The Brave Cowboy: An Old Tale in a New Time

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The Brave Cowboy: An Old Tale in a New Time

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 738 ratings · 42 reviews

Jack Burnes is a loner at odds with modern civilization. A man out of time, he rides a feisty chestnut mare across the New West a once beautiful land smothered beneanth airstrips and superhighways. And he lives by a personal code of ethics that sets him on a collision course with the keepers of law and order. Now he has stepped over the line by breaking one too many of s...more

Paperback, 297 pages

Published April 1st 1992 by Avon Books (first published 1956)

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Apr 05, 2013 Eugene Miya rated it 4 of 5 stars

I saw the B&W film "Lonely Are the Brave" more than a decade before I heard the name Edward Abbey. Kirk Douglas wrote that this was his favorite film, ever. If one needs a comparison name it's Cowboys meet the Modern World. The film started not only Douglas but Bill Bixby (My Favorite Martian), Walter Mattheu, George Kennedy, Gena Rowlands, Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) as the truck driver with an ending the only Ed could write and one Ed Abbey as a police man/deputy, oh and the Sandia Mo...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was one of Edward Abbey's regrets that he was appreciated more for his nature writing ("Desert Solitaire") than his fiction. And it was another regret that he was mostly forgotten as the author of the story on which the movie "Lonely are the Brave" was based. However, after reading "The Brave Cowboy," I'd have to vote with those who find his nonfiction far more inspiring and satisfying. It's a novel that still rewards the reading, but almost 50 years after its publication in 1956, it seems so...more It was one of Edward Abbey's regrets that he was appreciated more for his nature writing ("Desert Solitaire") than his fiction. And it was another regret that he was mostly forgotten as the author of the story on which the movie "Lonely are the Brave" was based. However, after reading "The Brave Cowboy," I'd have to vote with those who find his nonfiction far more inspiring and satisfying. It's a novel that still rewards the reading, but almost 50 years after its publication in 1956, it seems somewhat dated, while "Desert Solitaire" remains as fresh and relevant as if it were written yesterday.

Abbey was still in his twenties when he wrote this novel, and its point of view is that of a young man full contradictory passions and attitudes. The brave cowboy of the title, a prototypical figure on horseback, is the central character in maybe half the pages of the novel. A younger college friend, imprisoned for refusing to register for the draft, is another character. The local sheriff gets a large section to himself. The novel also follows the progress of a long-haul truck driver across the country. The lives of these four characters intersect in the narrative, while each of them also represents a different perspective. And they don't all quite converge in a single point of view. But that was Abbey, an outspoken man who wasn't afraid to contradict himself.

To its credit, the novel can be read on more than one level. It uses the cowboy to represent free-spirited, libertarian ideas set in conflict with brute ignorance and repression. It decries urbanization and celebrates the limitless, stark beauty of the mountains and desert (the novel is set in northern New Mexico). It's also a prison drama, and it tells a satirical yet gripping story of heavily armed but mostly inept law officers in pursuit of a fugitive. A reader interested in a 1950s view of the West and its people in post-war transition will find much to enjoy in Abbey's youthful book about a mythic cowboy's adventure and the lives it disrupts.

As a companion volume, I'd also recommend James Galvin's "Fencing the Sky," which tells a similar story about a cowboy pursued across a Western landscape by the law. (less)

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Jan 28, 2011 Sue Cauhape added it · review of another edition

Abbey's anarchist views come out full force in this beautiful, yet deeply troubling tale of friendship and sacrifice. The Cowboy's friend has been imprisoned and the Cowboy attempts to break him out of jail by getting himself arrested. When his friend refuses to escape, the Cowboy climbs out of the jail and leads the police forces on a deadly chase that ends in disaster.

What's really troubling about this story is that the two friends are Korean veterans -- soldiers in a war that was undeclared....more

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May 04, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: westerns, historical-fiction

Never doubt the universality of the basic premise here--there is inescapable tension between the needs of the individual and the requirements of living in relationship.

The plot elements are well-conceived; it's a great story. The setting is spectacular, colorful, rich, a character all its own, described in detail.

