The Lawless West WAS Lawless
This book I bought because it had a Zane Grey story inside--From Missouri--and is the third installment of a series of books edited by Jon Tuska which contain stories or short novels by Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour and Max Brand. Mr. Tuska and the Golden West Literary Agency has done a fine job in trying to keep Zane Grey relevant to today by having his work published as he actually wrote it, instead of the expurgated versions editors have foisted on the public down through the years. Max Brand is what he is; he has written some excellent books and stories, and some I wouldn't give two cents to own. His west was purely imaginary even though he had "voluminous notes and research materials on virtually every aspect of the frontier" Jon Tuska in writing about Max Brand in this book. Louis L'Amour's contribution to this set is Riders of the Dawn a short novel he reworked and Bantam published as Silver Canyon. Despite having said what I have so far, this book is worth buying if you are a fan of any one of the three writers as it gives you some of their early work, or different work, one does not usually find. I bought it because of Zane Grey as I said; I'll buy anything he is associated with regardless if I already have it or not just to have another edition. As to story value and worth, these three stories are good reading. Buy it.