Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the Wild West since I was a little boy, playing Cowboy vs Indian with a plastic six-shooter and bow-and-arrow set. I grew up watching movies and reading books about the Wild West, and probably that sense of adventure and necessary courage required in such settings helped build the foundation that led me to join the Marines. It took guts to move out West. (Or desperation.) But either way, the settling of the Wild West is one of our core American stories. To me, the stories of the West are even more enthralling today than they were even fifty years ago.


I wrote

Little Man, and the Dixon County War

By Stan R. Mitchell , Danah Mitchell (illustrator),

Book cover of Little Man, and the Dixon County War

What is my book about?

Good vs evil. Right vs wrong. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. And when a young lawman pins on a…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Appaloosa

Stan R. Mitchell Why I love this book

This book is the perfect example of a great Western. A stern, courageous lawman, tougher than forged steel. A young sidekick by his side. A beautiful woman in town that everyone wants.

Put those elements onto the page and then throw into it a cruel, evil rancher, who’s already killed the city marshal and one of his deputies. What do you end up with? A kick-ass Western.

By Robert B. Parker ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Appaloosa as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a town suffering at the hands of a renegade rancher who's already left the city marshal and one of his deputies dead. Cole and Hitch are used to cleaning up after scavengers, but this one raises the stakes by playing not with the rules-but with emotion.

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Book cover of My War with Hemingway

My War with Hemingway by James Charles,

Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. He enrolls in college, where he falls in love with Jessica, a young woman from a wealthy family. Her love stabilizes him, and Hemingway’s appearances become less frequent until she doesn’t…

Book cover of Last Stand at Saber River

Stan R. Mitchell Why I love this book

This book is such a classic Western plot.

A confederate soldier, Paul Cable, returns from the Civil War to find Union men have taken over his farm. Cable thinks his fighting is over, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

The book is tense and moves quickly. It’s also short, yet packs a punch far above its weight. Highly recommend.

By Elmore Leonard ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Stand at Saber River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A nail-biting, tough-talking classic western from the author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN.

In LAST STAND AT SABER RIVER, a Civil War veteran returns home to find a Yankee's private army living on his land, while another enemy waits to strike...

Paul Cable has fought - and lost - for the Confederacy but when he returns home he finds that his own war is far from over. The Union Army and two brothers - and a beautiful woman - have taken over Cable's spread and are refusing to give it back. But Cable is determined that no one is…


Book cover of Hondo (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures)

Stan R. Mitchell Why I love this book

This book is a great read by Louis L'Amour, who’s arguably one of the greatest Western writers to ever live.

L'Amour executes the book brilliantly, placing a woman and her six-year-old son in grave danger from some angry, fired-up Apaches, who are on the warpath.

All that stands between them and their safety is one tough man and his dog.

By Louis L'Amour ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hondo (Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As part of the Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures series, this edition contains exclusive bonus materials!

He was etched by the desert’s howling winds, a big, broad-shouldered man who knew the ways of the Apache and the ways of staying alive. She was a woman alone raising a young son on a remote Arizona ranch. And between Hondo Lane and Angie Lowe was the warrior Vittoro, whose people were preparing to rise against the white men. Now the pioneer woman, the gunman, and the Apache warrior are caught in a drama of love, war, and honor.

Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures is…


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Book cover of Exit Black

Exit Black by Joe Pitkin,

Imperium is the most expensive structure ever created. Once an orbiting laboratory, it is now a space hotel for the fantastically wealthy. But as the station preps for its first group of space tourists, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, Imperium’s resident biophysicist, finds herself questioning whether babysitting a passel of space glampers…

Book cover of Lonesome Dove

Stan R. Mitchell Why I love this book

I saved perhaps the best for last. This is an epic story, so grand in scale that it made the list of top 50 books ever written and won a Pulitzer Prize. It’s also one of fewer than five books that almost made me cry. And that’s saying something. The book tells the story of two Texas Rangers, who are just a touch beyond their prime. But not by much. They’ve got more than enough experience to handle anything that comes their way, except for aging and boredom. It’s these two things that they can’t whip, but damn do they try, taking off on one of the most incredible adventures that you can possibly imagine. If you’ve never read Lonesome Dove, then I’d go buy it today. You’ll remember the story thirty years from now.

By Larry McMurtry ,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked Lonesome Dove as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a powerful, triumphant portrayal of the American West as it really was. From Texas to Montana, it follows cowboys on a grueling cattle drive through the wilderness.

It begins in the office of The Hat Creek Cattle Company of the Rio Grande.
It ends as a journey into the heart of every adventurer who ever lived . . .

More than a love story, more than an adventure, Lonesome Dove is an epic: a monumental novel which embraces the spirit of the last defiant wilderness of America.

Legend and fact, heroes and outlaws,…


Explore my book 😀

Little Man, and the Dixon County War

By Stan R. Mitchell , Danah Mitchell (illustrator),

Book cover of Little Man, and the Dixon County War

What is my book about?

Good vs evil. Right vs wrong. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. And when a young lawman pins on a badge in the West, he’ll find out why most (honest) lawmen end up dead.

(But if you're still not convinced, there's also loads of action, gunplay, and an abducted woman, who even the U.S. Marshal won't go save.)

Book cover of Appaloosa
Book cover of Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
Book cover of Last Stand at Saber River

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The Open Road by M.M. Holaday,

Head West in 1865 with two life-long friends looking for adventure and who want to see the wilderness before it disappears. One is a wanderer; the other seeks a home he lost. The people they meet on their journey reflect the diverse events of this time period–settlers, adventure seekers, scientific…

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A Darling Handyman by Lark Holiday,

She’s hiding from pain. He’s lost everything but his dog. When fresh air and second chances bring them together, can they rediscover true love?

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