Unhappily, Abbey has a greater feel for the character of the place than he has for the character of the people. The story bogs down because the focus constantly shifts away from the hu...more

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May 26, 2010 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Edward Abbey writes a fine story about the cowboy Edward Burns and his loathing of government and the restrictions that law places on man's free will. Taking place in the New Mexican desert, the tale follows Burns' purposeful arrest, his attempt to spring his companion from the clink, his own subsequent escape and the chase that the law gives him into the mountains, where he eventually evades his pursuers and...well, you're just going to have to read to find out. 4 stars because, even though I l...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Kent rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Basis for the movie Lonely are the Brave. Jack Burns, the anachronism, travels to town to break his buddy out of jail. Unfortunately this is mid-20th century Albuquerque, and cowboys breaking their buddies out of jail just don't have much luck. His friend is in for helping illegal immigrants - not a typical cowboy crime. Jack remains true to the code that says you stick with your buddies and family to the end, tries breaking his friend out, fails, and then runs for the hills and Mexico beyond. T...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: home-library-shelf-01, 2012-read-edward-abbey-project, read-fiction-20th-century

The Brave Cowboy is a tale very much of its time (the Cold War of the 1950s), while also a prophetic tale, predicting what was to become of the Southwestern United States, both geographically and geopolitically (military bases, weapons manufacturers, housing subdivisions, strip malls, environmental devastation). Yes, the book is set in New Mexico, and yes, the central character is a cowboy, but this is not a "cowboy story" in terms of genre. To me, it was very much a Cold War story, and the prob...more The Brave Cowboy is a tale very much of its time (the Cold War of the 1950s), while also a prophetic tale, predicting what was to become of the Southwestern United States, both geographically and geopolitically (military bases, weapons manufacturers, housing subdivisions, strip malls, environmental devastation). Yes, the book is set in New Mexico, and yes, the central character is a cowboy, but this is not a "cowboy story" in terms of genre. To me, it was very much a Cold War story, and the problems its characters addressed were 20th Century problems.

The book, primarily, was Edward Abbey's indictment against the loss of personal freedom in the face of an ever-expanding government and military. The central character, the itinerant cowhand John W. Burns, is a World War II veteran, having fought and been wounded in Italy. After the war, as a college student (presumably attending college on the G.I. Bill), he becomes involved with a campus anarchist group that opposes mandatory draft registration (the Selective Service Act of 1948, specifically), a dangerous move, politically, during the "Red Scare" years. (Abbey would have been writing the book during the height of the House Un-American Activities Committee/McCarthy hearings.) Burns, while not being a pacifist, sees mandatory registration as equal to giving away his freedom, in other words, slavery. He fights to preserve his freedom until the bitter and sad end of the book.

The book is also Abbey's indictment of the increased militarism in the U.S. following World War II, which turned the Southwestern United States into one big airbase. (Having grown up during the 1970s-1980s in a Southwestern city dominated by a USAF base, I felt Abbey's fortelling of the militaristic future of the region was spot on.) Finally, a side story involving a housing subdivision developer and the local Sherriff foreshadows the Southwest's housing boom that would increase the area's population substantially, resulting in grave environmental consequences.

Abbey's descriptions of the environment are beautifully detailed and vivid, revealing his intimate relationship with the environment of that area. I agree with other reviewers that the characters in this book are somewhat monodimensional, and that Abbey is better at describing and making real nature rather than people. Abbey's (overly) descriptive writing style causes the story to move a bit slowly in parts, which caused me to give it three rather than four stars. I became slightly bored at times, especially because the plot was pretty predictable. That said, even though I could tell what was going to happen, I was enjoying hearing Abbey tell the tale -- I wanted to hear his particular point of view on the matters at hand. This was Abbey's second book. I look forward to reading more of his works, to seeing how he matured as a writer.(less)

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Sep 17, 2011 Susan Klinke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, the-west

I like the idea of the book better than Abbey's execution of it. I much prefer Abbey when he straightforwardly philosophizes about life and the modern world or when he writes about the landscape and his experience of it. Much less well do I like when he writes about people, fictional or otherwise. I just don't think he is nearly as observant of, moved by, or sensitive to people as he is by the land, ideas, or his own experience.

Abbey's characters in the Brave Cowboy, while interesting, are not f...more I like the idea of the book better than Abbey's execution of it. I much prefer Abbey when he straightforwardly philosophizes about life and the modern world or when he writes about the landscape and his experience of it. Much less well do I like when he writes about people, fictional or otherwise. I just don't think he is nearly as observant of, moved by, or sensitive to people as he is by the land, ideas, or his own experience.

Abbey's characters in the Brave Cowboy, while interesting, are not fully realized and feel a little one-dimensional. They seem mostly to be just vehicles for Abbey's ideas. The dialogue between characters is not that great either. It feels somewhat stiff and not natural or nuanced enough. That being said, the characters of Jack Burns, Paul Bondi, and Jerry Bondi did not seem typical for a western, and were an unexpected and happy surprise.

Jack Burns, the main character, and the most fully realized character, is a self-professed anarchist who likes to live life on his own terms rather than society's. This does not mean that he is without morals. It's just that his morals are often at odds with those of society. He feels out of place in modern civilization, and prefers living in the wilderness with his horse Whisky. I found the following excerpt one of the better pieces of writing in the book. It is taken from a time when Jack is in a canyon shortly after he escapes from jail. It gives a very good sense of Jack Burns and of why he prefers to live the way he does:

"Burns felt eager, hungry, intensely aware of every shade, sound, smell, and movement in his environment; a keen convergence of his powers and intentions made each step seem vital, made the actions of his limbs consensual with the purpose in his mind. For the first time in nearly two days and nights he felt himself to be a whole and living creature, a man again and not a derelict stumbling through a mechanical world he could not understand."

