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The Big Country
TEXAS - 1886. He came as a stranger into a land where everyman was welcome - to an early grave.
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
3 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Donald Hamilton
102 books108 followersDonald Hamilton was a U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Westerns such as The Big Country. He is best known for his long-running Matt Helm series (1960-1993), which chronicles the adventures of an undercover counter-agent/assassin working for a secret American government agency.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 22, 2014
This is a short western, the novelization of a movie based on a short story, so it's not really a 5 star read, but it stands so far above most of the competition that I had to give it 5 stars. I wish Hamilton had written more westerns & they would be republished. This book is losing pages & originally sold for $0.35. I paid about $15 for it & believe it was worth every penny since it also completes my collection.
The basic plot was fairly typical for a western, but the execution was not. The characters & situations were fantastic. Great ending, too.
From Wikipedia:
This is a 1958 American Western film directed by William Wyler. It stars Gregory Peck, who also co-produced the film with Wyler, plus Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors. It was based on the serialized magazine novel "Ambush at Blanco Canyon" by Donald Hamilton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_...
IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051411/
The basic plot was fairly typical for a western, but the execution was not. The characters & situations were fantastic. Great ending, too.
From Wikipedia:
This is a 1958 American Western film directed by William Wyler. It stars Gregory Peck, who also co-produced the film with Wyler, plus Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors. It was based on the serialized magazine novel "Ambush at Blanco Canyon" by Donald Hamilton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_...
IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051411/
June 20, 2018
Although the author is better known for his long running Matt Helm series, Hamilton wrote some very good westerns. Two, The big Country and Smokey Valley ( movie title Violent Men) were made into top rate films. If you will pardon the pun, a short novel was made into a big "A list" movie, staring Gregory Peck. Hamilton's writing style fits into the concept of less is more. He shows the reader what is occurring-- leaving it to the readers imagination to fill in the detail-- without telling, the mark of a good writer.
While this is a fairly straight forward wester about a range war it is handled with style. Good development of characters for such a short work. While the movie version omits several of the twists occurring in the novel. It is faithful to the plot and story. If you have seen the movie, I highly recommend the novel.
While this is a fairly straight forward wester about a range war it is handled with style. Good development of characters for such a short work. While the movie version omits several of the twists occurring in the novel. It is faithful to the plot and story. If you have seen the movie, I highly recommend the novel.
October 8, 2021
I have been longing to read this book for a very long time, ever since I saw the film, which is my all-time favourite western. I finally had my wish granted and I wasn't disappointed. It is a very nice, compact story, not long enough to be called a novel, TBH (I read the first version, The ambush at Blanco Canyon) and it was really interesting to see how it had been developed into the film. There are some differences, of course, and Gregory Peck is certainly more handsome than the McKey in the text, but all the important motives are already there.
Edited to say: I now have read the longer version and I am not sure it was necessary to develop the original story. Sure, McKey is a more interesting and developed character here, as is Julie, but the storyline about McKey and Pat Terril became more clumsy, from the very first moment it is obvious they don't belong together. Also, Pat is shown as a very bitchy girl here, has no single positive trait of character, which makes the whole initial love story fairly improbable.
Edited to say: I now have read the longer version and I am not sure it was necessary to develop the original story. Sure, McKey is a more interesting and developed character here, as is Julie, but the storyline about McKey and Pat Terril became more clumsy, from the very first moment it is obvious they don't belong together. Also, Pat is shown as a very bitchy girl here, has no single positive trait of character, which makes the whole initial love story fairly improbable.
August 16, 2018
A very enjoyable read.
July 28, 2020
"The Big Country" is in my top 5 of all time western movies. My great enjoyment of the movie and my great love for books led me to want to read the story that the movie was based upon and compare the two. Unfortunately, I discovered that the book is out of print and only available as a collector's item. Luckily, I was able to find a copy locally and read it today.
I loved the book for a variety of reasons: you learn more about the characters, their inner thoughts, the subtleties in their actions and personalities, plus it gave me a firmer indication in the potential, long term relationship between two of the major characters (names left out to not spoil the book or the movie if you haven't read or seen it).
The book is different. The story line compared to the movie is basically the same, but there are significant changes. To be honest, I do like the movie better. The story flows better. The visual highlights of the scenery and action sequences are much better than the descriptions in the book.
If you like the movie and, if you are like me, and want to know where the idea for the movie came from and like to compare them to each other I would highly recommend reading the book (if you can find one).
