The Smiling Country
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Narrated by:
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George Guidall
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By:
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Elmer Kelton
About this listen
Elmer Kelton, author of over a dozen popular westerns, was named the Greatest Western Writer of All Time by the Western Writers of America. He has won multiple Golden Spur Awards.
The Smiling Country, filled with pathos and humor, is set in the last days of the Old West. Hewey Calloway may be pushing 45, but he can still rope and outride most things on four legs. Refusing promotions, he prefers to remain a simple ranch hand. But as he rides the West Texas plains, automobiles are beginning to dot the landscape. When Hewey is critically injured by a wild horse, he must admit that his world - and an age - are passing away.
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In the 1870s, buffalo hunters moved onto the High Plains of Texas. The Plains Indians watched hunters slaughter the animals that gave them shelter and clothing, food, and weapons. The battles at and near the ruins of a trading fort, Adobe Walls, became symbolic of the struggles between hunters and the Comanche.
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Nearly 70, Wes Hendricks has led a tough and colorful life as a cowboy and broncobuster, and all he asks now is that he be left alone on his poor, hardscrabble ranch in the West Texas hill country. Not a chance - the powers that be in the little town of Big River (including Wes' old cowboy pal, druggist/Mayor Orville Levitt) have decreed that an artificial lake will be created to generate tourism, and Wes' ranch stands squarely in their way.
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One of best audio books I've ever read
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great book
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Buckskin Line tells of Texas' chaotic early years, when a ragtag group of irregular volunteers fought to defend the far edges of settlement from incursion by Indians and frontier outlaws. In time, they would become known as the Texas Rangers.
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Performance
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In the 1870s, buffalo hunters moved onto the High Plains of Texas. The Plains Indians watched hunters slaughter the animals that gave them shelter and clothing, food, and weapons. The battles at and near the ruins of a trading fort, Adobe Walls, became symbolic of the struggles between hunters and the Comanche.
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Performance
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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One of best audio books I've ever read
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Performance
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Honored by the Western Writers of America as one of history's 25 Best Westerns, and based on an actual 1883 Texas cowboys' strike, this Golden Spur Award-winning novel tells the gripping saga of veteran cowboys and upstart cattle lords vying for power and vainly resisting change.
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Louis Lamour look out!
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Excellent!
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Voted by his peers as the best Western writer of all time and honored with a record seven Spur Awards, Elmer Kelton is the beloved author of such compelling tales as The Good Old Boys. A beautifully written and highly readable memoir, Sandhills Boy reveals the origins of a unique storytelling talent and Texas treasure.
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Shockingly boring
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Not the same
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In 1861, men are enlisting in the Texas Mounted Rifles to keep the land free from Indian raids. There are larger conflicts, however. Texas has seceeded from the union while war brews between the North and the South. Sam Houston Cloud has just joined the Texas Rifles. But he is deeply disturbed by the suffering he sees on all sides: White and Indian, Texan and immigrant. Elmer Kelton has an amazing talent for sweeping away stereotypes and filling his novels with unique, unforgettable men and women who know the ways of the frontier. Audie Award-winning narrator George Guidall's performance is superb.
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Great story, superb reading.
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By: Elmer Kelton
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Donovan
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Performance
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Story
Donovan was supposed to be dead. The town of Dry Fork, southern Texas, had buried him years before when Uncle Joe Vickers had fired off both barrels of a shotgun into the vicious outlaw's face as he was escaping from jail. Now Uncle Joe has been shot - in just the same way. And Judge Upshaw had found a noose hanging on his door.
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Good story
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Stand Proud
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Overall
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Performance
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In Stand Proud, one of his most controversial novels, legendary Western writer Elmer Kelton takes on a character who is not as easy to like as he is to admire. Frank Claymore is cantankerous, stubborn, and intolerant - just the qualities that make him a success as an open-range cattle rancher on the West Texas frontier.
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Abridged, really abridged!
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After the Bugles
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Performance
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Joshua Buckalew has left behind the deserted battlefields that claimed his brother Thomas. The war has cost him much, but it has also given him a strong bond to the land and to the Mexican families who stood with him against the tyrannies of Santa Anna. Josh is travelling with Ramon Hernandez his best friend and the man who had fought with him, side by side. Where they are going, he isn't quite sure.
