The Goodnight Trail (Trail Drive, No.1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ralph Compton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1992

Former Texas Rangers Benton McCaleb, Will Elliot, and Brazos Gifford ride with Charles Goodnight as he rounds up thousands of ornery, unbranded cattle for the long drive to Colorado. From the Trinity River brakes to Denver, they’ll battle endless miles of flooded rivers, parched desert, and whiskey-crazed Comanches. And come face-to-face with Judge Roy Bean and legendary gunslingers like Clay Allison. For McCaleb and his hard-riding crew, the drive is a fierce struggle against the perils of an untamed land. A fight to the finish where the brave reach glory—or die hard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Compton's debut (and the first in his projected "Trail Drive" trilogy) depicts the rough-and-tumble adventures of Benton McCaleb and his partners. In 1865, Bent and two other Texas stet cap Rangers plan to raise a herd of maverick longhorns and take them to market. They're soon joined by Rebecca and Monte Nance, a sister and brother accustomed to frontier life, and Goose, an enigmatic Lipan Apache. The trail riders engage in several skirmishes with the Comanches; they raid an Indian camp and help U.S. Army soldiers defend the town of Waco from attack. There's also the daily work of contending with cattle stampedes and chasing down "bunch-quitters," or strays. However, these folks do eat well: they're working with the trailblazing Charles Goodnight, who invents the chuck wagon here--as he supposedly did in real life. Despite the various minor plots and the fact that these characters are usually on the move, the story itself doesn't go anywhere. Yet Compton's convincingly detailed account of folks earning a living the hard way offers readers a chance to hit the trail and not even end up saddle sore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Lovers of Louis L’Amour–type Westerns will welcome [this] series.”
—Nashville Banner

“A sweeping, historically accurate [series] that makes America’s trail drives come alive.”
—Artesia Daily Press (New Mexico)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312928157
• ISBN-13: 978-0312928155
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Westerns > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's worth the trip., April 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Goodnight Trail (Trail Drive, No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

OK, Compton isn't Harry Combs or Larry McMurtry, and there's that stale and predictable romance between the hardbitten hero and the scrappy farm girl. But Compton does offer an authentic picture of a trail drive across a landscape easterners can only dream about, and the man knows his history. I was pleased to see that the savagery on both sides of the Commanche conflict was accurately depicted--no PC here, thank God. Compton's neither a stylist nor a plotting genius. He just tells a good story about interesting (if limited) characters living their lives in a fascinating time and place.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Epic saga of the catle drive, June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Goodnight Trail (Trail Drive, No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

The first in a series of trail drive books, Mr. Compton creates a vivid picture of those days following the civil war. This is a real "cowboys and Indians" book. Experience what it was like to drive cattle hundreds of miles so they could be sold.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked!!, January 11, 2007

By 

Jewelry Fanatic - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Goodnight Trail (Trail Drive, No.1) (Mass Market Paperback)

My father loves to read westerns. Many years ago, I lost track of which Louis L'Amour books that he owns. I thought I would broaden his horizons with another author and it worked. I purchased the first three books in the series for him. He is hooked!!