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1Shortstop

By Zane Grey

Zane Grey (Pearl Zane Gray) born in 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio was best known for his western stories, most notably <i>Riders Of The Purple Sage</i> which has been filmed four times, the last in 1996 starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Among his other interests was baseball. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship where he earned a degree in dentistry. Grey later played minor league baseball with a team in Wheeling, West Virginia. According to the Internet Movie Data Base he is credited with 110 films made from his stories and books. Grey died from a heart attack in 1939 in Altadena, California.<br></br>In The Shortstop (1909) drawing on his baseball experience Grey follows the adventures of seventeen year-old Chase Alloway on his quest to make his fortune as a baseball player and lift his family out of poverty. Along the way young Chase encounters hardship and set-back. But with perseverance he discovers not only himself but friendship and love. (summary by Rowdy Delaney)

2Riders of the Purple Sage

By Zane Grey

The year is 1871, and wealthy ranch owner Jane Withersteen is in trouble. She has incurred the displeasure of her Mormon church leaders by refusing to marry a church elder and by befriending Gentiles (non-Mormons). In rides Lassiter, the quintessential Western hero: mysterious, purposeful, a deadly gunslinger, but with an unexpected streak of gentleness. While Lassiter is assisting Jane at the ranch, her friend and rider Bern Venters is having an adventure of his own in the Utah canyonlands. <i>Riders of the Purple Sage</i> is a story of heroism, love, brave men and strong women, good dogs and fast horses. And who <i>is</i> that Masked Rider? (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)

3Lone Star Ranger

By Zane Grey

Buck Duane, son of a famous gunfighter, falls prey to the old problem - called out by a cowboy who wants to make trouble, Duane kills him and then must ride off to the lawless country near the Neuces River to escape being arrested and perhaps, hanged. His brief encounter with deadly gun-play has ignited a deep urging to repeat the adrenaline rush but is tempered by ghosts that haunt his sleep. He only dares to release his inner demon when he is taking down an outlaw who is particularly known for his brutality.<br></br>He develops a reputation for killing the most notorious Texas outlaws, which draws an unexpected interest: a captain of the Texas Rangers offers him a pardon and a ranger's badge if he will infiltrate the gang of the shadowy figure known as "Cheseldine" who wields vast power in West Texas, and make it possible for the Rangers to break the gang's hold on the region's towns. Duane accepts, never guessing in his wildest nightmares that he would sniff out this Cheseldine, his hideouts, his lieutenants... and fall in love with his daughter! (Summary by Mark F. Smith)

4Last Trail

By Zane Grey

Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear as Mike Vendetti narrates this early Zane Grey novel of hardy pioneers taming the wild west. Yes, despite the difficult times, romance flourishes and the bad guys are eliminated almost single handedly as our heroes Jonathan Zane and his sidekick Lew “Deathwind” Wetzel fight their way through mud, blood, gore, savage Indians, and despicable outlaws, to make the land safe for pioneer families as they settle the wild west. Summary by Mike Vendetti.

5Last of the Plainsmen

By Zane Grey

Travel along as Mike Vendetti aka miketheauctioneer narrates an outstanding true account of a trip made in 1909 by Zane Grey and a plainsman, Buffalo Jones, through the Grand Canyon to lasso a cougar. That’s right, lasso. Throw a rope around. That’s equivalent to catching one by the tail. <BR><BR> As I narrated this book, I found fact to be as exciting as fiction. This part of the west was relatively wild and untamed at this time. Wolves, wild horses, buffalo and other wildlife were quite prevalent, and the Indians were not that friendly. <BR><BR> This adventure would never make it to “Animal Planet”, or as a National Geographic special, because there is quite a lot of what we would consider cruelty to animals, but this is a true story, and life as it was at the turn of the last century. Parts of this story will offend the sensibilities of some, but it is a glimpse into a world that no longer exists. I was definitely drawn into this story, as I hope the listener will be. (Summary by Mike Vendetti)

6Master Mystery

By John W. Grey and Arthur B. Reeve

While Harry Houdini didn't rise to fame as a screen actor, silent film makers of the day sought to capitalize on his fame. The Master Mystery was Houdini's first such attempt, and it was embraced by the viewing public, leading to other screen roles following.<br /><br /> The hero (or superhero) is Quentin Locke, scientist, agent of the U.S. Justice Department, and not surprisingly, an escape artist extraordinaire.<br /><br /> <i>The Master Mystery</i> follows agent Locke through many pitfalls, in true serial fashion, as he is tasked with uncovering a band of thugs and a peculiar metal robot (reportedly the first robot in film) with a brain, called an automaton, which has been robbing potential inventors of their patent rights.<br /><br /> All in good fun by today's standards, we find our hero escaping a straitjacket, a diver's suit, and an electric chair to name but a few, and of course winning the hand of the daughter of one of the industrialists along the way. (Summary by Roger Melin)

7Spirit of the Border

By Zane Grey

This is an early novel by the phenomenally successful author of frontier, western and sports stories. It deals with historical characters and incidents in the Ohio Valley in the late 18th century, especially with the foundation of Gnaddenhutten, a missionary village intended to bring Christianity to the Indians of Ohio, despite the violent opposition of both Indians and white renegades. This turbulent adventure romance features the heroics of a semi-legendary frontiersman, Lewis Wetzel, who attempts to protect the settlers from hostile Native Americans and the vicious white outlaws the Girty brothers. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)

8Heritage Of The Desert

By Zane Grey

Jack Hare is a young cowboy who was rescued from sure death by an old settler by the name of August Naab. Hare learns that Naab's ranch is a dangerous place and is challenged by cattle thieves and a corrupt rancher who is after Naab's water rights. The greatest danger Hare faces though, is over Mescal, a half-Navajo shepherdess who is already promised in marriage to Naab's first-born son. Hare must stop the marriage, but can't kill the son of his benefactor, August Naab...until a gun battle with rustlers brings the two face-to-face over drawn pistols. (Summary by Jerry James)

