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) |    |
| Joe Pepper | (1975) | |
| Long Way to Texas | (1976) | |
Publication Order of Texas Tradition Books
| The Day the Cowboys Quit | (1971) | |
| Wagontongue | (1972) | |
| Manhunters | (1974) | |
| The Wolf and the Buffalo | (1980) | |
| Stand Proud | (1984) | |
| Dark Thicket | (1985) | |
| The Man Who Rode Midnight | (1987) | |
| Honor at Daybreak | (1991) | |
Publication Order of Sons of Texas Books
| Sons of Texas | (1989) | |
| The Raiders | (1989) | |
| The Rebels | (1989) | |
Publication Order of Hewey Calloway Books
| The Good Old Boys | (1982) | |
| The Smiling Country | (1998) | |
| Six Bits a Day | (2005) | |
| The Unlikely Lawman | (2022) | |
Publication Order of Texas Rangers Books
| The Buckskin Line | (1999) | |
| Badger Boy | (2001) | |
| The Way of the Coyote | (2001) | |
| Ranger's Trail | (2002) | |
| Other Men's Horses | (2002) | |
| Lone Star Rising | (2003) | |
| Texas Vendetta | (2004) | |
| Jericho's Road | (2004) | |
| Hard Trail To Follow | (2008) | |
| Texas Standoff | (2010) | |
Publication Order of Buckalew Family Books
| Massacre at Goliad | (1965) | |
| After the Bugles | (1967) | |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Hot Iron | (1956) | |
| Buffalo Wagons | (1957) | |
| Bitter Trail | (1959) | |
| Texas Rifles | (1960) | |
| Donovan | (1961) | |
| Pecos Crossing | (1963) | |
| Horsehead Crossing | (1963) | |
| Shotgun Settlement | (1969) | |
| Bowie's Mine | (1971) | |
| The Time It Never Rained | (1973) | |
| Barbed Wire | (1980) | |
| Eyes of the Hawk | (1981) | |
| Llano River | (1982) | |
| Shadow of a Star | (1984) | |
| Hanging Judge | (1988) | |
| Slaughter | (1992) | |
| The Best Christmas | (1993) | |
| The Indian in Frontier News | (1993) | |
| The Far Canyon | (1994) | |
| The Pumpkin Rollers | (1996) | |
| Cloudy in the West | (1997) | |
| Christmas at the Ranch | (2003) | |
| Shotgun | (2007) | |
| Many a River | (2008) | |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| There's Always Another Chance, and Other Stories | (1986) | |
| The Big Brand | (1986) | |
| Legend | (1999) | |
| ReadWest | (2011) | |
| Wild West | (2017) | |
| Hard Ride | (2018) | |
| The Cowboy Way | (2020) | |
| Law of the Land | (2021) | |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Looking Back West: Selections form the Pioneer News-Observer | (1972) | |
| Permian: A Continuing Saga | (1985) | |
| Elmer Kelton: 30 Years of Western Fiction | (1985) | |
| Living and Writing in West Texas: Two Speeches | (1990) | |
| The Art of Howard Terpning | (1992) | |
| The Art of Frank C. McCarthy | (1992) | |
| The Art of James Bama | (1993) | |
| Elmer Kelton Country: The Short Nonfiction of a Texas Novelist | (1993) | |
| My Kind of Heroes: Selected Speeches | (1995) | |
| Texas | (1995) | |
| Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land and Legacy | (1999) | |
| Prairie Gothic | (2005) | |
| Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer | (2007) | |
| Tom Lovell: Storyteller with a Brush | (2020) | |
Publication Order of Ralph Compton Western Books
(with Robert J. Randisi, Livia J. Washburn, Kevin D. Randle, Jory Sherman, John Edward Ames, Matthew P. Mayo, Jackson Lowry, Ralph Compton, Carlton Stowers, Robert Vaughan, Dusty Richards, Joseph A. West, David Robbins, Marcus Galloway, Paul Ledd, R. Lake, E L Ripley)
| Clarion's Call | (2001) | |
| Blood and Gold | (2004) | |
| For the Brand | (2005) | |
| Rio Largo | (2006) | |
| Guns of the Canyonlands | (2006) | |
| Texas Empire | (2006) | |
| By the Horns | (2006) | |
| Deadwood Gulch | (2006) | |
| The Bloody Trail | (2007) | |
| A Wolf In the Fold | (2007) | |
| Bluff City | (2007) | |
| Blood Duel | (2007) | |
| Death of a Bad Man | (2008) | |
| Ride the Hard Trail | (2008) | |
| Bullet for a Bad Man | (2008) | |
| The Convict Trail | (2008) | |
| Rawhide Flat | (2009) | |
| Outlaw's Reckoning | (2009) | |
| The Man From Nowhere | (2009) | |
| Bounty Hunter | (2009) | |
| Fatal Justice | (2009) | |
| Stryker's Revenge | (2010) | |
| Death of a Hangman | (2010) | |
| North to the Salt Fork | (2010) | |
| Rusted Tin | (2010) | |
| The Burning Range | (2010) | |
| The Last Manhunt | (2011) | |
| The Stranger from Abilene | (2011) | |
| The Ghost of Apache Creek | (2011) | |
| Dead Man's Ranch | (2012) | |
| Slaughter Canyon | (2012) | |
| One Man's Fire | (2012) | |
| Tucker's Reckoning | (2012) | |
| Down on Gila River | (2012) | |
| Brimstone Trail | (2013) | |
| Straight Shooter | (2013) | |
| The Hunted | (2013) | |
| Hard Ride to Wichita | (2013) | |
| The Cheyenne Trail | (2014) | |
| Double-Cross Ranch | (2014) | |
| Comanche Trail | (2014) | |
| The Dangerous Land | (2014) | |
| Vigilante Dawn | (2014) | |
| The Evil Men Do | (2015) | |
| Straight to the Noose | (2015) | |
| Shotgun Charlie | (2015) | |
| The Law and the Lawless | (2015) | |
| Brother's Keeper | (2015) | |
| Texas Hills | (2015) | |
| Outlaw Town | (2016) | |
| Phantom Hill | (2016) | |
| Hellbound Posse | (2021) | |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| New Trails: Twenty-Three Original Stories | (1994) | |
| The Best of the American West II | (1999) | |
| A Century of Great Western Stories | (2001) | |
| Noah’s Ride | (2006) | |
| Lost Trails | (2007) | |
| The Way of the West | (2008) | |
| Law of the Gun | (2010) | |
| Ghost Towns | (2010) | |
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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