Josey Wales: Two Westerns : Gone to Texas/The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales

I think everyone knows the movie "outlaw Josie Wales" was based on the first story in this book and the movie stayed pretty true to the book, but it was great reading the story. I also enjoyed getting to read the second story, which would have made a great sequel for the movie, but sadly they never did that.Anyway, great stories, good writing, enjoyable read.

Gone to Texas and the Vengence Trail of Josey Wales are both great reads, made all the more convenient by the fact that both stories are published here in one tome. The cover art is beautiful and nostalgic, like the story itself. Josey Wales was a name to be feared in Forrest Carter's Wild West, and you can understand why when you read this book. It is entertaining and suspenseful, a real page-turner from beginning to end. The characters are well developed, so much so that you almost feel like you know them by books end....like you've known them your whole life. No character is more memorable than the Outlaw Josey Wales. I purchased this book for my father for a Christmas present. He'd read his copy of Gone to Texas to the point that the paper spine was starting to wear out. This book makes for a great gift for any Western fan or anyone searching to know more about the life of the guerilla fighters who terrorized Missouri and all the lands that they called home.

Two westerns for the price of one is a hard deal to turn down. I am not an expert in the western novel genre but I enjoy a good western whether it be book or movie but frankly and sadly there are not many top-quality ones of either out there for us to enjoy (for the best western movie ever made, see "The Proposition").The reason for a four-star rating for this offering is that the second novel in this pair does not match the quality of the first. "Gone to Texas" (later re-titled "The Outlaw Josey Wales" after Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of the book) is one of the best western novels I have read. The character of Wales is one that rises close to the level of the "Man With No Name" character Eastwood has portrayed on several occasions in film. Raw-boned and resourceful as well as fast as a rattler with his pistols, Wales rides with Blood Bill Anderson during the American Civil War and like Bloody Bill, he fights the war on his own terms. After the war ends, he continues to make his own life as the Northerners hunt him for not surrendering and not swearing an oath to re-establish his US citizenship. Along this new path he picks up more people on the way who enter his life usually by Wales saving their life. They feel a debt to Wales even though he holds no such feeling toward them. As the story continued he finds a chance to have a family again such as was stolen from him years before. I won't reveal the choice or other details since the reading is worth the wait for these answers.The second novel, "The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales", continues the story of Wales but it does not stand up to the first novel in the series. It is "thinner", not as in the thickness of the total pages but as in the drawing of the characters. Wales does not flesh-out much more than the first novel and the other various characters we meet are a bit too cardboard-cutout or blandly expected for my tastes. It is an okay read but after the first novel, I looked forward to more revelations concerning Wales and more insights into his character ... they are absent and so this results in dragging down the entire rating for this two-for-one offering.These are still worth the price (especially since I bought a brand-spanking-new copy for a used book price) but you'll remember the first novel for a long, long time while shelving the second on the dusty shelves of the "just-okay" bookshelves in your memory warehouse.

To be honest I generally don't read westerns but having seen the movie I decided to check this book out. Incredibly entertaining and apparently factual. I don't remember reading a book this fast. After each chapter I had to take deep breaths and reduce my heartrate in order to continue to read. I definitely want to read his other books now. Five full stars for these two stories!

I first learned of this story when I was in high school and saw the Clint Eastwood film on TV. It left such an impression on me that it is the first image that comes to mind when I think of the world of the Wild West. I recently got interested in the Western genre and did some digging, and was delighted to find that this story was originally a novel. I was impressed as I read it, seeing how close the script of the 1976 film was to the novel with a few notable changes. Aside from that, the imagery and background information given sucked me deep into the world of Josey Wales. I came to care deeply for the characters and understood their thinking and raw emotions. Both novels on the outlaw and his journey share views of the corruption found in established governments and religion, which adds to the grit and realism of the fantastic events. There are some intense moments that are brutally graphic as well, including torture and assault on women, and to those of you that avoid blasphemy (using God's name in vain), it happens every so often here as well. Regardless, I am glad to have this in my kindle library, and will definitely go back to reading it again. There's plenty of action and adventure, philosophies discussed in a plain, down to earth vernacular, bits of humor, and hints of romance. As Josey might say, "I reckin' ye won't be able t'put this book down."

The detail in Josie Wales was incredible. Lawrence Clayton, the author, really seem to know his subject matter. How he got to know that subject matter is the big question.

Great book brilliantly told of the Wild West and great characters if you want a good read this is it.

Gut geschrieben. Gute Story, läßt zum Schluß etwas nach, genügt aber immer noch zum weiterlesen.

Excellent in all respects

a good read

This book builds up the character of Josey Wales not just as a gunfighter but as a man with a strong moral code and a close interaction of the environments he inhabits. Full of action, adventure and many strong and vivid characters.. It is often true to the history of the West and its turbulent past.