

Last of the Duanes
Author: Zane Grey
Narrator: Richard Rohan
Unabridged: 8 hr 21 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Audio Holdings
Published: 01/01/2009
Author: Zane Grey
Narrator: Richard Rohan
Unabridged: 8 hr 21 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Audio Holdings
Published: 01/01/2009
The prolific American writer Zane Grey was the pioneer of the Western literary genre. Grey produced well over 100 books, in which he presented the West as a moral battleground, where his characters were either destroyed or redeemed. His semi-outlaw heroes were his most enduring creation. He sold some 17 million books during his lifetime, and an estimated 100 Hollywood Western films have been based on his stories.
Born with the name Pearl Grey in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1872, Zane was the son of a farmer and part-time preacher. His mother was a second-generation Danish Quaker. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in dentistry in 1896 and practiced in New York City until 1904. That year, Grey wrote and self-published his first book, Betty Zane, after it was turned down by several publishers. The colorful frontier story was based on his mother's journal and eventually became a critical success. He married Lina Elise Roth, who encouraged him to become a full-time professional writer.
In 1908, Grey made a journey to the West with Colonel C. J. "Buffalo" Jones, who told him tales of adventure on the plains. This trip turned out to be a turning point in Grey's career. In 1912, Riders of the Purple Sage was published. It sold 2 million copies and was filmed three times. Grey's formula-in which a mysterious outlaw fights to protect the innocent and the good-shows up in many of his novels. In 1918, he moved to Altadena, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. Grey died on October 23, 1939.
Such melodrama! There was enough action to entice me to finish the book, but it was a fairly mediocre western with a meandering plot and not very believable characters. This was my first time reading Zane Grey. He's supposed to be like the granddaddy of the western genre, so I'll probably read at le......more
5 stars due to my dark state of mind and sleepless nights in the mental asylum. This book and an encyclopedia on events from the year 2003 (all they had in the looney bin) got me through anxiety filled nights where I only thought of my beautiful kids that I know I will never see again. Duane’s appro......more
[Rating 3.0/5.0] Interesting premise, very fun at times, and I liked how often the status quo changed during the course of the story. Unfortunately Last of the Duanes is bogged down by uneven pacing which is quite slow for stretches, and also naval gazing from the protagonist that becomes excessively......more
Melodramatic, overwrought. High emotion for Jennie, first and last beloved "white face with its sweet, sad lips and the dark eyes, so tender and tragic" p 284, "her face, white, sweet, with the dark, staring, tragic eyes" p 237. "She was a woman, weak" p 93. Prejudices of the time fill the pages, le......more
I have had several less than satisfying reads and was happy to read a book by Zane Grey. I enjoyed this book of a good man forced into a gunfight and then forced to flee as it was unclear that he would be able to stay out of prison. He ends up getting a surprise way of clearing himself and rises to......more