Przygodowa
Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard turned to writing comic and dialect Western tales only late in his career, but he found an immediate and continuously successful market for them, and they are in many respects his most accomplished and polished works. The Pike Bearfield Stories is a collection of stories in the western genre, featuring Pike Bearfield the character who lead well-intentioned lives of perpetual confusion, mischance, and outright catastrophe. It includes: While the Smoke Rolled, A Gent from the Pecos Shave That Hawg! , Gents on the Lynch, The riot at Bucksnort. They are reminiscent of traditional southwestern tall tales, told in dialect, featuring larger-than-life characters, swift action, broad satire, and wry humor. All stories are fast-paced with simple yet effective plots that have a few surprises thrown in for good measure.
James Fenimore Cooper
In The Pilot (1824), James Fenimore Cooper invented a new literary genre: the sea novel. Bold, vigorous, original, it is a tale of high adventure that vividly captures the majesty and power of the seafaring life. Cooper drew on his direct knowledge of ships and sailors to present a truer picture of life on the sea than had ever before achieved in literature. As a boy of seventeen he had experienced the life of a common seaman, learned the craft of sailing, encountered terrifying storms, was chased by pirates, and watched the impressment of crew members by a British man-of-war.The Pilot is loosely based upon stories of John Paul Joness daring hit-and-run tactics during the Revolutionary War. The shadowy hero, modeled on Jones, leads a squadron of the infant American navy in a series of raids on the English coast, braving fierce storms and the guns of hostile warships, yet never revealing his identity. In this novel Cooper introduced the character of the old salt, the seasoned deckhand happy only aboard ship.
The Pioneers. or The Sources of the Susquehanna
James Fenimore Cooper
The fourth of the Leatherstocking novels, we find Leatherstocking (Natty Bumppo) entering the last stages of his life. He has lost a great deal of his effectiveness with his musket and now relies a great deal on his dog to help him hunting. The main focus is one two things: 1. the reinstatement of Nattys old commander in his properties and wealth in the new US while believing he is the victim of treachery by his old friend the judge in this story; and 2. Nattys struggle with and disgust about the developing societal rules that limit his freedom in hunting, trapping and fishing in the wilderness as he has his whole life. Good story on both accounts. In The Pioneers, James Fenimore Cooper thematically debates the complexity of landscape within a new American frontier. The battle between nature and civilization is a constant and competing force within the minds of the characters and in the general surroundings.
Joseph Conrad
This is both mystery and romance; the latter creates one of the recurring difficulties in Conrad: it preserves the Victorian histrionic element, which sometimes may seem a little attractive. But overall, it is well read and much less burdensome than some of his novels.
The Point of Honor. A Military Tale
Joseph Conrad
Conrad stresses that the narrative clearly shows that the duel really benefited two. Combat competitions made every job and strive a little harder, forced the will to survive and win in a personal fight as seriously as the desire to survive the bloody years of the Napoleonic war. Both are officers in Napoleons army, and both are to the core.
The Pot of Gold and Other Stories
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
This novel is for those who are looking for a quick and easy read. The Flowers family lived in a small house in a wide grassy meadow that descended a few branches from the front door to a gentle silvery river. Directly across the river stood a lovely dark green mountain, and when a rainbow fell, as it often did, nothing could look more charming than it rose from the opposite bank of the stream against the backdrop of a wet, shady mountain.
Max Brand
One of Max Brands greatest gifts as a storyteller is his ability to create unforgettable, larger-than-life characters. Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 - May 12, 1944) was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns under the pen name Max Brand. This is one of his novels. "The Power of Prayer" (1922) is an unusual and vexing Christmas story in which Gerald Kern, gentleman, gunman and fortune-hunter, must make a fateful choice when his cold-blooded nature and his love of a woman collide. Neatly plotted and briskly told, it illustrates Brands remarkable gift for storytelling. Another great read by Max Brand.
Mark Twain
Tom Canty is a poor boy in the London slums. His birth only brings more poverty to his already dirt poor family. Edward VI is the long awaited heir to the English throne. They are born on the same day and look so alike they cant believe it. They exchange clothes and Edward VI ends up being thrown out of the palace by guards who think he is the poor boy he looks to be. Both boys have difficulty fitting into the others lives. After many adventures, matters are set right again, with one of the boys resuming his rightful, royal position and the other boy accepting a position that recognizes his innate intelligence and good heartedness.The bulk of the books is the mad life of the poor boy during which Edward VI learns how many of his subjects live. He resolves to change things if he can get back to the palace and be restored to his rightful place.
The Prince of India. Or Why Constantinople Fell
Lewis Wallace
On the pages of the works of Lewis Wallace characters lived, fell in love, fought and died, influencing the structure of public affairs. This novel tells about the events that led to the fall of Constantinople. Legendary wandering Jew under the guise of the Prince of India helps save the city. A wandering Jew served as the basis for several stories, and this is one of the best.
Willa Cather
When Professor Godfrey St. Peter and his wife move into a new home, he begins to feel dissatisfied with the new turn in life. He continues his scientific work in his dusty laboratory in an old house, trying to return to his old life. Two of his daughters get married and leave their home, two sons-in-law appear in the family. This provokes a midlife crisis, making the professor feel like he has lost his will to live due to a lack of purpose.
Harold Bindloss
Vayne was 27 years old. And nine of which he spent on scott, canoeing, chopping trees and searching for minerals. He and his friend discovered valuable mineral property several months earlier. They were aiming for a better life and wanted to grow their business. However, not everything is so easy.
Alexandre Dumas
French author of famous swashbuckler novels Alexandre Dumas again chooses 18th century France for his milieu. No musketeers in this one, for it is the Queen, Marie Antoinette, who needs defending. Set a few years before the deluge of the French Revolution this plot is convoluted beyond belief; schemes, counter-measures, vicious personal agendas, love-struck young people, royal revenge and ecclesiastical machinations all are present. Fans of historical fiction will love The Queens Necklace Dumas gripping retelling of the Affair of the Necklace a suspicious incident of theft in the court of Louis XVI. This episode further spoiled the already-tarnished reputation of the Queen. Although seeming to present an idealized picture of Marie Antoinette, it also illustrates the decay and impending decline of the contemporary nobility. Some experts say set into motion a chain of events that resulted in the eventual downfall of the monarchy.
Max Brand
Lee Garrison, a solitary fence rider in the southwest, is entranced with stories he has read of daring medieval adventures. Then a dying Indian stumbles into his camp, telling of a magnificent wild mustang called Moonshine. Garrison pursues the elusive horse across the plains on a quest of self-discovery. The chase would lead him across thousands of miles of plains, deserts, and rivers, and before his quest had ended, Lee Garrison would learn the meaning of hope and the cost of dreams. And he would be forced to make a terrible, shattering decision - a decision that might destroy him. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.
B.M. Bower
B.M. Bower was an American writer of Western novels and short stories who wrote over 55 novels. Several of her stories were subsequently adapted and made into movies. This story of the cow country concerns the efforts of the Sawtooth Cattle Company, who number their cattle by the tens of thousands, to eliminate the smaller outfits around. Al Woodruff, the evil eye of the Sawtooth, is efficient in his particular line of work, which is the reason why Brit Hunter of the Quirt ranch calls life in the Sawtooth country extra hazardous. Action and adventure there are a-plenty.
Zane Grey
Originally published in 1915, The Rainbow Trail is the sequel to Riders of the Purple Sage. At the end of that famous novel, a huge boulder had rolled down to shut off the entrance to Surprise Valley, leaving Lassiter, Jane Withersteen, and little Fay Larkin to a singular fate. Twelve years later a young, disillusioned, ex-preacher in Illinois, hears about the wonderful secret canyon where a couple with their young foster daughter had fled to for safety, knowing they could not likely get out ever again without help from outside. He heads out West and, without any experience, journeys into the unforgiving desert to fulfill this quest. He is helped along the way by a friendly Mormon, traders and a wise Navajo Indian. The author, Zane Grey, gives a vivid panoramic view of the mountains, meadows full of wildlife and challenges faced in the desert to survive.
B.M. Bower
The Ranch at the Wolverine follows an intrepid group of settlers who made a home in the land now known as Idaho. Billy Louise has given up her childhood play and her schooling in order to run the ranch near the Wolverine River after her father dies in an accident. One winter she takes Ward, a young cowboy with mysterious past, to her ranch to work as hired man. After Ward shares his secret with Billy, strange events start to occur. Adventure, danger and a beautifully detailed description of life in the Old West fill out the story, which, as with most B.M. Bower novels, has a sad/happy ending. From one of Americas most loved novelists in the western genre this is a classic and a great addition to the collection.