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A Supercharged Yarn
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By: Elmer Kelton
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Law of the Land
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Here are 16 stories, where good meets bad, and everything in between, from the legendary author of the West, Elmer Kelton. Law of the Land chronicles some of his most exciting and dangerous tales of the Old West, collected together for the first time - including the exciting first publication of a never-before published Kelton story, “Biscuits for Bandit”.
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Great stories
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By: Elmer Kelton
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Many a River
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Comanches slaughter his parents in 1855 West Texas, eight-year-old Jeff buries their scalped bodies—and the charred remains of his younger brother. Taken in by a homesteading family, Jeff ekes out an existence. But as he dons Confederate gray, he never dreams his brother is alive—or that he’s wearing Union blue.
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A story of the old west
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By: Elmer Kelton
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Captain's Rangers
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Thirty years after the Battle of San Jacinto, Texans and Mexicans are still spilling blood over control of the Nueces Strip. And Horse thieves and bushwhackers transform this hot, dry stretch between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers into a lawless inferno. Despite long odds, Captain McNelly and his small band of Texas Rangers strive to bring lasting peace to this swirling vortex of murder and racial hatred.
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good read
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By: Elmer Kelton
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Hot Iron
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Performance
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In the early days of the Texas panhandle, starting a new life is hard - but keeping it is even harder. Espy Norwood is a troubleshooter who's got troubles of his own, and more troubles find him when he lands a job on a ranch on the Texas plains. Bitter landowners plot against him, determined cattle thieves sneak right under his nose, and his own son refuses to trust or even know him. Can he catch the thieves, save the ranch, and win his son's love?
By: Elmer Kelton
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good book but not what was in the summary:
- By Zandra Zavalza on 01-30-16
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This Calder Range
- Calder Saga, Book 1
- By: Janet Dailey
- Narrated by: Mil Nicholson
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Chase Benteen Calder was bound to wrest a fortune from Montana land, where the whisper of riches swept across a sea of buffalo grass. With Lorna at his side, a woman who took the tough ways of the land as her destiny, he would breathe life into his dream. Through the treacherous Texas prairie, the perils of Indian country, and a bustling Dodge City, they forged their way to Montana. With Calder strength, they would harvest their fortune from the rich earth, on the sprawling plains of This Calder Range.
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Entertaining
- By Lisa M on 11-17-17
By: Janet Dailey
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Leaving Cheyenne
- By: Larry McMurtry
- Narrated by: John Randolph Jones
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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As the world enters a new century, three teenagers forge a future for themselves on the wild Texas grasslands: Gideon Fry, torn between going his way and following his father's footsteps; Johnny McCloud, whose restless spirit finds its solace traversing an open range; and Molly Taylor, the woman they both love. Rugged, bold and volatile, the three of them come of age in this tender and intimate novel of the heart.
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Beautiful and sincere novel
- By Paul on 05-22-09
By: Larry McMurtry
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The Hearts of Horses
- A Novel
- By: Molly Gloss
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The irresistible tale of 19-year-old Martha Lessen, a female horse whisperer trying to make a go of it in a man's world. It was thought that the only way to break a horse was to buck the wild out of it, and broken ribs and tough falls just went with the job. But over several long, hard winter months, many of the townsfolk in this remote county of eastern Oregon witness Martha's way of talking in low, sweet tones to horses believed beyond repair---and getting miraculous, almost immediate results.
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Simple, Honest, Wonderful
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-08-09
By: Molly Gloss
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A Man Called Justice
- Silent Justice, Book 1
- By: John Deacon
- Narrated by: A.T. Chandler
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Justice is a drifter with no fear and no memory, trailed by a violent past. Nora is a beautiful widow bravely raising her young son on an isolated New Mexican ranch. When a ruthless cattle baron pushes longhorns into the valley, Justice vows to protect Nora and her boy. But how can he succeed against thirty hired guns… including the four outlaws who left him for dead?
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Home run!
- By Charlie on 08-30-22
By: John Deacon
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Deadwood Gulch
- By: Ralph Compton
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Deadwood Gulch stars bounty hunter Cas Everett, lightning fast on the draw and deadly as a nest of rattlers. When Cas returns home and finds his ma, pa, and siblings planted in fresh graves, he vows to call down the thunder on all those responsible.
