Pulitzer Prize Fiction Winner
Lonesome Dove
by Larry McMurtry
Summary
An epic of the late frontier in which two aging former Texas Rangers lead a long, dangerous cattle drive from the Rio Grande to the unsettled grasslands of Montana. McMurtry uses a sprawling cast of cowboys, outlaws, and women to interrogate the violence, loneliness, and bravado at the heart of the Western myth. The novel revitalized literary interest in the genre and inspired a celebrated television miniseries.
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Historical Context & Significance
McMurtry sought to "de-mythologize" the West, but the book became so beloved that it actually reinvigorated the Western myth for a new generation.