Order of Elmer Kelton Books
Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was an American author of western fiction in addition to being a journalist. He was voted as the greatest western writer of all-time by the Western Writers of America. Elmer wrote the Texas Tradition and Texas Rangers series. Elmer’s novels were set in Texas – the state he called home. He received his Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and then served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Elmer was an eight-time winner of the Spur Award as well as a three-time winner of the Western Heritage Award. In the midst of writing a novel, Kelton passed away of natural causes in 2009.
Elmer Kelton became a published author in 1955 with the novel Hot Iron. His final novel was Texas Standoff (from the Texas Rangers series), which was published in 2010. Below is a list of Elmer Kelton’s books in order of when they were originally released (as well as in chronological order when necessary):
Publication Order of Tales of Texas Books
| Captain's Rangers | (1968) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Joe Pepper | (1975) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Long Way to Texas | (1976) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Texas Tradition Books
| The Day the Cowboys Quit | (1971) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Wagontongue | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Manhunters | (1974) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Wolf and the Buffalo | (1980) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Stand Proud | (1984) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Dark Thicket | (1985) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Man Who Rode Midnight | (1987) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Honor at Daybreak | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Sons of Texas Books
| Sons of Texas | (1989) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Raiders | (1989) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Rebels | (1989) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Hewey Calloway Books
| The Good Old Boys | (1982) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Smiling Country | (1998) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Six Bits a Day | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Unlikely Lawman | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Texas Rangers Books
| The Buckskin Line | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Badger Boy | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Way of the Coyote | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Ranger's Trail | (2002) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Other Men's Horses | (2002) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lone Star Rising | (2003) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Texas Vendetta | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Jericho's Road | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hard Trail To Follow | (2008) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Texas Standoff | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Buckalew Family Books
| Massacre at Goliad | (1965) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| After the Bugles | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| There's Always Another Chance, and Other Stories | (1986) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Big Brand | (1986) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Legend | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| ReadWest | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Wild West | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hard Ride | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Cowboy Way | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Law of the Land | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Looking Back West: Selections form the Pioneer News-Observer | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Permian: A Continuing Saga | (1985) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Elmer Kelton: 30 Years of Western Fiction | (1985) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Living and Writing in West Texas: Two Speeches | (1990) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Art of Howard Terpning | (1992) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Art of Frank C. McCarthy | (1992) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Art of James Bama | (1993) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Elmer Kelton Country: The Short Nonfiction of a Texas Novelist | (1993) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| My Kind of Heroes: Selected Speeches | (1995) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Texas | (1995) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land and Legacy | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Prairie Gothic | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Tom Lovell: Storyteller with a Brush | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| Horsing Around: Contemporary Cowboy Humor | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| New Trails: Twenty-Three Original Stories | (1994) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Best of the American West II | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A Century of Great Western Stories | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lone Star Law | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Noah’s Ride | (2006) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lost Trails | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Way of the West | (2008) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Law of the Gun | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Ghost Towns | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Notes: Joe Pepper, Long Way to Texas and Eyes of the Hawk were written as Lee McElroy. Shotgun Settlement was written under the pen name of Alex Hawk. The Funeral of Tanner Moody was written with John Jakes and Robert J. Randisi. Noah’s Ride is a collaborative novel that also contains contributions by Phyllis Allen, Judy Alter, Mike Blackman, Mike Cochran, Jeff Guinn, Mary Dittoe Kelly, James Ward Lee, James Reasoner and Mary Rogers. Legend is co-authored with Judy Alter, Jane Candia Coleman, Loren D. Estleman, Ed Gorman, Robert J. Randisi and James Reasoner. Lost Trails also contains contributions by Loren D. Estleman, William W. Johnstone and Louis L’Amour. The Sons of Texas series was written as Tom Early (with James Reasoner).
If You Like Elmer Kelton Books, You’ll Love…
Elmer Kelton Synopses: The Good Old Boys is the first novel in the Texas Tradition series in chronological order and the fourth novel to be published in the series. The novel follows Hewey Calloway in West Texas in the year 1906. Hewey only wants to be a cowboy, while he watches the Old West he knew and loved become modernized. He comes to realize that every choice he makes requires a sacrifice. The novel was adapted into a TNT made-for-TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.
Shotgun was the final standalone novel that Elmer Kelton completed. Blair Bishop makes his living as a rancher in Two Forks, Texas. He is a man who with enemies – the recently released from prison Macy Modock and a rival cowman named Clarence Cass. To make things worse, Cass’ daughter, Jessie, and Bishop’s son, Allan, are in love. Can Macy Modock and Clarence Cass form an alliance in order to ruin Blair Bishop’s life?
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