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Good western
- By Richard on 01-02-08
By: Ralph Compton
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West of the Pecos
- A Western Story
- By: Zane Grey
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of the bestselling western novelists of all time, comes another classic story. Templeton Lambeth had so desperately wanted a son - an heir to ride by his side through the vast, wild ranges just west of the Pecos River. But to his disappointment, his wife bore a girl. His hopes crushed and in denial, he decides to raise his daughter as if she were a boy. In honor of Lambeth's more successful brother, they named her: Terrill.
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Excellent Book!
- By j. hughes on 04-13-21
By: Zane Grey
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One of best audio books I've ever read
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Another great Elmer Kelton & George Guidall Combo
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The Buckskin Line tells of Texas' chaotic early years, when a ragtag group of irregular volunteers fought to defend the far edges of settlement from incursion by Indians and frontier outlaws. In time, they would become known as the Texas Rangers.
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Realistic West! A new favorite author!
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Nearly 70, Wes Hendricks has led a tough and colorful life as a cowboy and broncobuster, and all he asks now is that he be left alone on his poor, hardscrabble ranch in the West Texas hill country. Not a chance - the powers that be in the little town of Big River (including Wes' old cowboy pal, druggist/Mayor Orville Levitt) have decreed that an artificial lake will be created to generate tourism, and Wes' ranch stands squarely in their way.
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Close to home
- By B. Mims on 01-03-19
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Donovan was supposed to be dead. The town of Dry Fork, southern Texas, had buried him years before when Uncle Joe Vickers had fired off both barrels of a shotgun into the vicious outlaw's face as he was escaping from jail. Now Uncle Joe has been shot - in just the same way. And Judge Upshaw had found a noose hanging on his door.
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Good story
- By Texas on 04-14-24
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Dislike
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One of best audio books I've ever read
- By NEIL SCHMITT on 10-16-09
By: Elmer Kelton
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Another great Elmer Kelton & George Guidall Combo
- By Gene on 09-09-18
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Close to home
- By B. Mims on 01-03-19
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Good story
- By Texas on 04-14-24
By: Elmer Kelton
What listeners say about The Smiling Country
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- KarenLee
- 05-05-20
Hooked on Kelton
This is the 3rd Kelton I have listened to and I am hooked. I have never really read any Westerns in the past besides Larry McMurtry. I thought I’d try a Zane Gray but did not care for it.
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- Ralph D.
- 07-04-23
Great read
Started out a little slow but once I got into the story I had a hard time turning it off. Another great narration by GG.
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- Bob Ballinger
- 04-11-23
Another Kelton hit
A really good story that I was sorry to get to the ending.
Can’t go wrong with a great writer like Elmer Kelton and George Guidall is an excellent narrator.
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- J. Miner
- 12-14-23
As engaging as Gus McCrae of Lonsome Dove
One of the most enjoyable series of books I have ever read or listened to and hated for it to come to end. I will relisten to this and the remainder of the quartet many times again.
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- William
- 06-05-18
Enjoyed it a lot....
This author has, at some point, been exposed to the authentic cowboy culture. This story warmed my heart.....one of those that you just hate to see come to an end
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- Blank
- 09-20-19
Perfect
perfect story perfect narrator perfect author so easy to listen to we're not author knows what he's talking about and so easy to listen to when the narrator reads it right.
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- Dean
- 08-13-19
Little slow to start
It took a while to develop but, once drawn in it was pretty good. George Guidall as usual is great. GG is why I selected this book. Came in expecting something different, more action than story. Still overall very enjoyable.
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- Jerry and Mary
- 07-27-24
Relatable people
Wonderful story Characters so well developed a western problems being worked out without being solved by guns.
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Overall
- Larry From Sagle
- 01-09-18
Great snapshot of the classic western personality
Which shines through almost most every character.
Those few exceptions belong back East, then and now.
Great book. excellent narration
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2 people found this helpful
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- Deja Vu
- 08-02-21
Kelton is king amongst all western authors
he does it again and again. loved it like every other one of this books.
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