The Big Fifty: Library Edition [MP3 Audio] [Audio CD]

Johnny D. Boggs (Author), Lloyd James (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

The reality of frontier life in Kansas in 1872 becomes brutally clear to twelve-year-old Coady McIlvain when his father is scalped by hostile Indians and Coady is taken prisoner. Coady is determined to escape and does so, falling in with a buffalo sharpshooter named Dylan Griffith, whom he sees as the embodiment of his hero, Buffalo Bill Cody, a role in which the circumspect Griffith feels himself totally inadequate.

The two face real adventure surviving the unforgiving terrain with Coady’s former captors on their trail and with outlaw Comancheros up ahead.

In The Big Fifty—another name for the famous Sharps rifle—Johnny D. Boggs has created a gripping Western story balancing the myths and legends created by Eastern storytellers with the actual, often brutal realities of frontier life.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coady McIlvain is just 12 in 1872 when his frontier daydreams of Indians, buffalo hunting, and adventure become grisly reality. A routine supply run to Dodge City becomes a nightmare after his father is killed and scalped by marauding Indians, and he is taken prisoner. He spends the next year as a Comanche slave, eventually earning the grudging respect of his captors and coming to appreciate many aspects of Comanche life. Inspired by the dime novels he read as a child, however, Coady never wavers in his determination to escape and finally does so, falling in eventually with narrator Dylan Griffith, an itinerant typesetter and marksman. Once the two are together the real adventures begin with Coady's former captors on their heels, an equally dangerous band of outlaw Comancheros to be avoided, and an unforgiving terrain to survive. The contrast between the fictional world of the dime novels and the harsh reality of the true West provides a fascinating backdrop for this tale of lifelong friendship and surrogate fatherhood. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"... will leave ... the taste of grit in your mouth, and the smell of spoiled buffalo carcasses in your nose." -- Doris L. Meredith, Roundup Magazine, June 2003

"Boggs has a keen ability to interlace historically accurate information amid a cast of well descriptive characters and circumstances." -- Ellsworth T. Kincaid, Cowboy Chronicle, November 2003

"Sombreros off to as feisty a young gent as any Dickens' character in a rousing Western ...." -- Bill Garwood, True West Magazine, March 2004

"You can always count on Boggs to tell a good story and tell it well." -- George Glenn, The Shootist, September-October 2003 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; MP3 Una edition (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786185198
• ISBN-13: 978-0786185191
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,362,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Fifty is a Fabulous Western!!, February 14, 2005

By 

Thomas L. Ogren (San Luis Obispo, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Fifty (Mass Market Paperback)

1872, Kansas.

When twelve-year-old Coady McIlvain and his dad are attacked by Indians, everything changes for him. His father is scalped and Coady is taken prisoner. Coady eventually escapes and ends up with a buffalo hunting, fifty caliber Sharps rifle packing, sharpshooter named Dylan Griffith.

Before coming West, young Coady has read a ton of dime westerns and his hero is the great Buffalo Bill Cody. The way the boy mixes up what he has in his mind from the books he's read, with the reality of what he runs into...if utterly fascinating at all times.

The Big Fifty has by far the very best portrayal of the buffalo hunters I've ever read...the endless killing, the piles of buffalo hides, the stinking, rotting carcasses, the seemingly limitless amount of bones and buffalo.

The buffalo hunter, Dylan Griffith, is an unusual hero too...he's a good guy, a printer by trade, better educated than most buffalo men, but not all good by any means, he kills thousands of buffalo, all the while knowing he's killing off a way of life that will never return. The Indians in this fabulously good read, they're all different, some are disgusting, mean, cruel, and others are decent, brave, considerate. The Big Fifty is a wild, rollicking tale, one that starts out with a bang, never ever lets the reader down for one moment, a book that keeps you turning the pages and reading long into the night. I just flat out loved The Big Fifty and I intend to get more books by Johnny D. Boggs and read them. Boggs is a wonderful writer and anyone who appreciates a western with lots of flavor and action, ought to really enjoy the Big Fifty. I highly recommend this terrific book! Sure to be a classic.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story Of The Old West with Realistic Characters, March 7, 2005

By 

Samuel E. Russell (Lancaster,Pa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Fifty (Mass Market Paperback)

This is Great story with realistic characters,the old west as it really was,Johnny Boggs rousing tale of his Character,Coady Mcllvain,is so real,once you start this book its hard to it put down..

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Big Fifty, March 13, 2008

By 

Dan M. Krupp "tale searcher" (Woodbine, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Fifty (Mass Market Paperback)

Johnny Boggs tells a tale about some rough experiences for a young teenage boy growing up on the prairie. He's stolen by Indians and escapes to the safety of a buffalo hunter who befriends him and takes him under his wing. The buffalo hunter has some growing up to do himself, and Boggs does a good job of bringing both the teenage boy, and his hunter friend through some violent life lessons that lead to maturity. Historically accurate, this book will help satisfy some who might be interestd in the time of the "buffalo runners" and what life may have been like as a captive among Comanches.