25 Must-Read Cowboy Western Books

The Wild West provides the backdrop for some of the greatest American literature. Western novels give you a feel for the adventure offered by frontier life, with many set decades or even centuries ago as the United States expanded west. Of course, some of the best western fiction has a more modern setting, underscoring the contemporary issues that have arisen in the great wide open. The greatest western novels showcase the grit of hard-working Americans, Native Americans and Mexican Americans who often populate cowboy books. This list of the best western novels includes iconic authors as well as lesser-known ones who perfectly capture the spirit of the West.

Top Western Fiction Reads

Western fiction includes books set throughout the American West, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Texas and California. The best western books feature cowboys, cattle or ranches, and they usually deal with breaking the law, going on a journey or protecting one’s land.

Some of the best-known western fiction writers include Larry McMurtry, Stephen Graham Jones, Willa Cather and Elmer Kelton. The western novels on this list are ranked based on critical acclaim, pop culture influence, book sales and awards.

25. Flawless by Elsie Silver (2022)

Romance novels are a major subgenre of cowboy books, and Elsie Silver is one of the most popular authors. In this Booktok sensation, the first in the Chestnut Springs series, a disgraced star bull rider falls in love with the daughter of his exasperated agent, setting off a set of problems.

This book is best for anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers tropes. Elsie Silver’s Flawless is available from publisher Little, Brown.

24. Fools Crow by James Welch (1986)

While many western books lionize American expansion, this smart takedown of colonialism looks at things another way. A young member of the Blackfeet tribe, White Man’s Dog feels powerless. He and his band of Lone Eaters face the choice of assimilation or fighting white society, which ends in the (real) bloody Marias Massacre of 1870.

This book is best for those looking for a nuanced portrayal of Native Americans. James Welch’s Fools Crow is available from Penguin Random House.

23. Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (2023)

Another romance and Booktok favorite, this one a spicy open-door novel, tells the story of a woman who reluctantly returns to her small Wyoming town after an accident forces her to give up her horseback riding career. She falls for the local bad-boy bar owner, her brother’s best friend.

This book is best for those who love will-they-or-won’t-they romances. Lyla Sage’s Done and Dusted is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

22. Centennial by James Michener (1974)

The Los Angeles Times called this saga set in 19th-century Colorado “a hell of a book.” Characters include a Native American chief, a cowboy who falls in love with a woman well beyond his station, and a man fleeing from the East. This book has all the western tropes, including gold miners and homesteaders.

This book is best for fans of family drama and historical novels. James Michener’s Centennial is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

21. Valdez is Coming by Elmore Leonard

Esteemed crime fiction writer Elmore Leonard explores themes of revenge and corruption in this novel that also touches on racism. Sheriff Roberto Valdez is chased out of town after killing an innocent man—but he tries to help the man’s family find justice by returning and meting out some vengeance.

This book is best for fans of hard-boiled detective novels. Elmore Leonard’s Valdez is Coming is available from publisher HarperCollins.

20. Hondo by Louis L’Amour

A love triangle and its many complications threaten to undo three people just trying to survive in early Arizona. A single mother trying to raise her son and care for her ranch is torn between two strong men on opposite sides of the Apache-white settler conflict.

This book is best for those looking for a traditional western epic. Louis L’Amour’s Hondo is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

19. Cattle Kate by Jana Bommersbach (2014)

This work of historical fiction examines the only woman cattle rustler to be lynched, fictionalizing the true story of “Cattle Kate.” As it turns out, the wealthy cattle barons who lived nearby want the woman’s land—and her immigrant status sadly makes her seem expendable to these influential murderers.

This book is best for those looking for an unflinching depiction of misogyny and xenophobia in the West. Jana Bommersbach’s Cattle Kate is available from publisher Sourcebooks.

18. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (2011)

During the California gold rush, one of a pair of brothers/assassins for hire begins to have moral misgivings about his profession. This humorous novel set in the 1850s lionizes the traditional western novel and uses many tropes like frontier towns. Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the movie adaptation.

This book is best for anyone looking for a funny novel. Patrick deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers is available from publisher HarperCollins.

17. Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman (1986)

This is not the first in Tony Hillerman’s bestselling book series about the Navajo police, but it’s one of the best. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn tries to draw a connection between a murder attempt on Officer Jim Chee and some recent killings. The AMC hit Dark Winds is based on the series, set in New Mexico.

This book is best for those who love mysteries. Tony Hillerman’s Skinwalkers is available from publisher HarperCollins.

16. The Day the Cowboys Quit by Elmer Kelton (1986)

Here’s a great twist on a labor dispute—in 1880s Texas, cowboys rise up to protest unfair treatment by the cattle ranchers, who paid terrible wages and didn’t want the help to own cattle. Elmer Kelton, a western fiction legend, imagines how the strike went down in the Panhandle.

This book is best for those who love entertainment peppered with bigger-picture issues. Elmer Kelton’s The Day the Cowboys Quit is available from TCU Press.

15. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey (1912)

Zane Grey is another legendary western novelist, and this is his best-known novel. Famous gunman Lassiter is determined to loosen the grip Deacon Tull holds on his Mormon town and expose his corruption. Lassiter tries to avenge his sister’s death and save the woman Tull is trying to marry against her will.

