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The Cowboy and the Cossack (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries) Paperback – December 4, 2012

by Clair Huffaker (Author), Nancy Pearl (Introduction)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,858 ratings
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Fifteen Montana cowboys sail into Vladivostok with a herd of five hundred longhorns, ready to cross a thousand miles of Siberian wilderness. When a band of Cossacks, Russia’s elite horsemen and warriors, shows up to escort these rough and ready Americans to their destination, the clash of cultures begins. The feud between American six shooter and Russian saber is embodied in two men: Shad, the leader of the Montana cowboys, and Rostov, the Cossack commander. Nature and man are enemies that will force them to work together―and a ruthless Tartar army that stands between them and their destination. The code of the cowboy West and the credo of the Cossack East seem to be two different measures of a man―but honor and courage are the same in any language when a common enemy must be faced. Lonesome Dove meets Dr. Zhivago in this rousing tale of West meets East in the days of the Russian Tsars and the Wild West.

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  1. Print length
    386 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 4, 2012
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1612183697
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1612183695
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Clair Huffaker was a legendary western screenwriter and author. His screenplays include The Comancheros, Hellfighters, and War Wagon starring John Wayne, along with Flaming Star, Seven Ways from Sundown, Rio Conchos, and Posse from Hell. Huffaker also wrote for TV western series such as Bonanza, The Rifleman, The Virginian, and Rawhide, including eighteen episodes of Lawman. Many of his movies were based on his bestselling books. Huffaker was a cowboy, a champion boxer, a part-time smuggler, and a writer for Time, Inc. in New York. He served in the Navy in World War II, studied in Europe, and eventually returned to the US where he began his career as a freelance writer. He wrote short stories, screenplays, and novels at his home in Los Angeles, which was a gathering place for actors, stuntmen, directors, and writers who could regularly be found there shooting pool, playing poker, and exchanging tall tales.

Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Her books include 2003’s Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason, 2005’s More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment and Reason; Book Crush: For Kids and Teens: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest, published in 2007, and 2010’s Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers. Among her many awards and honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal; the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association; the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Award from the Reference and Users Services Association of the American Library Association; and the 2004 Women’s National Book Association Award, given to “a living American woman who…has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation.”

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ AmazonEncore; Reissue edition (December 4, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 386 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1612183697
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1612183695
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,858 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Nancy Pearl

    Nancy Pearl

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    From Nancy: My lust for books and reading began when I was a very young child, and has continued unabated for lo, these many many years. Every time I open a new book to read, it's like embarking on a voyage to an unexplored place that just might be filled with wonder and excitement.

    The books I love most tend to have three-dimensional characters and be very well-written (although that definition is fluid). I read everything - mysteries, non-fiction (especially history, memoirs, and current events), literary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, andchildren's books (lots and lots, for my upcoming book, Book Crush), and anything else that looks interesting. I love first novels.

    More About Nancy: Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Among her many awards and honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal; the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association; the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Award from the Reference and Users Services Association of the American Library Association; and the 2004 Women's National Book Association Award, given to "a living American woman who …has done meritorious work in the world of books beyond the duties or responsibilities of her profession or occupation."

