The Shootist by John Wayne

The Shootist by John Wayne

This is an extremely well-written Western and gives the reader vivid insight into the workings of the mind of a wanderer and gunman.―Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday Advocate

By the author of The Homesman, now a major motion picture The Shootist is John Bernard Books, a gunfighter at the turn of the twentieth century who must confront the greatest Shootist of all: Death. Most men would end their days in bed or take their own lives, but a gunfighter has a third option, one that Books decides to exercise. He may choose his own executioner.

As word spreads that the famous assassin has incurable cancer, an assortment of human vultures gathers to feast on the corpse--among them a gambler, a rustler, a clergyman, an undertaker, an old love, a reporter, even an admiring teenager. What follows is the last courageous act in Books's own legend.

This classic, Spur Award-winning novel was chosen by the Western Writers of America as one of the best western novels ever written and was the inspiration for John Wayne's last great starring role in the acclaimed 1976 film adaptation. The Bison Books edition includes a new introduction by the author's son, Miles Swarthout, in which he discusses his father's work and the making of the legendary film.

John Wayne (1907-1979) was an Academy Award-winning American actor and one of the most popular film actors of the twentieth century. He rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American values and ideals. He received his first leading film role in The Big Trail in 1930 and won his first Academy Award in 1969 for his role in True Grit. One of the most popular film actors of the twentieth century, he appeared in over 170 motion pictures and became one of America's biggest box-office stars. He is the only actor to appear in every annual Harris poll of most popular film actors, and the only actor to do so after his death.