The Good Old Boys
by Elmer Kelton
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Description
Hewey Calloway has a problem. In his West Texas home of 1906, the land of the way of life that he loves are changing too quickly for his taste. Hewey dreams of freedom--he wants only to be a footloose horseback cowboy, endlessly wandering the open range. But the open range of his childhood is slowly disappearing: land is being parceled out, and barbed-wire fences are spring up all over. As if that weren't enough, cars and other machines are invading Hewey's simple cowboy life, stinking up show more the area and threatening to replace horse travel. As Hewey struggles against the relentless stream of "progress", he comes to realize that the simple life of his childhood is gone, that a man can't live a life whose time has passed, and that every choice he makes--even those that lead to happiness--requires a sacrifice. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This is not a western.
To clarify, this is a really good story about people living in Texas in 1906. Changes are coming in the form of the automobile, and the old way of the cowboy is waning.
It's good, very good, and recommended.
To clarify, this is a really good story about people living in Texas in 1906. Changes are coming in the form of the automobile, and the old way of the cowboy is waning.
It's good, very good, and recommended.
Kelton makes a story that illustrates the lessons history has to teach us. That is Kelton at his best.
Kelton makes a story that illustrates the lessons history has to teach us. That is Kelton at his best.
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Author Information
120+ Works 4,740 Members
Elmer Kelton was born on April 29, 1926 in west Texas. He earned a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and served in Europe during World War II. He worked as a livestock and farm writer for The San Angelo Standard-Times and later as an editor for the specialized publications Sheep and Goat Raiser magazine and Livestock show more Weekly while writing part-time. He wrote more than 60 books which earned him numerous awards and recognitions. He won the Spur award from Western Writers of America six times for his titles Buffalo Wagons, The Day the Cowboys Quit, The Time It Never Rained, Eye of the Hawk, Slaughter, and The Far Canyon. Four of his titles have won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City. In addition, he received the Barbara McCombs/Lon Tinkle Award and the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award from the Western Writers of America. His title The Good Old Boys was made into a television movie in 1995. Kelton also wrote under the pseudonyms Alex Hawk, Lee McElroy and Tom Early. He died on August 22, 2009 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Heyne Western (05/2596)
Work Relationships
Is abridged in
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1978 v04: My Enemy the Queen / The Good Old Boys / By the Rivers of Babylon / Breakpoint by Reader's Digest
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Frei wie der Wind
- Original title
- The Good Old Boys
- Original publication date
- 1978
- People/Characters
- Hewey Calloway
- Original language*
- Englisch
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 186
- Popularity
- 175,872
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.40)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 23
- ASINs
- 4
