Monte Walsh

"Monte Walsh" was given to me by my father. An old faded yellow, dog eared, and missing the last three pages copy he had long since memorized verbatim. He said that I must read this book if I love horses and western movies. I was not disappointed.
I couldn't put this page turner down. The detailed descriptions of Monte's journey from young cow"boy" to worn and weathered cattle"man" are fantastic. As a lover of the mythic cowboy and avid horseback rider, it was like I was riding along side Monte every hoofprint and bucking ride of the way. He has become my new hero, a real man's man, yet gentle, sensitive, and immensely caring, a man who's main concerns are simple: knowing what you're good at and pursuing it to an expert level, the value of good friends, and always being honest and living with integrity.
As a big fan of the Western movie genre, and especially John Wayne films, my favorite films are True Grit, The Shootist, The Searchers, Hondo, Red River, The Cowboys, Shane, and Will Penny. Now I'll have to add Monte Walsh to this list, both versions with Lee Marvin and Tom Selleck as "Monte." Markedly different films, but both equally enjoyable. Neither quite like the book. All these movies had heros that were part of the mythic west and in one way or another ride off into the sunset leaving modernity to fend for itself. And I must add, we are now at a loss for them not being here.
I will also add to my list of memorable cowboy expressions: "It's a horse, ain't it?" No matter what the problem is, it's still a horse, and one that can be ridden. Not conquered, but mastered. I loved the relationship that Monte had with his horses, more mutual respect than anything else.
His inseparable relationship with his best friend Chet, their gentle jibes and finishing off each other's sentences and thoughts. We should all have friends like Chet and Monte.
Incidentally, my father read me the last 3 pages over the phone from another copy he recently found at the library. And that was the best part of them all. What a great story! Truly the best man with a horse ever.
So swing into the saddle and rope a copy of this book. I promise that you won't be bucked off.
Be well.

Years ago a good friend of ours gave us a copy of this book, since then it has been reread by the both of us so much that it is falling apart. Just ordered a new copy! This is a vivid tale of cowboy life written in short story form as though the writter was keeping a journal of events from this cowboys life. He has the ability to let you feel the action unfold as he writes, putting you right in the middle of stampedes, death, train wrecks, bar room fights, lost loves, and general cowboy onreyness. Please don't judge the book by the movie, it was a waste of film and Lee Marvin, having little to do with the book or the cowboy way of life and code of honor. This is a keeper you can enjoy over and over.

I have lived the life of a cowboy. I know what goes on with horses and cattle. This book is a good depiction of a real cowboys lifestyle. Some people think that the American cowboy has gone the way of the Indian; but I assure you there are still people out there like Monte Walsh, riding bad horses and people like Chet Rollins, roping ornery critters. This is an excellent book for anybody who has ever dreamed of being a cowboy and even for the folks in the city who feel like they might have a little cowboy in them somewhere. Read it...live it.

This novel sets out the panorama of the Old West as it very likely happened. The dust, the sweat, the harshness of life on the range. Schaefer chronicles the love that arises between compatible personalities sharing common dangers, hard work, love of animals and a philosophy of living. Only one who appreciated the difficulty of man's struggle on earth could so strikingly portray its physicalness: the rawhide hardness of the men, all gristle and bone and gritty determination and lack of self-pity.
Schaefer acknowledges the 'ifness' of life in that epoch, its randomness and fragility, by titling the first chapter "A Beginning" and the last "An Ending." He tells a moving tale in a series of vignettes -- every one of which could have been very different. That it wasn't owes to the personalities he gave his main characters.
Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins, in Army terminology, were buddies. They live out the rituals of the cowboy life, when fighting and rough living and carousing were considered part of being a real man. Uncomplaining acceptance of danger, a sense of honor, a refusal to whine about Fate, characterized the cowboy code. Don't talk; DO. Fun was its own reward, the capstone to grueling days and nights on the trail in dust and blizzard and driving rain. A man's word was his bond. Respect was hard-won, reflected in hard tests and the respect of other hard-bitten men.
Schaefer's unusual word usage conveys the uniqueness of the brief era from the 1870s thru the coming of the automobile, when the term "cowboy" described a way of life. The odd employment of the reflexive "this" directs the reader's attention to details that would otherwise go unnoticed. Such devices draw the reader into the action as witness to a life of unremitting toil leavened only by the natural grace, humor and goodness of the men who lived it.
Among the many excellences of this book, one comes to appreciate the immensity of the North American landmass, measured here by the yardstick of men on horseback. The dangers of the cowboy life appear as just part of the landscape. Schaefer shows how we unconsciously identify people by visual cues: The square-built man, the desk man, the slope-shouldered man. He captures the ache of hard-won skills becoming irrelevant as technology changes the human condition. People belong to the age in which they live. They couldn't fit into another age with the skills and insights gleaned from their own era. In this sense, the human drama is endlessly unique and interesting.
In a foreword, Schaefer compares the significance of the lives of Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins, who went different ways as they aged. Schaefer avers that he and Chet respect more the success Monte achieved than that Chet achieved, hence the book rightly is named for Monte rather than Chet. For all his talent, Schaefer missed what matters here: At story's end you have real affection and respect for Chet Rollins, but you love Monte Walsh. He was a part of the Old West in a way Chet was not. Chet, manifesting the defining characteristic of mankind as a species, would change the world around him; Monte would only move in it, as cows and horses and wolves moved in it and storms raged across it. You love Monte the way you love cows and horses and wolves and the elements.
This is one of a rare few books I wished would never end. Monte Walsh may be the only character of my reading experience whose life I wish I could have lived.

I read this book as a very young girl of twelve, some thirty years ago, and to this day it has survived over a thousand other westerns to remain my favorite western of all time. I personally believe this was the great western ever written, sorry Lonesome Dove, and it remains the book that is most read on my shelf. I love this book so much I wrote a poem about it! It embodies the best of the cowboy and I recommend it for anyone, no matter what age or gender or genre, to read it. It's simply one of the very best books ever written. I cry at the end every time, and walk away with love in my heart for the cowboy.

This is by far the best Western I've ever read. Not only are the characterizations real, but the description of the Cowboy way of life is too.

Jack Schaefer is depiciting for his readers not just the story of Monty, but of the old West. I felt as if I were on the trail, eating cold beans, fighting storms, wild animals, dangerous outlaws. The author's knowledge of the workings of a cattle ranch is thorough. His knowledge of the breed of men who make up this world is just as complete.

There is a pathos to the telling of the story, wonderful as it is, that broke my heart. Monte is part of the way of life that is fast disappearing from him. He never loses his integrity--his is the integrity of the land itself--proud, honest, stubborn, soft-hearted towards the weak, and implacable towards evil.

Monte Walsh had become a friend. I had come to love him and Chet Rollins, his faithful buddy as if they were real people.

I cried, I laughed out loud and I experienced the pain of losing a friend. This book is as honest a portrayal of the old cowboy life as I've ever read. Not everyone will understand Monte, or his way of life, however anyone who has spent their life around live stock will recognize him/herself in Monte Walsh. So if you are inclined toward the "Big Country", horses and integrity, read this book, I guarantee you will love it!

Like so many other reviewers, my copy of this marvelous book is tattered, dog-earred and just plain worn-out! When real cowboys and ranch-hands give this book the "thumbs-up," then you know that you've got something REALLY special going on. Jack Schaefer has woven his vignettes of Monte Walsh's life into a superb compilation of the "real" cowboy life, full of bumps and bruises, growing pains, life lessons, cantankerous behavior and bonds that last longer than a mere lifetime. Monte's and Chet's story is a true love story, but not the kind that today's society so often thinks of---this is the love that two men, buddies for life, have for one another, and the absolute devotion that they have for the other is remarkably told here. Filled with truly memorable characters and events, this is a must-read for anyone seeking to learn what it truly means to be called a cowboy. Honest, gritty, hilarious, and heartbreaking, Monte Walsh is simply the best of the best. Once you've read it, you'll find yourself reading it again and again through the years. Just try it and you'll see for yourself!

I have fund this book at the age of 51 - how's that possible?!? Love at first sight. I love Monte and his world. One of the best stories on friendship and life in days when man's word was worth more than dollars. I want to see this book as a Tv serie. All those Batmen, Supermen and comp. seem week and colourless compared to cowboys' of those days - compared to Monty.

"Monte Walsh" is a great book. I was given this book to read many years ago, and have read it many times since. As you read, you feel as if you are outdoors riding along a trail, or on top of a bawling bronc as he gives you all he's got. The book tells a story about two men, (Monte and Chet). these are the kind of men you'd like to name your sons after. I love this book, and would recommend it to anyone.
Jack Schaefer writes this novel as if he must have experienced the tale himself. The detailing to cowboying and horsemanship is authentic and educational.