Jack's friend, Paul Bondi, is in jail for refusing to sign up for Selective Service. His refusal was due to his belief that compulsory military service is a form of slavery. Even though he engaged in this bit of civil disobedience, he considers himself to be a good citizen. Jack tries to break him out of jail, but while Paul is somewhat tempted by Jack's "romantic" notions, he ultimately believes in serving his time. Paul is married and has a son, is educated with a philosophy degree, and wants to go to graduate school as well as serve on the school board some day. Being on the run would not be conducive to being a good husband and father or accomplishing the goals he has set for himself.

Jerry, Paul Bondi's wife, is an abstract painter. She has a lesser part, but her unusual pastime for a character in a western, no less a female character in a western, adds another interesting dimension in this not so typical western.

I saw the movie, Lonely are the Brave, which was based on The Brave Cowboy, before I read the book. It is a case in which I liked the movie better than the book. I think this is perhaps because the somewhat one-dimensionality of the characters in the book was able to be more fleshed out by the actors in the movie. There are some differences between the book and the movie. A notable one is that in the movie Paul Bondi is in jail for smuggling Mexicans across the border instead of refusing to register for Selective Service.

As an aside, I learned from the book that Dexedrine (aka Speed) looks to have readily available in 1950's cafes to weary truck drivers. (less)

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Aug 21, 2009 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Rebecca by: Sheila

Shelves: read-with-help

Well. I have a very mixed response to this. On the one hand, the style was beautiful. Very lyrical, incredibly flowing, beautifully descriptive. It was both real life, and better.

That said, while I loved the style, the plot and characters left something to be desired for me. I was not a fan of the hero, and it's hard not to cheer for your protagonist. I didn't support the decisions the main characters made, and more than that, I didn't understand or sympathize with them. I don't have to agree w...more Well. I have a very mixed response to this. On the one hand, the style was beautiful. Very lyrical, incredibly flowing, beautifully descriptive. It was both real life, and better.

That said, while I loved the style, the plot and characters left something to be desired for me. I was not a fan of the hero, and it's hard not to cheer for your protagonist. I didn't support the decisions the main characters made, and more than that, I didn't understand or sympathize with them. I don't have to agree with what the characters decide to do, if I understand how they got there, but I don't find a lot of basis for what the "hero," as such, was doing. Choosing to commit a variety of felonies, apparently just for the hell of it, is not very sympathetic behavior. The rational seemed to boil down to "you're not the boss of me," which seems more like an two year old with a temper tantrum than an adult making a rational decision.

I hated the ending, but there was no real other way to go about it. I don't know if the author had the ending planned from the beginning, or if he just wrote himself into a corner. There was no other way for it to end. I saw the "twist" coming about halfway through, although it was more along the lines of "surely he's not doing that, surely that's not where he's going with this, SURELY NOT." But, sadly, that's where he was going. The introduction of an entire character just to do one thing seems a bit much, although I suppose it's better than "the butler did it."

It was a quick read, although the last couple of chapters kind of dragged; how much of doing the same things different ways can you read? But this is one of those books that I wish I'd encountered in school. I think I would have gotten a lot more out of it if I'd been able to discuss it with other people and get their perspectives on it. I think there's a lot more to dig out of this than I got out of one reading, but I can't say that I would read it again just to find out what those things are. (less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Annette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, edward, abbey, western, story, modern, cowboy, military, draft, long, haul, trucker, libertarian, mountains, desert, inept, lawmen, new, mexico, fugitive, jailbreak

Abbey, Edward (1992). Brave Cowboy. Harper Perennial.[return]Cowboy Jack Burns travels to Albuquerque to aid his best friend, Paul Bondi. Bondi is in the County lockup and will soon be sent to a federal penitentiary. Burns plans to help Bondi escape and takes steps to also get arrested and sent to the same jail. Burns finds that his friend does not want to run from his sentence, but the cowboy cannot spend another day in lockup. Jack Burns breaks out and lawmen take up pursuit.[return][return]Th...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Ben Crandell rated it 4 of 5 stars

The only book I've ever read that was represented better in cinema than in the book was "The Last of the Mohicans", which I actually tossed across my bedroom in disgust. I just couldn't accept the writing.
But, typically, books are much better than their cinematic representations. Over break I watched 'Lonely are the Brave' with Kirk Douglas. I loved it! And so far the book is better.
Thanks Edward Abbey....a kindred spirit!

