Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #616656 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

From AudioFile
This sprawling Western chronicles the end of an era. The openrange is closing, the West is becoming more crowded, ranchers arestaking claims to the land, and fences threaten the way of life of thefree-range cowboy. Boss Spearman and his crew of drovers come upagainst a corrupt landowner and his gang of thugs. The result ispredictable--murder and mayhem, with a soupçon of romance. BarrettWhitener's narration is as slow as a cattle drive across the Westernlandscape. His reading is cheerless but strangely appropriate to thegrinding nature of life in the saddle. Whitener's performance ofSpearman's and Waite's mutual embarrassment over their friendship isspot-on. When Waite bumps into romance, Whitener handles hisbefuddlement and clumsy attempts at courtship with warmth andamusement. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

A gripping tale of human greed and the fight for survival
Very highly recommended for both personal and community library audiobook collections, Open Range by Lauran Paine is the western novel upon which the motion picture starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner was based. Open Range tells of conflict between open range men - free grazing cattle owners who have no land yet drive their cattle through the country. Yet ranchers are buying up the land, and one of them is so ruthless as to do murder upon the competing open range men - a crime that cannot go unanswered. A gripping tale of human greed and the fight for survival, Open Range is complete, unabridged, and superbly narrated by Barrett Whitener.

Good, but predictable
Open Range is a great change of pace Western that makes for an easy and entertaining read. It's short, fun, and absolutely nothing that taxes one's brain. Open Range chronicles the adversity experienced by two independent, yet amiable freegrazers in the twilight of the old American West. The veteran cowhand Boss Spearman and his protege Charley Waite make their way in the open West while herding and raising cattle in the open land - much to the displeasure of the local reprobate cowhand magnate and his puppet marshal.

A classic Western book without any surprising and exciting twists and turns, Open Range is much different in book form than the actual movie itself. In a true rarity, I actually enjoyed the movie moreso and found it to be more compelling. That being said, I still enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Westerns or who is looking for a fun, quick, and easy read. See the movie afterwards and be your own judge.