The Western Trail

Trail Drive #2

by Ralph Compton

From bestselling author Ralph Compton-an extraordinary saga of the hard-driving Texans who locked horns with a ruthless railroad baron in a bloody battle for an untamed land.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, cash-starved Texans turned to the only resource they possessed in abundance: longhorn cows. Despite the hazards of trailing longhorns across some three hundred miles of Indian Territory, this was the only way to access the railroad...

THE WESTERN TRAIL

Benton McCaleb and his band of bold-spirited cowboys traveled long and hard to drive thousands of ornery cattle into Wyoming's Sweetwater Valley. They're in the midst of setting up a ranch just north of Cheyenne when a ruthless railroad baron and his hired killers try to force them off the land. Now, with the help of the Shoshoni Indian tribe and a man named Buffalo Bill Cody, McCaleb and his men must vow to stand and fight. Outgunned and outmanned, they will wage the most ferocious battle of their lives-to win the right to call the land their own.

"Very seldom in literature have the legends of the Old West been so vividly painted."
- Tombstone Epitaph

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ralph 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...

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for The Western Trail (audiobook) by Ralph Compton read by Scott Sowers.

This is the trials and tribulations of cowboys trying to move thousands of cattle to Wyoming.

[Alan Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am as aware as anyone that a book does not necessarily have to contain characters with deep subtlety and ambiguity to be an entertaining work. Sometimes, a good old-fashioned melodrama with clean-jawed, noble heroes and evil villains, allowing the reader to know exactly who to cheer for and who to boo can be an exciting read. But this presupposes that the reader cares about the characters to begin with - and sadly, this one attracted the most damning indictment a story can from its reader. I just did not care what happened to these people.

Ralph Compton has obviously been highly influenced by the old-style cowboy movies and writers, which I suppose is all well and good for a certain type of consumer who longs for a kind of pastiche of the stuff being churned out in the pulps around the middle of the last century. More sophisticated consumers, however, will probably long for a much greater degree of human-ness in the paragons of virtue that he presents as his heroes. In fact, all of Compton's characters of a given type are more or less interchangeable.

One soon grows tired of every single Texan being tall, raw-boned, clear-eyed, preternaturally brave and hard-working, every character against them being a cowardly, manipulating sleaze, and of every woman being both amazingly beautiful and as good a steer-roper and rider as the men. The obligatory cute child, loyal American Indian and cynical newspaper man are added into the mix, and it's just as well... cliched as all of these characters are, it comes as a relief to encounter any that one can tell apart from the others. I soon lost track of which character was on stage, since they seem so similar - and this goes for the adult women and villains too.

This would not have mattered, of course, if the book had been an entertaining read, but sadly neither the story nor the ancillary detail was able to hold my interest. It is possibly to write stonkingly entertaining old-style westerns - James Michenener's account of the cattle drive in "Centennial" or Jack Schaefer's excellent "Shane" come to mind here - but sadly, Compton does not seem to possess this ability.I found getting to the end of this work as much an ordeal as the driving of cattle from Texas to Montana that formed the central plot was for the participants.

I do, however, feel inclined to cut the author a small amount of slack for two reasons. The first was that this specific volume is #2 in a saga, and it may well be that I would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to start at the correct beginning of the cycle with "The Goodnight Trail." The second is that whatever his other faults, a genuine love of the background comes through in Compton's writing, and it is obvious he would like his readers to love the scenery, virtues and activities of the vanished old American West as much as he does, and has made a genuine (though unsuccessful) attempt to instil this. For this reason, the work gets twice as many stars as on the brand of the ranch the characters set up, but I doubt I'll be revisiting these people and their world any time soon.

[Missy Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for historical fiction about my beloved Texas. My literary experience with Ralph Compton novels has never disappointed. I would recommend any book he has penned.

[Bonnie L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read two books of Ralph Compton and I like his style. He is very similar to Louis Lamour and I read his whole library. Not sure why I relate to cowboy stories because it is opposite my personality but it is entertaining to delve into the lives of pioneers. I can pick it up and read for hours. The stories are based on real lives and real places which makes it more interesting. Being cowboy's themselves the authors (Ralph and Louis) give insight to the cowboy value system and culture. I would recommend this series of stories for anyone looking for a different, new adventure. It might surprise you. Be sure to read his books in order - they are even numbered. Bonnie Johnson

[Dorothy Smithey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ol' western

This reminds me a lot of Louis L'amour.I loved the way he dealt with problems from people trying to kill his people to dealing with an Indian scout to horse raising to name a few. I would recommend it to anyone who likes westerns.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, lots of action and a lot of history of the move West. Post
civil War veterans moving cattle up the trails to the railroads. I found the mention of Grant's administration interesting. A tough time to be President.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read two books of Ralph Compton and I like his style. He is very similar to Louis Lamour.
It is entertaining to delve into the lives of pioneers. I can pick it up and read for hours. The stories are based on real lives and real places which makes it more interesting.

[M.E. Syler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like western movies, but I found Tom Compton to be an excellent writer that made me feel that I was there on the cattle drives. These were three stories on audio books: The Goodnight Trail, The Western Trail, The Chisholm Trail.

[Laura Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good old fashioned shoot 'em up fun. It does not require any real thought. You know going in that good will overcome evil.

[Ron Sellers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rcsva13

I really enjoyed reading this book and will be looking to reread all of this series. I have read all this series before and will enjoy rereading them

[Tonya Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 1st Ralph Compton nook!! I loved it. It was a fun quick read with quite an amazing plot.

[Anna Nolley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good western story. I had problems keeping up with the scene transitions. That could have been better.

[Jerry Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good western. Slow, like the times- realistic plots

[Tom Aultman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Loved the characters, and move from adventure to adventure was exciting and fast moving for an easy read!

[Randy Grossman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess the overall story was good enough. It took awhile to read, like I was on the LONG trail ride! Some parts of it were a little more "revealing" then L'Amour would be. And it seemed all the good guys healed from wounds while the bad guys visited Boot Hill. I'm sure I will read more COmpton books as available.

[Jeff too Much · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story with multiple story lines that gives it a novel feel other than a long short story. Fascinating use of trains in the book where others rely on horses or coaches. Odd use of nonfiction character appearances maybe to give the book a stamp of authenticity?

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story but seemed to gloss over things at key times. Tough to keep track of all the characters.

[Ross Rawnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, easy read!

Great fun for any of you western fans out there!

[cathedralwindow85 of BRISEIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Female cowgirl in Ralph Compton novel. Read this too when I was 9 or 10, like the Sackett Novels'.

[Peter Charleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed the book.

[Michael Zink · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT SERIES, GREAT WRITER OF THE OLD WEST TRAIL DRIVES

[Sam Pauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a little more than the first one. This book not only followed McCaleb, but also the other riders of his outfit and the outlaws, too. There was enough action and adventure to keep you guessing what is going to happen next. One quote that summed up McCaleb's adventures were by Sam Colton, who was a newspaper editor. Sam stated, "I ought to just follow you around and write dine novels from your experiences. Trouble is, everybody would think I was just making it up."