The American West is as varied in its inhabitants as it is in its landforms, yet what has come to stand for "Western" writing is the myth of the wagon train and the lone gunman. This authoritative anthology assembled poems, essays, stories, and excepts--by Ken Kesey, Raymond Carver, Larry McMurtry, Ivan Doig, and many others--which transcend the myth and explore the vast range of Wetsern experience.

The American West is as varied in its inhabitants as in its landforms. Yet what has come to stand for "Western" writing is the myth of the wagon train and the lone gunman. In the Portable Wester Reader, William Kittredge has assembled stories, poems, essays, and excerpts that transcend the Western myth and explore the vast range of Western experience. With selections from more than seventy authors, and an introduction and headnotes by William Kittredge. The Portable Western Reader redefines the Western literary landscape.