I loved the book for a variety of reasons: you learn more about the characters, their inner thoughts, the subtleties in their actions and personalities, plus it gave me a firmer indication in the potential, long term relationship between two of the major characters (names left out to not spoil the book or the movie if you haven't read or seen it).
The book is different. The story line compared to the movie is basically the same, but there are significant changes. To be honest, I do like the movie better. The story flows better. The visual highlights of the scenery and action sequences are much better than the descriptions in the book.
If you like the movie and, if you are like me, and want to know where the idea for the movie came from and like to compare them to each other I would highly recommend reading the book (if you can find one).
February 2, 2017
I bought this book back in the 70s, but never took the time to read it. I found it much better than I expected. I've been making a conscious effort to read books I've always wanted to but never have, and I'm glad I persevered to read this one. It's a different take on a western - the man of the sea reinventing himself in the wilds of west Texas. Jim McKay is truly an epic hero - a man who refuses to let himself be defined by others. The Texans all come off as second best (with the exception of the school teacher). The "good" Texan family, the Terrills, lose much of their luster, while in the end the much-maligned Tennessee hillbilly shows a core of good.
July 18, 2009
For a short Western novel, this story is very entertaining. This writer, (interestingly enough, he's also the author of the Matt Helm spy novels!), apparently subscribes to the less is more theory of novel writing. It's a simple story, simply told, and enjoyable. I especially liked the dialogue. Very contemporary in its way, considering the time period.
March 31, 2012
Really nice little book. As enterteining as the movie, but with much hidden surprise for a lover of the William Wyler's masterpiece. I think that the mix of both, would be excellent! :)
March 22, 2015
A great western from Hamilton who always delivers. I need to see he movie now.
December 13, 2025
‘The Big Country,’ published in 1958, is more famous as a film directed by William Wyler, with Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston in the lead roles. While the film is spectacular, the novel itself is more balanced, with a realistic view of the Wild West, examining the causes and the motives which permitted men to be so lawless. The ranch owner’s daughter, Pat, has become engaged to a ship’s captain, James Mackay. Mackay changes shipboard life to come ranching out west, since he has no wish to change from sail to the new steamships and decides that “one place is as good as another."
The difference between the peaceable, philosophical Mackay and the pugnacious attitude of his prospective father-in-law, Major Terrill and his ranch foreman, Steve Lynch, who have a running feud with an equally hotheaded neighbour, the brutal Hannasey family, over water rights is the main story.
While the book takes a stand against needless violence, it has all the elements of a dime store western, guns, paid gunmen, trigger happy cowboys, haughty might against brute might, and machismo against calm indifference.
Apart from an accurate picture of the West as it must have been once, the novel is also praised for its quiet reserve, the excellent and realistic portraits of both the most important and the least significant characters, and the slow build up it has to each crucial or violent incident that serves to highlight the author’s point of rationality over mindlessness.
The difference between the peaceable, philosophical Mackay and the pugnacious attitude of his prospective father-in-law, Major Terrill and his ranch foreman, Steve Lynch, who have a running feud with an equally hotheaded neighbour, the brutal Hannasey family, over water rights is the main story.
While the book takes a stand against needless violence, it has all the elements of a dime store western, guns, paid gunmen, trigger happy cowboys, haughty might against brute might, and machismo against calm indifference.
Apart from an accurate picture of the West as it must have been once, the novel is also praised for its quiet reserve, the excellent and realistic portraits of both the most important and the least significant characters, and the slow build up it has to each crucial or violent incident that serves to highlight the author’s point of rationality over mindlessness.
February 3, 2024
The titular film with Gregory Peck is exceptional, so coming across the novel proved an exciting discovery. Some notable differences between the novel and the big screen, both are engaging and worth the time investment.
Sea captain, James Mckay, engages a woman from Texas, yet after arriving, finds most of the state's inhabitants continually reminding him that it's a Big Country. Jim avoids conflict and dangerous situations in front of his young bride-to-be. He attempts to buy her a ranch, but discovers that the woman who owns it inherited it from her grandfather. She is unwilling to relinquish it to either his betrothed Pat Terril's father, Major Terrill, or his competition, the Hannasseys. James reveals that he is marrying in with the Terril family, and fearing bloodshed between the factions, the woman declines the sale. In his cool, non-violent way of handling confrontation, James McKay is an atypical Western hero. Highly recommended.
Sea captain, James Mckay, engages a woman from Texas, yet after arriving, finds most of the state's inhabitants continually reminding him that it's a Big Country. Jim avoids conflict and dangerous situations in front of his young bride-to-be. He attempts to buy her a ranch, but discovers that the woman who owns it inherited it from her grandfather. She is unwilling to relinquish it to either his betrothed Pat Terril's father, Major Terrill, or his competition, the Hannasseys. James reveals that he is marrying in with the Terril family, and fearing bloodshed between the factions, the woman declines the sale. In his cool, non-violent way of handling confrontation, James McKay is an atypical Western hero. Highly recommended.
October 30, 2019
One of my favorite Western movies is "The Big Country", so when I discovered it was based on a novel, I simply had to read it. And re-read it. The novel hits many of the same points as the movie, but the emphasis is subtly different, and there are a lot more interesting characters in it. Jim McKay heads West to marry a girl he met out East, only to discover that life is very different in Texas, and that it's a big country in which many stories have to play out. A terrific book, with lots of action and great characters. Well worth reading. And re-reading.
October 27, 2023
I don’t think I’ve ever read a western before, but was so intrigued by the story after viewing the film that I wanted to read the book (originally serialized) that it was based upon. The writing did not disappoint and the strong characterizations and brisk plot made for a very entertaining read. It was terrific to spend more time with these vivid characters and enjoy the excellent writing, even though I already knew the story.
Sadly, this book is out of print, but I was able to obtain a copy through the wonderful interlibrary loan service at my public library.
Sadly, this book is out of print, but I was able to obtain a copy through the wonderful interlibrary loan service at my public library.
February 6, 2023
An eastern sea captain moves to the west and finds it rough with deciding what is permissable behavior. His fiance believes that a man uses his fists and guns to get his way. The captain thinks his fiance should trust in him, and this leads to his broken engagement. Much more to this wonderful story.
February 1, 2023
The reader knows how things will ultimately turn out rather quickly. But the tale told to get there is excellent. I wish it was not so hard to get a hold of Hamilton's Westerns. It is a shame they've not been re-released via e-book as his Matt Helm spy novels have been.
July 23, 2025
Loved the movie and now I love the book. There's just enough differences from the movie (which I've seen a half dozen times) to keep you on your toes but really, this is like listening to a favourite album and you come for the familiarity and comfort. Obviously this is my tempo!
June 22, 2023
One of my favorite westerns. As good as the movie but slightly different in characters and story. Short but quality over quantity.
April 27, 2011
Jim McKay sells his part of the shipping business left to him by his father to his uncles and heads to Texas to claim his fiancee, the beautiful but spoiled Pat ricia, daughter of land baron Major Terril. He ha plans to buy Big Muddy as a wedding gift.
He walked into the middle of a feud between the Terrils and the Hannesseys. The Big Muddy lay between their lands and each wanted control of the river after which it was named. The granddaughter of the original owner refused to sell to each for she feared the gun battles and death that would result.
McKay quickly learned just how spoiled his fiancee was when he refused to fight pointless battle just to prove his manhood, though he did fight when pushed to the limits, just not to put on a pointless show.
"
The Major believed he was superior to the "Tennessee Trash" and the Hannnesseys were giving him enough rope. There's a second young woman, the owner of Big Muddy that keeps getting into trouble and He has to get her out. Terrill's foreman doesn't like him, believing Pamela his, and bound to prove it.
He's got to get things under control without violence, but it doesn't look like he'll be able to accomplish it.
He walked into the middle of a feud between the Terrils and the Hannesseys. The Big Muddy lay between their lands and each wanted control of the river after which it was named. The granddaughter of the original owner refused to sell to each for she feared the gun battles and death that would result.
McKay quickly learned just how spoiled his fiancee was when he refused to fight pointless battle just to prove his manhood, though he did fight when pushed to the limits, just not to put on a pointless show.
"
The Major believed he was superior to the "Tennessee Trash" and the Hannnesseys were giving him enough rope. There's a second young woman, the owner of Big Muddy that keeps getting into trouble and He has to get her out. Terrill's foreman doesn't like him, believing Pamela his, and bound to prove it.
He's got to get things under control without violence, but it doesn't look like he'll be able to accomplish it.
December 4, 2016
Interesting story about trying to fit in as James Mckay leaves his role on the sea to join his fiance in the big country. Mckay finds anger, jealousy and a harsh land. None of this is what he thought when he came to be married and start a new life. All in all a good western.
April 24, 2020
Love this movie. Watch it every time it comes on TV.
Loved the book. Followed the movie to a certain extent
Loved the book. Followed the movie to a certain extent
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews