What do you think?
Rate this book
Trail Drive #14
The Dakota Trail
Hoping to save his destitute hometown of Wisdom, Texas, Dick Hodson returns from the Civil War and plans a cattle drive run by greenhorn children, but a ruthless gang of cutthroats, hired by the evil Bryan Phelps, will do anything to stop them. Original.
- GenresWesterns
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Ralph Compton
247 books85 followersRalph Compton (April 11, 1934—September 16, 1998) was an American writer of western fiction.
A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton began his writing career with a notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was chosen as a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" bestowed upon the "Best Debut Novel". He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. In the last decade of his life, he authored more than two dozen novels, some of which made it onto the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.
Ralph Compton died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 64. Since his passing, Signet Books has continued the author's legacy, releasing new novels, written by authors such as Joseph A. West and David Robbins, under Compton's byline.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ralphc...
A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton began his writing career with a notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was chosen as a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" bestowed upon the "Best Debut Novel". He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. In the last decade of his life, he authored more than two dozen novels, some of which made it onto the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.
Ralph Compton died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 64. Since his passing, Signet Books has continued the author's legacy, releasing new novels, written by authors such as Joseph A. West and David Robbins, under Compton's byline.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ralphc...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 1, 2022
Despite the description above, in the book I read, the protagonist's name is HODSON, not "Judson."
This is another of those "Ralph Compton" novels written by someone else. I still don't know why it's said to be "Ralph Compton."
Robert Vaughan is a good writer, usually, and fortunately for us, many, and maybe most, of his books are under his own name.
"The Dakota Trail" has some similarities to another "trail" book I've read recently, but it is very different in its basic plot lines. It is different, in fact, from most Westerns, even in our liberated age, and it is perfectly feasible -- not to mention intelligent and exciting.
Like so many books today, and seemingly especially Large Type books, there are typos and errors, and they might not be in the original. For example, "ya'll" -- which means "ya will" -- instead of the correct "y'all."
Still, there is more good than bad and I do recommend "The Dakota Trail," even if it is "#14" in the Trail Drive series.
This is another of those "Ralph Compton" novels written by someone else. I still don't know why it's said to be "Ralph Compton."
Robert Vaughan is a good writer, usually, and fortunately for us, many, and maybe most, of his books are under his own name.
"The Dakota Trail" has some similarities to another "trail" book I've read recently, but it is very different in its basic plot lines. It is different, in fact, from most Westerns, even in our liberated age, and it is perfectly feasible -- not to mention intelligent and exciting.
Like so many books today, and seemingly especially Large Type books, there are typos and errors, and they might not be in the original. For example, "ya'll" -- which means "ya will" -- instead of the correct "y'all."
Still, there is more good than bad and I do recommend "The Dakota Trail," even if it is "#14" in the Trail Drive series.
January 12, 2021
Like the thirteen books before this in the series, this was awesome. Dick Hodson, who was left for dead in the middle of the battlefield not only lives. He makes his way home, to Windom only to find out none of his friends made it back from the war but his parents rach along with most others are almost broke to the point the only thing left to do is sell them. Dick however opts to save his ranch by taking a herd of cows to the Dakota territory to sell to the Army. With many twists along the way, this is a must-read for anyone who reads westerns.
April 7, 2014
Simple prose and quick reading. Characters well described. The writer does fulfill his goal of letting the reader the hardships of after the civil war life. I found it relieving to read something different.
August 20, 2014
Well written, quick real. If you enjoy westerns this should be on your list.
March 28, 2017
Easy reading western adventure.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews