The lure of the American West is in the spirit of adventure, in the majestic expanse of unconquered wilderness, and in rugged individuals on a quest for identity and, sometimes, for survival. Owen Wister's unsmiling Virginian... Dorothy M. Johnson's, "A Man Called Horse": These are a few of the colorful, even legendary characters who populate The American West in Fiction, a collection of stories edited by Jon Tuska.

From Mark Twain's time to our own, Western fiction has demonstrated a depth and texture that keeps us coming back for more; these stories create the compelling atmosphere of life at the boundaries of civilization and beyond.