This book is best for those who love a clear-cut hero vs. villain story. Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

14. The Son by Philipp Meyer (2013)

Pierce Brosnan stars in the AMC adaptation of this novel, which was a New York Times bestseller. Eli McCullough’s family is killed by a band of Comanche who then raise the boy as one of their own. His complicated loyalties underlie his rise as an oilman and his later equally complex relationships with his family.

This book is best for those searching for an epic that digs into settler-Native American relations. Philipp Meyer’s The Son is available from HarperCollins.

12. Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri and illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson (2013)

Very occasionally, a great cowboy tale is outside the West. This exceptional young adult graphic novel isn’t just for kids. Coretta Scott King Award winner G. Neri tells the story of a displaced teen and the Black urban cowboys of Philadelphia and Brooklyn, inspired by their western counterparts. Idris Elba stars in the Netflix adaptation.

This book is best for fans of graphic novels or anyone curious about Black cowboys. G. Neri’s and Jesse Joshua Watson’s Ghetto Cowboy is available from Candlewick Press.

11. Butcher’s Crossing by John Edward Williams (1960)

National Book Award winner John Edward Williams tells the tale of 1870s Harvard dropout Will Andrews, who heeds Ralph Waldo Emerson’s call to seek a relationship with nature and heads to Kansas, where he joins a buffalo expedition. Chaos ensues. The movie adaptation stars Nicolas Cage.

This book is best for those who love apocalyptic tales. John Edward Williams’s Butcher’s Crossing is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

10. Shane by Jack Schaefer (1949)

Shane, a mysterious stranger who shows up at a Wyoming ranch out of the blue, quickly becomes a valued farmhand for the Starretts and the object of great admiration by their young son. But a feud with a nearby rancher tests Shane’s mettle and reveals his past. The book is considered a Western classic.

This is best for those who want a different take on a coming-of-age tale. Jack Schaefer’s Shane is available from University of New Mexico Press.

9. True Grit by Charles Portis (1968)

This New York Times bestseller inspired two western movies, one starring John Wayne in 1969 and another by the Coen brothers in 2010. Teen Mattie Rose convinces U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn to accompany her on a quest into Native American territory to avenge the murder of her beloved father.

This is best for those who enjoy eccentric characters. Charles Portis’s True Grit is available from publisher Overlook Press (a division of Abrams).

8. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen (1983)

This bestselling novel fictionalizes Robert Ford’s assassination of infamous Wild West outlaw Jesse James, who robbed trains, banks and stagecoaches after the Civil War. Ford, Hansen writes, found himself envious of James’s fame, admiring his gumption, and resentful of his power. The title alone makes the novel a winner.

This book is best for those who love a good rivalry. Ron Hansen’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is available from publisher HarperCollins.

7. Little Big Man by Thomas Berger (1964)

The New York Times Book Review called this satire “the very best novel ever about the American West.” Jack is adopted by the Cheyenne tribe and celebrates their culture, but he later assimilates as a white man and destroys some of the things he once loved. Wild Bill Hickock and Wyatt Earp make cameos.

This book is best for anyone who appreciates parody. Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

6. My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918)

Regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time, Willa Cather set much of her fiction in the West, including this novel about pioneers in Nebraska. The titular Ántonia is part of an immigrant family, and she and the boy she befriends are impacted in many ways by the harsh realities of the prairie.

This book is best for fans of classics or who want to read Cather’s “prairie trilogy.” Willa Cather’s My Ántonia is available from Penguin Random House.

5. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (1992)

Winner of the National Book Award, All the Pretty Horses follows teenager John Grady Cole, who is forced to leave his Texas ranch. He and his best friend decide to head to Mexico to become cowboys. They meet another boy who loses his horse, setting off all sorts of complications.

This book is best for anyone who enjoyed the movie adaptation with Billy Bob Thornton and Matt Damon. Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses is available from publisher Penguin Random House.

4. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (2020)

What is the price of breaking tradition, asks this New York Times bestseller and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Four Native American young men can’t move past a disturbing event from their youth, which begins to haunt and then hunt them in revenge.

This book is best for horror fans. Stephen Graham Jones’s The Only Good Indians is available from publisher Simon & Schuster.

3. Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (2021)

The Anthony Award winner for best mystery, this layered look at an “enforcer” on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota will keep you guessing until the end. Virgil Wounded Horse is out for revenge after his nephew’s overdose, riling up the wrong people as he searches for the drug’s supplier.

This book is best for mystery lovers who enjoy some humor with a pretty dark subject. David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s Winter Counts is available from publisher HarperCollins.

2. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Ennis and Jack are ranch hands who succumb to a taboo desire on the range where they work while sharing a tent one summer. As they move on in life, getting married and having kids, their desire for each other only grows stronger, despite the obstacles to their love.

This book is best for anyone who enjoyed the Oscar-winning movie starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain is available from publisher Simon & Schuster.

1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

A pair of retired Texas Rangers set off on their final adventure herding cattle from Texas to Montana during the days of the Old West. Larry McMurtry won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel, which was adapted into a highly rated TV miniseries with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.

This book is best for anyone looking for the quintessential western novel. Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove is available from Simon & Schuster.

Bottom Line

Whether you want to read a classic cowboy tale, a true-to-life account of Native Americans’ experience in the West, or a western romance, you can find the perfect book on this list. Enjoy exploring this exciting part of the world.