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The Portable Western Reader (Portable Library) Paperback – July 1, 1997

by William Kittredge (Editor)
4.5 out of 5 stars 8 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Portable Library
  • Paperback: 624 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; First Edition edition (July 1, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140230262
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140230260
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.3 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe real West, what it was, what it is
By Ronald Scheer on November 27, 2003
Format: Paperback
Editor William Kittredge has done a remarkable job of bringing together this great collection of Western writers representing a vast swath of American terrain, covering prairie, mountains, desert, and Pacific Rim. At 600 pages, his book is an introduction to over 70 writers from the journals of Lewis and Clark and the collectors of Native American chants and tales to the writers of late 20th century fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Some are well known and easily associated with the West: Wallace Stegner, A. B. Guthrie, Louise Erdrich, John Steinbeck, Edward Abbey, Maxine Hong Kingston, Raymond Carver, Larry McMurtry, Ken Kesey. Many are lesser known and deserving of a wider audience, such as James Galvin, Sherman Alexie, and Linda Hogan. As someone less familiar with the poetry inspired by the region, I appreciated selections from a wide range of poets, including the influential Montana poet Richard Hugo.
Describing the experience of reading this book is like trying to sum up a year traveling in another country. There are several familiar works: Wallace Stegner's great story "Carrion Spring," set on the northern plains during the spring thaw after a horrific winter kill; the opening of Ivan Doig's wonderful Montana memoir "This House of Sky"; Terry Tempest Williams' chilling essay on the rising incidence of breast cancer in her family after above-ground nuclear testing in 1950s Nevada; childhood memories of homesteading in the Nebraska Panhandle, from Mari Sandoz' book about her father, "Old Jules"; a discourse on water from Gretel Ehrlich's essays about ranching in Wyoming, "The Silence of Open Spaces.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Coverage
By Joseph L. Rockne on October 19, 1997
Format: Paperback
I am typically not a reader of anthologies. However, I am glad I picked up this one.
From the opening section on "Ancient Stories" to the final chapter on "Brilliant Possibilities" I found myself constantly bending back page corners to return to particular passages and authors.

In his introduction, William Kittredge wrote, "We name ourselves and our futures through narrative. These stories rest on the West in layers, and reach out and out." Not only do they "rest on the West" but they shake the West alive. Shine lights into dark corners. Through this anthology, the Western stage becomes visable and one can see the true characters milling about. The mythological characters (gun toting individualists/weak women) aren't represented.

This anthology clearly forms a basis for putting "Westerns" in the fantasy section and Western Literature next to its Southern conterpart.
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4.0 out of 5 starsNo Pasta Here
By Edward J. Barton VINE VOICE on June 15, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book is filled with over 70 stories and poems by different authors. Providing a "demythologized" view of the American West,most of the contents were written in the 20th Century, and span the gamut from Native American myths to Lewis and Clark's journal excerpts, to hauntingly personal observations on the health effects of the 1950's above ground nuclear testing programs in Nevada.

Covering some 600 pages, and containing short stories, excerpts and poetry, the one thing this anthology is missing that you might expect is the "traditional" American "Spaghetti" Western story. There are no gunfights at the OK Corral here. What you will get are personal insights, historical perspective, and true serious literature.

This was certainly not the caliber of story that I expected when I picked up the book, and I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and depth of the literature that the editor chose for the work. If you have interest in American literature, especially Western literature, this book is a nice adder to your collection.
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4.0 out of 5 starsGreat reference, enjoyable reading. Highly recommended
By Timothy J. Bazzett on October 17, 2014
Format: Paperback
There's probably no really fair or adequate way to review a book like THE PORTABLE WESTERN READER, so let me just say I have been enjoying it tremendously, sampling random pieces from it aperiodically over the last couple of years since finding this dog-eared copy at the local thrift shop.

Ably edited by William Kittredge (about as authentic a westerner as you could find), whose fine ranch memoir, Hole in the Sky: A Memoir, has been a favorite of mine for many years, the book ranges from ancient Native American folk tales and legends, through recognized classic writers like Mari Sandoz, Jack London, John Steinbeck, Norman MacLean, Larry McMurtry, and Mary Clearman Blew, all the way up to more modern writers like Edward Abbey, Richard Hugo, Raymond Carver and Tess Gallagher. Theodore Roethke, and Allen Ginsberg. Some of my favorite pieces are from Sherman Alexie, Wallace Stegner, Ivan Doig and McMurtry. A lot of the selections I had read before, but was happy to revisit them. And perhaps some of the best parts of the whole experience are all the little thumbnail bios and explanations provided by editor Kittredge throughout the text, simply filled with little tidbits of information for the booklover in me. I still have not read everything in these six hundred-plus pages, but I will keep working my way through it all. It's a great book to keep at your bedside or in that other home inner sanctum, next to the old Readers Digests and Guideposts. This is indeed a book full of treasures. Thanks to Missoulan Bill Kittredge for all of his work in compiling it. Highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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