This was a period of great discovery for a nation that had held its own reins for just over half a century. It was an era brought to birth by Lewis and Clark’s expedition to the Pacific Ocean and came to a gradual halt with the dawning of the Industrial Age. In this hundred year span came the mountain men, wagon trains, railroads, cattle drives, gunfighters, and the cowboy. History was made and names of the people who lived it became known to everyone, and are still known to this day.

The men and women who were part of this unprecedented era seemed bigger than life, and in many ways they were. Many of their traits live on today, a set of values that were an intricate part of life: honesty, independence, hard work, and honor were staples of the day, and still are for many people. It is all of this: history, people, and a way of life that is encapsulated in the Western genre.

Unlike most genres, the Western Novel has its roots firmly planted in its history, but like all genres there are good and poor writers of it. The difference between the good and poor is the overall understanding of the era. In order to write about the west it is necessary to have a sense of the people and the times. The good writer can put this into words; the poor writer simply copies Hollywood. Unfortunately, many people who are not particularly knowledgeable about the western period see only the bad examples – films that are ridiculous in their portrayal of the west and the books that echo them. These people never get the opportunity to push past all this to see what is genuine and historically accurate.

We all have a tendency to go with our first impressions and if it’s a bad one it will stick with us. The first chapter of a novel will tell the reader if the writer is experienced in the subject or not. Agatha Christie is no doubt the epitome of the Mystery writer; she wrote from and about the world she knew. Reading her words transports the reader to her world; you can feel it. If, for instance, she had lived in California all her life and wrote about Europe it would be obvious and the reader would not get that feel for the story. So it is with the Western. Louis L’Amour is the shining example of the great western writer. Few writers have ever sold more books, or had more films made from them, than he did. What made and still makes him so popular? The answer is simple – he’d been there. He traveled the west, knew the people, and understood the culture and mind-set. His experience comes out in his writing and the reader “becomes” part of the story.

It seems the western has always had ‘roller coaster’ popularity. Many editors and publishers are steadfast in their rejection of the Western; they believe it has no viable place at the fiction table. Publishers repeatedly told L’Amour that the Western was not literature and nobody would ever read it. The well of the Western genre had been poisoned by Hollywood and bad writers. Louis L’Amour set out to prove them wrong and the rest is history.

What exactly separates a good Western from a bad Western? Knowledge. That and an understanding of the era and its people. On top of this must come a never ending thirst for research. It is imperative that the writer know the material. Research separates the myths from the truth and gives the written work the sound of authenticity. The hard-core reader of Westerns is up on its history and nothing will turn them off faster then inaccuracies in the writing.

The true Western takes an event from the everyday world of the 19th Century West and shows it to us. Common people living common lives until some problem or event arose to throw their life into turmoil. The story shows us how they dealt with it and more importantly, how they overcame it. It was a time when business deals were closed with a handshake, when a man’s word was his bond; and honor, truth, and courage were all very real and necessary elements of life. To fail in any of these was a death sentence, either physically or financially; no one would do business with a liar. There were liars and evil people then as now, but the good overcame them.

People today hiss and shake their heads in disbelief, “Nobody really lives like that!” But in those days they did and many still do. A good Western incorporates all that. Good triumphs over evil, the trustworthy honorable man comes out ahead of the liar, and right prevails over wrong. These concepts are all too often lost in today’s world, ideals many people no longer believe in, or grasp. Cynical editors and publishers automatically reject the genre as, “too unbelievable, nobody reads that stuff.”

This cynicism and rejection generates a loss for themselves and their readers, for in this world are a vast number of people who do hold to these concepts and hold them very dear. These are the people who read Westerns, and with them are the editors and publishers who understand this. The Western writer who feels the need to liberally lace his work with foul language and sex to sell his book has missed the whole point and probably never even knew the point. The true Western reader will toss that book in the trash at the first ugly word. A growing number of editors and publishers are beginning to see this. They are taking another look at Westerns, but are quick to reject the ones that have missed the point. Good films and books are far outselling the bad and the bottom line is showing it. The popularity of the Western is once again seeing an upswing. Several new movies have come out recently and more are on the way. Tom Selleck’s company has produced some excellent Western films, many of them from Louis L’Amour’s books.

The Western is here to stay; it’s following grows daily as people seek out the good and long for the bygone day when truth and honor were important. It’s not about politicians or politics; it’s not about wars or corporate corruption. It’s about common people who encounter something that’s wrong and stand up to fight against it. No matter what the cost they do the honorable thing and stand firm. In the end they win out-– that’s what the Western is all about.

© 2004 By Dave Fisher


 
This article originally appeared in Brady Magazine's March/April 2004 Issue