The Western Trail, Ralph Compton
The Western Trail, Ralph Compton
2 Rating(s)
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The Western Trail
The Trail Drive, Book 2

Author: Ralph Compton

Narrator: Scott Sowers

Abridged: 3 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/24/2011

Categories: Fiction, Western


Synopsis

In the aftermath of the Civil War, cash-starved Texans turned to the only resource they possessed in abundance: longhorn cows. Despite the hazards of trailing longhorns across some three hundred miles of Indian Territory, this was the only way to access the railroad…
THE WESTERN TRAIL
Benton McCaleb and his band of bold-spirited cowboys traveled long and hard to drive thousands of ornery cattle into Wyoming's Sweetwater Valley. They're in the midst of setting up a ranch just north of Cheyenne when a ruthless railroad baron and his hired killers try to force them off the land. Now, with the help of the Shoshoni Indian tribe and a man named Buffalo Bill Cody, McCaleb and his men must vow to stand and fight. Outgunned and outmanned, they will wage the most ferocious battle of their lives—to win the right to call the land their own.

About Ralph Compton

Ralph Compton stood six-foot-eight without his boots. His first novel in the Trail Drive series, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist before turning to writing westerns. He died in Nashville, Tennessee in 1998.

About Scott Sowers

Scott Sowers has narrated numerous audiobooks, including books by Douglas Preston, Robert Ludlum, John Hart, and Nicholas Sparks. He was named the 2008 Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense by AudioFile magazine. AudioFile also awarded Sowers an Earphones Award for his narration of John Hart’s Down River, writing, “[providing] a bewitching rhythm and pace, expertly capturing and elevating this story of redemption. The combination of Hart and Sowers provides the perfect marriage of prose and voice. Together they enable the book to transcend genre fiction and become something exceptional.”  Sowers is also an accomplished actor of both stage and screen. His theater credits include roles in Inherit the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, Bus Stop, and A Few Good Men. His many television credits include guest roles on Law & Order, The Black Donnellys, Six Degrees, All My Children, and the Hallmark Channel’s Season for Miracles. He has also appeared in the films Trust the Man, The Village and The Ten.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Alan

I am as aware as anyone that a book does not necessarily have to contain characters with deep subtlety and ambiguity to be an entertaining work. Sometimes, a good old-fashioned melodrama with clean-jawed, noble heroes and evil villains, allowing the reader to know exactly who to cheer for and who to......more

Goodreads review by Missy

I am a sucker for historical fiction about my beloved Texas. My literary experience with Ralph Compton novels has never disappointed. I would recommend any book he has penned.......more

Goodreads review by Bonnie

I have read two books of Ralph Compton and I like his style. He is very similar to Louis Lamour and I read his whole library. Not sure why I relate to cowboy stories because it is opposite my personality but it is entertaining to delve into the lives of pioneers. I can pick it up and read for hours.......more

Good ol' western This reminds me a lot of Louis L'amour.I loved the way he dealt with problems from people trying to kill his people to dealing with an Indian scout to horse raising to name a few. I would recommend it to anyone who likes westerns.......more


Quotes

“Lovers of Louis L'Amour–type Westerns will welcome [this] series.” —Nashville Banner

“A sweeping, historically accurate [series] that makes America's trail drives come alive.” —Artesia Daily Press (New Mexico)

“Compton may very well turn out to be the greatest Western writer of them all...Very seldom in literature have the legends of the Old West been so vividly painted.” —The Tombstone Epitath

“Compton offers readers a chance to hit the trail and not end up saddle sore.” —Publishers Weekly

“Compton has hit the bull's eye.” —The Birmingham News