Jack Schaefer

A wise old shepherd teaches a young boy lessons about survival, bravery, wisdom, and friendship as he shows him how to care for a flock of sheep in the harsh Mojave Desert.

Jared Heath led a line company in the Army of the Potomac. But then they convicted him of cowerdice in a drumhead court-martial, and his only chance lay with Company Q --a handful of misfits and outcasts, all of them disgraced. If Heath could make them an effective fighting force, if the cowards could prove their courage, they might one day be pardoned and regain their honor. And their chance did come -- deep in Comanche country, trapped and outnumbered by vengeful, savage warriors.

A big-hearted cowhand makes Christmas Eve memorable for a sick homesteader and his family instead of going to a dance as he had planned.

In these classic stories acclaimed author Jack Schaefer yet again captures the spirit and adventure of the Old West. First Blood, Schaefer's follow-up to Shane, tells the tale of Jess Harker, a young stagecoach driver finding his way in this coming-of-age story. Jess admires Race Crimm, the Company's top messenger, for his stature and wild abandon and would have "shucked ten years of [his] life to be driving beside him." Jess, eager to ride the big trails, has the chance to prove himself by driving an important shipment when trouble arises. Facing hard choices of honor and justice, he must pick a side because his life might just depend on it. "Jacob," "Salt of the Earth," and "One Man's Honor" complete this engaging collection of stories by award-winning American treasure Jack Schaefer.

Monte Walsh has never met a horse he couldn’t ride, and Chet Rollins has never met one he couldn’t rope. For a decade they are unbeatable and inseparable, working as trail hands throughout the West until finally settling with Cal Brennan’s Slash Y. Their rough cowboy ethics see them through every imaginable challenge: blizzards, rustlers, outlaws, and card games gone wrong. Partial to pretty women, gambling, and practical jokes, Monte is often on the receiving end of trouble, while Chet is always there to break him out of jail or serve as a decoy until Monte can get out of town in a hurry. As the West begins to change, however—the automobile replacing the horse, the herds breaking up—the two friends part ways. Chet marries and goes on to become a successful merchant, banker, and politician; but Monte, unable to imagine anything but the cowboy’s way of life, refuses to the end to leave the range.

Ten short stories about life in the western plains showing life both as it was and as it should have been.

In antiquity and among primitive peoples the storyteller enjoyed a unique role and had to live up to a heavy responsibility. He had to celebrate heroes (try Schaefer's story Jeremy Rodock), teach essential lessons (try Hugo Kertchak, Builder) provide emotional/sentimental release (try Stubby Pringle's Christmas), add to the historical record (try--all of them). Schaefer checks out on every angle. Nobody writes about the West like Schaefer who, almost singlehandedly, rescued the image of cowboys from the paper-thin paperbacks and the Hollywood hokum. The top brand on a prime herd.

A companion volume to the recently published Collected Stories offers a range of Schaefer's work in five short novels: Shane, First Blood, The Canyon, Company of Cowards, The Kean Land.

Lance Mansfield couldn't fight Dick Kirby because it would be like fighting lovely Tenton Kirby, Dick's sister. He loved Tenton better than life itself even though she hated him and accused him of making an outlaw of Dick ... Beaver Creek was a hot-bed of unrest, and Lance was caught in the middle. Everyone blamed his outfit for the rustling that was going on. Then he was jailed for brand blotting. He escaped quickly - only to find himself in a range war that threatened to destroy Beaver Creek.

The Canyon is the story of Little Bear, a Cheyenne. The canyon is his refuge from the world in which he wants no part. But Little Bear learns that canyon walls are not a barrier, and that for better or worse, man must be with others of his own kind.