O/T Finally did it...........

Goose · Jul 11, 2011

Just finished reading "Lonesome Dove" from cover to cover, all 945 fine print pages.

Even after 945 pages, it seems to just stop and leave you hanging, not knowing how several situations turned out.

I've seen parts of the movie, but never the whole thing from start to finish.

Will- Tx.-Mn. · Jul 11, 2011

I liked the part in the television series years ago, when the two of them (Robert Duval and whose that other guy} said to the fellows in the back playing cards, " hows it going" and they only murmerberd back.. and when the bartendender approached them and disresected them, Duval slamed his head on the bar and broke his nose, and said to him.. "it was just a few years ago when the people of this great territory wanted us to be senators and you treat us like this?

you all remember that? back when there was no laws against hitti'n a man, or cell phones, or too many cops??

~Will

PopinJohn · Jul 11, 2011

I think Tommy Lee Jones played the Captain in "Lonesome Done".
In that barroom scene after Augustus broke the bartender's nose, the scene shifts to the shelf behind the bar where there is an early photograph of both of the Texas Rangers portrayed by Duval and Jones.
I remember a story about some folks who made saddles, in Oklahoma, and they would put on "Lonesome Dove" at the beginning of the work day and let it play all day.

JerryS · Jul 11, 2011

Goose, you're right, Lonesome Dove does seem to kinda drop off a cliff at the end. McMurtry wrote three more books about Gus and Woodrow: Dead Man's Walk, Commance Moon and Streets of Laredo. The first two are about Gus and Woodrow as young men; in Streets of Laredo Gus is dead and Woodrow is getting on up in age. Couple of these, maybe all three, were also made into movies.

If you're looking for some closure to the saga, I highly recommend the movie "Return to Lonesome Dove", starring Jon Voight (Woodrow), Barbara Hershey and Louis Gossett. It wasn't written by McMurtry, but I think it's the way he would have written it.

2x4 · Jul 12, 2011

ya all three made onto movies. Got all the videos. See them 3-4 times a year but they don't get old like me.

MarkB_MI · Jul 12, 2011

Good book. Larry McMurty has written a number of good books about Texas, including The Last Picture Show.

Folk-country singer Nanci Griffith's album "Last of the True Believers" has a picture of her holding a copy of Lonesome Dove.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaytilston/3178045002/" title="Nanci Griffith - Lonesome Dove by Jay Tilston, on Flickr">

3178045002_f00265a87e.jpg" width="421" height="500" alt="Nanci Griffith - Lonesome Dove

</a>

36 Coupe · Jul 12, 2011

Lonesome Dove was based on events that actually happened.

Goose · Jul 12, 2011

Actually, I got the cart before the horse and read "Streets of Laredo" before I read "Lonesome Dove".

I've also read McMurtry's book "Anything for Billy", a parody on Billy The Kid.

JerryS · Jul 12, 2011

Legendary rancher Charles Goodnight returned his partner's body to Texas. Goodnight made "cameo" appearances in all of the Lonesome Dove books.

Mike (WA) · Jul 12, 2011

One of the few books I've read more than once. Something about McMurtry's writing style just clicks with me.

I just recorded the TV version (8 hours long, I think its identical to the video).

Bob in SD · Jul 12, 2011

When Cal gives Gus a hard time about it, and tells Gus that he's lucky he didn't get locked up, Gus replies "Not much of a crime, whackin' a surly bartender"...

Good Book, never have made it all the way through the movie.

641Dave · Jul 12, 2011

I'm a big fan of Nanci Griffith.

I've never read Lonesome Dove before but have the dvd set and enjoy it enough to say it's one of my favorites.

I'm just starting a book by Frederick Wilkens called the Legend Begins, The Texas Rangers 1823-1845. I'll let you know.

If you guys like westerns on video, check out the Deadwood series that HBO put out a few years back. ...Not your typical western and not something the kids need to see. I found it entertaining though.

JerryS · Jul 12, 2011

I think I've read everything McMurtry has written. Most people think McMurtry's books are about strong, tough, determined men. Actually, virtually all of his books are about strong, tough, determined women (Lorena, etc.)

Another character who coursed through McMurtry's western works was the hunter Ben Lilly. Any of you who think you're the strong outdoorsy type should read "The Ben Lilly Legend" by the noted western writer J. Frank Dobie. This was a real guy; he started out in my neck of the woods (north Louisiana) back in the late 1800s hunting bears and panthers. His hunt carried him to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. The last 40 or so years of his life he never slept indoors, and rarely with anything resembling a permanent shelter.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 14, 2011

If you are looking for a different type of western type stories, try C J Box,a local Wyo guy that lives right here in Cheyenne.
His stories are all in Wyo and stars a Wyo Game Warden, each book takes off from where the last one left off, but with a different story line. He has 11 books out now, after reading the first one I didn't stop till I read all 11.
1st book is OPEN SEASON.

O/T Finally did it...........

Goose

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Will- Tx.-Mn.

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PopinJohn

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JerryS

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2x4

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MarkB_MI

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36 Coupe

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Goose

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JerryS

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Mike (WA)

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Bob in SD

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641Dave

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