9To the Last Man

By Zane Grey

The story follows an ancient feud between two frontier families that is inflamed when one of the families takes up cattle rustling. The ranchers are led by Jean Isbel and, on the other side, Lee Jorth and his band of cattle rustlers. In the grip of a relentless code of loyalty to their own people, they fight the war of the Tonto Basin, desperately, doggedly, to the last man, neither side seeing the futility of it until it is too late. And in this volatile environment, young Jean finds himself hopelessly in love with a girl from whom he is separated by an impassable barrier. (Summary by Wikipedia)

10Rainbow Trail

By Zane Grey

The Rainbow Trail is a sequel to The Riders of the Purple Sage. Both novels are notable for their protagonists' mild opposition to Mormon polygamy, but in The Rainbow Trail this theme is treated more explicitly. The plots of both books revolve around the victimization of women in the Mormon culture: events in Riders of the Purple Sage are centered on the struggle of a Mormon woman who sacrifices her wealth and social status to avoid becoming a junior wife of the head of a local church, while The Rainbow Trail contrasts the older Mormons with the rising generation of Mormon women who will not tolerate polygamy and Mormon men who do not seek it. (Summary Wikipedia)

11Call Of The Canyon

By Zane Grey

Glenn Kilbourne returns from the war and travels to Arizona to regain his health. There he is nursed back to health by an Arizona girl, Flo Hutter Kilbourne's fiancée, Carley Burch arrives in Arizona but soon becomes disillusioned with life in the West and returns to New York. Carley soon learns that life in the Big City is not what she really wants. Should she return to Arizaona? Will Glen still love Her?<br /><br /> Not only a great love story, Grey, as usual, describes the environment in all its glory. - Summary by Richard Kilmer

12Rustlers of Pecos County

By Zane Grey

The town of Linrock, located in Pecos County in south Texas, has fallen under the control of a gang of rustlers. Two Texas Lone Star Rangers are sent to Linrock to clean up the town .They soon fall in love with two girls who may be related to the leader of the gang of rustlers.There seems to be no good choice for these two dedicated lawmen. (Summary by Richard Kilmer)

13U.P. Trail

By Zane Grey

Grey's story of the struggles to build the Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1860's. Typical western characters, but placed in a factual setting. His first real attempt at historical fiction. The heroes must battle the human challenges of greed, ruthlessness, and ambition, as well as the tremendous challenges of nature, to make the rail connection between East and West. (Summary by Bob Rollins)

14Mysterious Rider

By Zane Grey

This book has all the elements of a classic Western, including rustling and gunfights, but at its heart is the battle between good and evil, between duty and love, between selfishness and self-sacrifice. The ‘mysterious rider’ of the title arrives at White Slides ranch, and his coming will have major consequences for many of those living there, not least for Columbine who is promised to a man she cannot love. (Mary Bard)

15Tales Of Lonely Trails

By Zane Grey

Western novelist Zane Grey (1872-1939) also wrote nonfiction books about the American West and its country. This 1922 tribute to country he loved consists of narratives of six different trips to various parts of the West: Nonnesozhe, Colorado, Grand Canyon, Tonto Basin, Death Valley. - Summary by david wales

16Wildfire

By Zane Grey

The heart of a stallion; the heart of a man; the heart of a woman. Three valiant, authentic, and determined souls cross each others' paths, and the sparks fly. We'll leave it to you to find out what kind of sparks. (Summary by Tony Oliva)

17Border Legion

By Zane Grey

The story of a cold hearted man named Jack Kells who falls in love with Miss Joan Randle, a girl his legion has taken captive near the Idaho border. (Summary by Wikipedia)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 14 recordings of Lines in Latin, inscribed with a pin upon her prison wall by Lady Jane Grey.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for August 8, 2021. <br> ------<br> Lady Jane Grey, later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. - Summary by Wikipedia

19Day of the Beast

By Zane Grey

Daren Lane, a World War I veteran, returns from the battlefields of Europe to the American Midwest. In Middletown USA, he encounters a postwar Jazz Age society whose revelers are tired of hearing about the war. Lane attempts to stem the tide of hedonism and debauchery that is sweeping the town with mixed results.

20Desert Gold, a Romance of the Border

By Zane Grey

A FACE haunted Cameron—a woman's face. It was there in the white heart of the dying campfire; it hung in the shadows that hovered over the flickering light; it drifted in the darkness beyond. This hour, when the day had closed and the lonely desert night set in with its dead silence, was one in which Cameron's mind was thronged with memories of a time long past—of a home back in Peoria, of a woman he had wronged and lost, and loved too late. He was a prospector for gold, a hunter of solitude, a lover of the drear, rock-ribbed infinitude, because he wanted to be alone to remember. - Summary by (Prologue - Zane Grey)

21Wanderer of the Wasteland

By Zane Grey

Adam Larey, a young man seeking freedom from his troubled past, embarks on a journey through the harsh American West, leaving behind his former life on the Rio Colorado. As he searches for adventure, he is haunted by betrayal, love, and his complex relationship with his brother. His entanglement with Margarita, a young Mexican girl, deepens his inner turmoil. (Summary by kirk202)

22Desert of Wheat

By Zane Grey

Adam Larey, a young man seeking freedom from his troubled past, embarks on a journey through the harsh American West, leaving behind his former life on the Rio Colorado. As he searches for adventure, he is haunted by betrayal, love, and his complex relationship with his brother. His entanglement with Margarita, a young Mexican girl, deepens his inner turmoil. (Summary by kirk202)