The Searchers (Leisure Western)
by Alan Le May
Our Price: $8.85
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.76 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Alan Le MayEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02
ISBN: 0843961724
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Leisure Books
Book Reviews of The Searchers (Leisure Western)
Book Review: A timeless classic
Summary: 5 Stars
What's makes a book a classic? Well, the fact that you keep thinking about it even weeks after you finish is probably a good indication. That's certainly the experience I've been having with Alan LeMay's The Searchers, which I finished this past February, and haven't been able to get out of my mind since. Then there's the fact that it stands the test of time, which The Searchers, published well over a half century ago, certainly does--an exciting and heartbreaking read, it truly earns the description "timeless."
What makes it stand out from other westerns, or, for that matter, other novels? Well, there's LeMay's careful, considered prose, supplemented by his thorough research and careful plotting. And, naturally, his understanding of his characters, and the humanity they demonstrate, which shines through in their reactions to the harrowing events depicted in this novel. Finally, it's the way LeMay takes the classic notion of a hero's quest and transplants it to the American west, focusing on the men and women who carved a country out of the wilderness, piece by painful piece. In days of old, King Arthur and his knights sought the Holy Grail; in LeMay's tale, a band of cowboys, which eventually dwindles down to two members, Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley, seek to find family members who were ripped from their midst during a brutal Comanche raid.
A tale of pervasive violence, loyalty, heartbreak, and obsession, The Searchers is also one of the most suspenseful novels you'll ever read. You realize this within pages, as LeMay sets the stage for the seminal event of the novel, the Comanche attack that would lead to the kidnapping of two young girls. LeMay increases the tension sentence by sentence, page by page, creating a sense of menace that is almost palpable. The fact that he doesn't even have to describe the actual attack to make readers feel its horror is simply incredible.
It's no wonder the John Wayne film of the same name is so revered, as it could hardly go wrong with LeMay's novel as source material. Fans of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove will also recognize elements of Lemay's novel in that wonderful book as well--maybe not specific moments or homages, but certainly the tone, and the realism. Kudos to Leisure books for reissuing this gem as part of its "Classic Film Collection." I look forward to reading the other entries in this series, scheduled to include Max Brand's Destry Rides Again, T. T. Flynn's The Man From Laramie, and another Alan LeMay novel, The Unforgiven.
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Pirate Latitudes: A Novelby Michael Crichton
Harper; Published: 2009-11-24; Roughcut; Book
Best price: $2.28
Price in other shops:
The Master Butchers Singing Club: A Novelby Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
The Last Witchfinder: A Novelby James Morrow
William Morrow; Published: 2006-03-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Zorroby Isabel Allende
HarperAudio; Published: 2005-05-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
The Hot Kid: A Novelby Elmore Leonard
William Morrow; Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.88
Price in other shops:
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)Mass Market Paperback; Book
Bones of the Hills (Conqueror, Book 3)by Conn Iggulden
Harper Collins Canada; Published: 2008; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.70
Marchby Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Books; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
Gates of Rome (Emperor 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.80
Girl With a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-06-17; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $34.99
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Josey Wales: Two Westerns : Gone to Texas/ The Vengeance Trail of Josey Walesby Forrest Carter
University of New Mexico Press; Published: 1989-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
The Ox-Bow Incident (Modern Library Classics)by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Modern Library; Published: 2004-04-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops:
The Big Skyby A. B. Guthrie Jr.
Mariner Books; Published: 2002-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.76
Price in other shops:
All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, Book 1)by Cormac McCarthy
Vintage; Published: 1993-06-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.86
Price in other shops:
The Man from Laramie (Leisure Western)by T. T. Flynn
Leisure Books; Published: 2009-04; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops:
The Shootistby Glendon Swarthout
Bison Books; Published: 2011-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.21
Price in other shops:
Monte Walshby Jack Schaefer
Bison Books; Published: 2003-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.03
Price in other shops:
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: And a Man Called Horse, the Hanging Tree, and Lost Sisterby Dorothy M. Johnson
Riverbend Publishing; Published: 2005-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.33
Price in other shops:
Shaneby Jack Schaefer
Random House; Bantam; Published: 1983-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.87
Price in other shops:
The Unforgiven (Leisure Western)by Alan Le May
Leisure Books; Published: 2009-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops: