Shane

Young Bob Starrett is fascinated when a stranger rides down the road and into their lives. The stranger exudes a sense of danger, and Bob is excited when the man stays. There are a lot of unanswered questions about this Shane, so Bob makes it his business to figure out what the story is. The man is a hard worker, but his clothes and actions belie his work as a farmhand. A cattle rancher in the area, Fletcher, tries to buy out several of the farmers in town so his cattle can have a free range. The farmers refuse to leave and Fletcher starts to muscle them out. One of Fletcher’s men, Chris, tries to goad Shane into a fight in town, but Shane ignores him. Shane and Joe Starret become a laughing stock and the other farmers, who have looked up to Joe as a leader, lose faith. Shane tries to make things better by fighting Chris, and Shane beats him badly. But this is just the beginning.

Based on the Johnson County Wars, Jack Schaefer wrote what is arguably the finest Western novel written. Anyone who thinks Westerns cannot be true literature has not read this fine book.