    See more on the author's page
  2. Clair Huffaker

    Clair Huffaker

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Clair Huffaker was a legendary western screenwriter and author. His screenplays include The Comancheros, Hellfighters, and War Wagon starring John Wayne, along with Flaming Star, Seven Ways from Sundown, Rio Conchos, and Posse from Hell. Huffaker also wrote for TV western series such as Bonanza, The Rifleman, The Virginian, and Rawhide. Many of his movies were based on his bestselling books. Huffaker was a cowboy, a champion boxer, a part-time smuggler, and a writer for Time, Inc. in New York. He served in the Navy in World War II, studied in Europe, and eventually returned to the US where he began his career as a freelance writer. He wrote short stories, screenplays, and novels at his home in Los Angeles, which was a gathering place for actors, stuntmen, directors, and writers who could regularly be found there shooting pool, playing poker, and exchanging tall tales.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,858 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Joanne E. Hesser
5.0 out of 5 stars possibly the best western ever written
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
A great read. I first read this in the 70's. I have kept it in my library and loaned it several times.
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R. A. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Why isn't this a movie??
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023
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I'd never read a Western before. I don't particularly like Western movies. After reading this book I've had to rethink my stance. Extremely well written story filled with likeable characters. I couldn't recommend it more.
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William Merrill
4.0 out of 5 stars Heroism, thrills, and cowboy camaraderie
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2022
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Thanks, Ms. Pearl, for choosing this novel as one your Rediscoveries! It’s a unique tale of American cowboys paired with Russian Cossacks to bring a herd of cattle across Siberia. The give and take between the two groups is heartwarming and often humorous, and the last scene in the book provides a truly thrilling conclusion.
One person found this helpful
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Mickey
5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Literary Action
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2024
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A true cowboy tale with Russian Cossacks to stir things up. Horses, longhorn cows, bad guys, good guys. Good read.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Even better the 2nd time around.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
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The Cowboy and the Cossack is definitely worthy of the 5 Stars. Not only for amazing charactors, unusual setting, a short peak into Russian history of the 1880's, battles fought, morality lessons learned in an easy way, and huge differences thought to exist between different peoples bridged and deep friendships gained. I think I needed more stars!
I first read this book in 1973 when it came out in paperback, and fell in love with it. I've always enjoyed Westerns, and seeing the cover, and being 1/2 Russian, I thought 'oh, fun! Now how will this turn out'? And it turned out so amazingly well, that I gave it to my husband to read while he was in the hospital with back surgery. I hoped that this amazing book would hook him enough to forget about what was happening with his body. The book did its job; he read, and read, and read, and declared it the 'best book he'd ever read'. Coming from him that was praise indeed. My husband does not read books for enjoyment, ever. He reads text books, and manuals, so actually having a book of fiction hold his interest - high praise truly. I truly believe anyone, and I mean anyone, who enjoys a great yarn, even if they believe a Western is not for them, will end up loving this book. They will fall in love with Levi, Shad, Rostov, Igor Keats, and every damn cowboy and cossack in the book. I am so happy to have found it again. It's been a joy, and I doubt 48 years will pass before I read again.
5 people found this helpful
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R. Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling cowboy adventure based in Russian history
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
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If the cattle drive in the far-better-known Lonesome Dove -- from the Rio Grande to Montana -- was long, the drive in Clair Huffaker's The Cowboy and the Cossack is far, far longer. The cowboys in this novel must cross an ocean with their beeves, to Vladivistok, Russia, and then push on deep into Siberia with them.

Once on Russian soil, however, the Slash-Diamond outfit is met by a Cossack named Captain Rostov who informs the cowboys that his own men will drive the cattle onward from that point. The outfit's leader, Shad, refuses, insisting that they will complete the job they were hired to do themselves. Thus begins a prickly alliance between the cowboys and Cossacks who will make the grueling trek together to a starved town called Bakaskaya.

Told entirely from the point of view of the youngest cowboy in the outfit, Levi (whose parents named him after the jeans), the novel is a traditional coming-of-age story. It's also an out-and-out men's adventure story. The only women in the tale are glimpsed while serving food and drinks in one of the rare towns but always remain remote, mysterious, and yearned for.

But as manly adventure yarns go, it's a corker. The men of two worlds, suspicious and hostile to each other at first, develop mutual respect and even friendship as they battle weather, imperial soldiers, wild animals, and even wilder men in the form of Genghis Kharlagawl and his Tartars. Adding to the complications, Shad and his men eventually learn that they were brought to Russia under false pretenses.

Much of the fun, of course, derives from our learning about the world of 19th century Russia through the young protagonist's eyes. This is not the Russia of War and Peace or Anna Karenina, though; it's the remote outposts of Eastern Russia and the no-man's land of the Mongolian border. I have no idea how much Russian history Huffaker may have studied to pull this off, but it comes across with complete believability. The writing is clear and compelling, pulling you through the 300 or so pages in a flurry.

Huffaker was a successful novelist, writing mostly Westerns in the 50s and 60s, and a sought-after screen writer with more than a dozen movies credited to him. Many of his Western novels were turned into movies, though, oddly, not what was undoubtedly his best, The Cowboy and the Cossack.

