Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman [Paperback]

J. Evetts Haley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1981

An exciting story of a Texas Ranger, adventurer, and immigration officer who became a symbol of his age while gambling with death in the wild frontier regions of Texas, Arizona, and Old and New Mexico. Charles Goodnight knew the West of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Dick Wooton, St. Vrain, and Lucien Maxwell. He ranged a country as vast as Bridger ranged. He rode with the boldness of Fremont, guided by the craft of Carson. His vigorous zest for life enabled him to live intensely and amply, and in this book by J. Evetts Haley, himself no stranger to the West, provides a fully readable and important western biography, vividly told, thrilling, witty, and completely authentic.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Evetts Haley is a historian and a cowman and the author of three other books published by the University of Oklahoma Press: Jeff Milton: A Good Man With a Gun; Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman; and George W. Littlefield, Texan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806114533
• ISBN-13: 978-0806114538
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best Panhandle History available, September 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman (Paperback)

This book is not only about Charles Goodnight, but it is an excellent source on the history of the Panhandle, especially the settlement of the Palo Duro Canyon. You'll learn about the land, the wildlife, and the men who came to tame them both. It's an excellent biography, and should be required reading for anyone who lives within a hundred mile radius of the Palo Duro canyon.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE OLD TIME PIONEERS, July 4, 2007

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman (Paperback)

My first indication this book existed was a chapter, entitled The Making of a Scout, that Ole Hosstail (Joe Austell Small) ran in TRUE WEST magazine back around August, 1966.

Charles Goodnight was many things in the Texas Panhandle, pioneer, ranchman, Indian fighter, homesteader, leader and all around man 'with the bark on. One of the outstanding things he did, among all his other activities, was his work with the Bison (buffalo) saving a herd but also in achieving the 'cattalo' a cross between range cattle and the bison.

This book was already 20 some years old when it crossed my trail, and though I have a good hardcover copy, it is a second printing. But no matter which copy one may have, it is definately a prime source of information and no small classic in its own right.

In September, 2007, the University of Oklahoma will publish a newer biography of Charles Goodnight by William T. Hagan. Though having much fewer pages it will no doubt be worth having on a reader's western shelf as well.

No matter what your western reading interest concerning the west, Charles Goodnight is almost a must read.

Semper Fi.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The basis for most tales of the west are part of Mr. Goodnight's history., January 14, 2010

By 

S. Reyna "Sparky Reyna Texas" (MESQUITE, TEXAS, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman (Paperback)

This is a great book. Most of the book is told as a chronological story that weaves together some great Texas history with the early life of a great Pioneer and Texan. Reading this book I came to the conclusion that Larry McMurtry's Characters and part of his story for Lonesome Dove were "borrowed" from this much earlier work of non-fiction.
Personally, I find the truth and the actual history more fascinating than McMurtry's fiction.
This is a good read. Great information and much of it given to author first hand while Mr. Goodnight was still living. References are extensive and the legacy Mr. Goodnight left is very well documented, supporting his first hand descriptions.
As rough and tough as Charles Goodnight was and had to be to survive, he was a civilized man with a tremendous sense of morals and a sense of duty. That lesson alone makes this a biography worth reading.