Monte Walsh [Hardcover]

Jack Schaefer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1981

Monte Walsh has never met a horse he couldn’t ride, and Chet Rollins has never met one he couldn’t rope. For a decade they are unbeatable and inseparable, working as trail hands throughout the West until finally settling with Cal Brennan’s Slash Y. Their rough cowboy ethics see them through every imaginable challenge: blizzards, rustlers, outlaws, and card games gone wrong. Partial to pretty women, gambling, and practical jokes, Monte is often on the receiving end of trouble, while Chet is always there to break him out of jail or serve as a decoy until Monte can get out of town in a hurry.

As the West begins to change, however—the automobile replacing the horse, the herds breaking up—the two friends part ways. Chet marries and goes on to become a successful merchant, banker, and politician; but Monte, unable to imagine anything but the cowboy’s way of life, refuses to the end to leave the range.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With humor and pathos author Schaefer chronicles the passing of the Old West. In loosely connected episodes he vividly portrays the life and times of working cowboy Walsh, side-kick Chet Rollins, and other memorable characters of the Slash Y. Here are shootings, cattle drives, winter storms, and spring floods; cattle rustling, romancin' and horse breaking. Man and beast, pushed to the limits of their endurance, survive or perish."--"Kliatt" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

The publication of Shane in 1949, also available in a Bisons Books edition, brought Jack Schaefer (1907–1991) instant recognition as a major interpreter of the American West. But it is in Monte Walsh, first published in 1963, that Schaefer finds room to express the breadth of his understanding of and affection for the West of cowboys, cattle drives, cow towns, and wide-open spaces.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 442 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; Bison book ed edition (April 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803241240
• ISBN-13: 978-0803241244
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,688,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monte Walsh, an American Icon, a hero for us all., August 23, 2002

By 

Robert E. Goodman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monte Walsh (Paperback)

"Monte Walsh" was given to me by my father. An old faded yellow, dog eared, and missing the last three pages copy he had long since memorized verbatim. He said that I must read this book if I love horses and westerns movies. I was not disappointed.

I couldn't put this page turner down. The detailed descriptions of Monte's journey from young cow"boy" to worn and weathered cattle"man" are fantastic. As a lover of the mythic cowboy and avid horseback rider, it was like I was riding along side Monte every hoofprint and bucking ride of the way. He has become my new hero, a real man's man, yet gentle, sensitive, and immensely caring, a man who's main concerns are simple: knowing what you're good at and pursuing it to an expertise level, the value of good friends, and always being honest and living with integrity.

As a big fan of the Western movie genre, my favorite films are True Grit, The Shootist, The Searchers, Hondo, Red River, The Cowboys, Shane, and Will Penny. Now I'll have to add Monte Walsh to this list. All these movies had heros where that were part of the mythic west and in one way or another ride off into the sunset leaving modernity to fend for itself. And I must add, at a loss for they're not being here.

I will also add to my list of memorable cowboy expressions: "It's a horse, ain't it?" No matter what the problem is , it's still a horse, and one that can be ridden. Not conquered, but mastered. And I loved the relationship that Monte had with his horses, more mutual respect than anything else.

And his inseparable relationship with his best friend Chet, there gentle jibes and finishing of each other's sentences and thoughts. We should all have friends like Chet and Monte.

Incidentally, my father read me the last 3 pages over the phone from another copy he recently found at the library. And that was the best part of them all. What a great story! Truly the best man with a horse ever.

So swing into the saddle and rope a copy of this book. I promise that you won't be bucked off.

Be well.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best book of its type ever written!, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Monte Walsh (Paperback)

"Monte Walsh" is definitely a repeat-reader. I have revisited the Slash Y ranch 6 times since 1990 (which was when I started keeping records). The book always leaves me with a peaceful, easy feeling, taking me to a place and time when life was both more challenging and yet simpler. Those were the days when the highest praise was "He was a good man with a horse." Schaefer's writing style is unique and infectious. I find myself picking up the language and phrases he uses. ("Shucks, it's a horse, ain't it?") The novel consists of a series of short stories, each centering on Monte Walsh, but not connected in traditional novel style. The author captures both the toughness and wildness of the traditional cowboy lifestyle, but also display the unique emotional make-up of the cowboys, their loyalty to one another and to the brand, and their boyish sentimentality and enthusiasm. I pull out my worn and dog-eared copy of "Monte Walsh" whenver I need total relaxation and escape. If I hadn't just re-read it last month, I'd pull it off the shelf now and read it again.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monte Walsh, February 27, 2000

By 

Cindy Shoaf (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monte Walsh (Paperback)

Years ago a good friend of ours gave us a copy of this book, since then it has been reread by the both of us so much that it is falling apart. Just ordered a new copy! This is a vivid tale of cowboy life written in short story form as though the writter was keeping a journal of events from this cowboys life. He has the ability to let you feel the action unfold as he writes, putting you right in the middle of stampedes, death, train wrecks, bar room fights, lost loves, and general cowboy onreyness. Please don't judge the book by the movie, it was a waste of film and Lee Marvin, having little to do with the book or the cowboy way of life and code of honor. This is a keeper you can enjoy over and over.