It's pretty easy to find now, having been reprinted in Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries series. If you like adventure stories, do yourself a favor and pick it up sometime.
8 people found this helpful
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Mission Viejo Mom
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but slow moving
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2023
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I enjoyed this but at points felt like I had to trudge through it. Interesting interaction between the cowboys and Cossacks and I loved watching as the two separate groups became one. Worth the time and money to read
One person found this helpful
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Chad Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2023
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This was a very well written story. The author definitely has a good grasp of the subject matter which can be hard to come by in modern westerns. I have recommended this book to all my friends who are readers. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a good story.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nan G. Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks to Nancy Pearl!!!
Reviewed in Canada on April 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book is not a genre Western. It just happens to have cowboys it it. I read ' The Cowboy and the Cossack" in 1975 and LOVED it, and so did everyone I recommended it to. Thanks to that amazing Seattle librarian, Nancy Pearl, we now have it back in print. And I'm happy to report that it is a 5-Star book in 2019, just as it was 5 Stars in 1975. A pleasure!
One person found this helpful
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The Elite Book Group
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2013
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The Cowboy and the Cossack - Clair Huffaker

I think I must start my review by thanking Nancy Pearl for the brilliant idea of doing Book Lust Rediscoveries, how else would I have ever come across this glorious epic journey across Russia.

I was brought up on "cowboy yarns" as my dad used to call them. Think they were amongst the first books I ever read. So discovering this on Kindle and having read LONESOME DOVE (Larry McMurtry) a couple of months back, I feel like I've gone back to a very special time of my life.

The story is told through the memories and diaries of Levi Dougherty aged about nineteen when he left Montana with Shad Northshield and thirteen other cowhands for the long and often treacherous journey to deliver five hundred and thirty six Montana Longhorns to Bakaskaya. Their first stumbling block is trying to disembark at Vladisvostok, that is until Captain Rostov and his sixteen Kuban-Siberian Cossacks arrive and announce that they are there to help escort them and the cattle to their destination.

There is so much rolled into this book of 384 pages: Deep friendships regardless of language or colour barriers; fearsome Tartar warriors; coping with the deaths of special friends; first love and wisdom that can only be gained from riding for days at a time through open countryside.

And finally after copious notes throughout the book I think this captured Levi's thoughts on life (they've delivered the cattle and are now heading back to America):

"So, all in all, it was agreed that we'd just keep heading more or less west. Thinking about it for the first time, that struck me as a funny kind of a thing. A fella leaves home and he doesn't necessarily ever have to turn around and retrace his steps to go back. If he goes in one straight line far enough, why there he'll be one day right smack back home. If a man anyplace in the world holds up two fingers, then they're as close together as, say, two fingers. But if you move outward from one finger and keep going that way, then the most faraway thing in the world, finally, is that other finger that's been right next to it all the time."

Definitely a book I'll be reading again and to quote Markus Zusak, "Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished, just to stay near it" - there are several already on the list and The Cowboy and The Cossack can happily join my other all time favourites
26 people found this helpful
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Leseliebling
5.0 out of 5 stars Bewegendes und überraschendes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on May 1, 2013
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Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen, weil es so viele andere Leser positive Bewertungen abgegeben haben. Western sind normalerweise nicht meine Sache, aber das Buch hat mich sofort in seinen Bann gezogen. Es ist sehr überraschend und sehr gefühlvoll. Die Begegnungen zwischen Cowboys und Kosaken waren berührend. Zwei Kulturen, die sich mit dem gemeinsamen Ziel und durch gemeinsames Überwinden von extremen Schwierigkeiten immer näher kommen aus der Sicht eines jungen Mannes. Die Story ist selbst war so spannend, dass ich das Buch an zwei Tagen fertig gelesen habe.
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kb
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it. My husband read this book
Reviewed in Australia on February 6, 2015
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Loved it. My husband read this book, and couldn't stop telling me every page as he read. He thought it was one of the best books he has read
recently. It did sound very good, I still may read it a bit later.
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Alison L.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Cowboy and the Cossack - What a great story!
Reviewed in Canada on November 24, 2014
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I read this book years ago, at my father's urging. I loved it!!
I was scanning some titles recently, spotted The Cowboy and the Cossack, and just had to purchase the book, as I hadn't seen it in years.
I was not disappointed. I was as good a story as I remembered it to be. I will read it again and again, enjoying the laughter and tears.
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