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Apr 22, 2012 ethan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Abbey is lyrical and utilizes his language skills in this pursuit story. He falls short on characterization, though. It was hard to sympathize with the protagonist and the ending felt very contrived. Excellent tension in the final (long) chase scene, but only a backcountry wilderness guide from New Mexico would care about all the words wasted on describing how Banks went North through this canyon and then around the ledge to the east and then back through the dry arroyo and looking into this oth...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Jon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The struggle between nature and civilization. How do human beings maintain true freedom in a world whose man-made structures take away freedoms? I really liked this lone cowboy story. Abbey has a good sense to make the story flow along. At the end it seemed like Burns had no way to escape, his plight was hopeless, but he made it to freedom, only to be mowed down later by another threat of our modern civilization. Nature and civilization - can they coexist?

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Jan 27, 2011 Erica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this in the cutest old western edition (thanks Steve!). And it's a cute old western. Except written by Edward Abbey, and so has a loveably heavy handed ending relating to the demise of the American west, and a certain kind of man. The characters are all fully told, which is refreshing in a chase novel.

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Nov 21, 2008 Jody Hadden rated it 2 of 5 stars

The plot is an interesting concept, but doesn't really seem to work on paper. I felt unattached to the characters and the story itself.

Merely curious as to Kirk Douglas' portrayal Jack...have yet to check it out.

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Jan 18, 2012 Hilandmum rated it 2 of 5 stars

We read this for our book club. Abbey did everything my writing classes told me not to do. The club also watched the movie based on the book, Lonely Are the Brave, which was much better than the book.

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Apr 10, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Had to read this book which was made into a movie with Kurt Douglas called "Lonely Are the Brave". Good relatively modern day cowboy that doesn't belong in the modern age movie.

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Mar 16, 2011 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Choppy. Saw a different ending coming. I hoped the cowboy would get away to Mexico and ride off into the sunset. But Abbey made his point about how growth of modern society and infrastructure and the thinking that goes along with them, feeds them, and keeps them alive kill the cowboy in all of us.

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Jun 13, 2010 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I know it's a good book when it ends and I sit and stare at the couch for a little while after it ends. This is a beautiful story. Well written (as always).

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Apr 28, 2013 Richard Hayes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Abbey wrote his MA thesis on the topic of justifications of violence in the anarchist movement. The philosophy department at University of New Mexico awarded him the MA in 1956. Abbey spent the rest of his life working on the theme of his thesis. The theme of independent men trying to live in a world being undermined by corporate greed and dim-witted governance appears in this novel no less than in "Fire on the Mountain" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang." As in all his writing, the vivid descriptions...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Terri Shomo rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't usually write reviews, but I just want to say that you have to read this book!!

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Aug 14, 2012 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

so classic...that Hollywood made a classic with Kirt Douglas

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Jun 16, 2009 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this one. Kept it to read again. Abbey has a cool style.

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Jul 05, 2009 Bronson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This would be a 3 ½ star book if I had that option. I love Abbey but I think he is better with his nature / landscape portraits. My personal favorite is Desert Solitaire. This was a great read though and I thought it had one of the best chase scenes I’ve ever read. I’d like to see the movie (Lonely are the Brave) and see if they captured the feel that the book had.

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Jun 09, 2010 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars

i love the desert, and the soul of the protagonist. And edward abbey.

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May 01, 2013 Jared added it

Eh, I've loved Abbey books, both fiction and non- but this one was lacking the gritty humor and brazen environmentalism I'm use to. Barely finished it, and the ending was tragic but predictable.

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Dec 30, 2012 Bethany Gray rated it 4 of 5 stars

The only fiction of his that I really enjoy.

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Feb 15, 2010 Kevinkendall Kendall rated it 5 of 5 stars

My all-time favorite book, of any kind.

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Feb 05, 2008 Jake Stephens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jake by: Ross

Story of a cowboy that rides his horse into a 1950's New Mexico city to rescue a friend who is in jail over objecting to the draft. Stoic descriptions with a touch of sarcasm... of the city, and of the nature in the mountains nearby.

Couldn't quite get into it in an entrancing way, but pretty good. Some of the descriptions of plants and terrain will be hard to visualize for those who haven't spent much time in arid and/or canyonland environments. For those who have, you'll likely enjoy the view....more

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May 07, 2010 Caty rated it 1 of 5 stars

Sentimental drek.

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About Edward Abbey

Abbey attended college in New Mexico, and then worked as a park ranger and fire lookout for the National Park Service in the Southwest. It was during this time that he developed the relationship with the area's environment that influenced his writing. During his service, he was in close proximity to the ruins of ancient Native American cultures and saw the expansion and destruction of modern civil...more

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The Journey Home: Some Words in Defense of the American West

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