-gold whores is changing. Estleman, winner of four Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, points out in his wonderful introduction to this collection of new stories about the West that today's evolving western may be set in an age before Europeans discovered North America or in the modern west of sport-utility vehicles or at any point in between. Just as such so-called traditional westerns (Jack Schaefer's Shane, for example) stretched the boundaries of the genre in their time, so do these extend our understanding of what western fiction can be. Among the authors included are such luminaries as Don Coldsmith, Elmer Kelton, and Richard S. Wheeler. Story highlights include Johnny D. Boggs' "A Piano at Dead Man's Crossing," told from a piano's point of view, and Kelton's "Huey and the Wagon Cook," in which the showdown is not on Main Street with Colts but over a campfire with Dutch ovens. Uniformly fine writing makes this a welcome addition to any western collection. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“Takes the genre to new frontiers.”—The Boston Herald

“This is not simply an excellent collection about the West, each story is a haunting and powerful chapter in the creation of a nation.”—Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of the Anasazi series

“If I had to give a friend one book containing the best that today’s Western fiction has to offer, it would be American West.”—Mike Blakely, former president of the Western Writers of America and the Spur Award-winning author of Summer of Pearls

“A welcome addition to any Western collection.”--Booklist



Review
“Takes the genre to new frontiers.”—The Boston Herald

“This is not simply an excellent collection about the West, each story is a haunting and powerful chapter in the creation of a nation.”—Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of the Anasazi series

“If I had to give a friend one book containing the best that today’s Western fiction has to offer, it would be American West.”—Mike Blakely, former president of the Western Writers of America and the Spur Award-winning author of Summer of Pearls

“A welcome addition to any Western collection.”--Booklist



Book Description
Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story's central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.



From the Back Cover
“Takes the genre to new frontiers.”—The Boston Herald

“This is not simply an excellent collection about the West, each story is a haunting and powerful chapter in the creation of a nation.”—Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of the Anasazi series

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story’s central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.

“If I had to give a friend one book containing the best that today’s Western fiction has to offer, it would be American West.”—Mike Blakely, former president of the Western Writers of America and the Spur Award-winning author of Summer of Pearls

“A welcome addition to any Western collection.”--Booklist



About the Author
Loren D. Estleman was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a BA degree in English Literature and Journalism in 1974. In 2002, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters for his contribution to American literature.

He is the author of more than fifty novels in the categories of mystery, historical western, and mainstream, and has received four Western Writers of American Golden Spur Awards, three Western Heritage Awards, and three Shamus Awards. He has been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Britain's Silver Dagger, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2003, the mammoth Encyclopedia of Detective Fiction named him the most critically acclaimed writer of U.S. detective



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Twenty stories from the Western Writers of America, including Loren D. Estleman, Max Evans, Don Coldsmith, and others, portray many varied characters. Some are based on true stories, like "The Guardians," which tells of Indians who guarded the houses of white women while their men were gone to take wheat to a mill. One is about an 18-year-old who becomes a woman on her way west with her new husband. Another tells of the tribulations of a woman in the gold rush era and a female photographer known asMike whose subject is Sitting Bull. All characterize people of the West who were not as well known as the gunfighters and cattle ranchers. A fascinating look at the "other" West. Category: Short Stories. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Tor, Forge, 368p., $15.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Barbara Jo McKee; Libn/Media Dir., Streetsboro H.S., Stow, OH SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)


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