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Zane Grey
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Riders of the Purple Sage, with eBook (Tantor Unabridged Classics) Audio CD – CD, February 9, 2009

by Zane Grey (Author), John Bolen (Narrator)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,737 ratings
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A gentile sage rider is about to be whipped by the Mormons to coerce the rich and beautiful Jane Withersteen to marry against her will. In desperation, Jane whispers a prayer, "Whence cometh my help!" Just then, an unlikely hero, the infamous gunfighter Lassiter, routs the persecutors and is drawn into this conflict on the Utah-Arizona border. The mysterious loner hires on at Jane's ranch. Through battles with gun-slinging cattle rustlers, cutthroats, and the calculating Mormons, Lassiter unveils his tale of an endless search for a woman who was abducted long ago. Judged by critics to be Zane Grey's best novel, Riders of the Purple Sage changed the Western genre when it was first published in 1912. This novel shows the gritty as well as the gallant in a more candid portrayal of the West than any that had come before it.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Tantor Audio
  3. Publication date
    February 9, 2009
  4. Dimensions
    6.4 x 1.1 x 5.3 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1400109175
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1400109173
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Considered the "Father of the Adult Western," Zane Grey (1872–1939) was a prolific American writer and the pioneer of the Western literary genre. He produced over 100 books, and for each year from 1915 to 1924, a new Zane Grey title made the bestseller list.

John Bolen brings his extensive theater, film, and television experience to audiobooks. His recent television appearances include CIA: Masters of Deception on the Discovery Channel, and his recent film work includes The Land and The Inn Outside the World.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tantor Audio; Unabridged CD edition (February 9, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1400109175
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400109173
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.79 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.1 x 5.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 5,737 ratings

About the author

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Zane Grey

Zane Grey

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Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American dentist and author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book. In addition to the commercial success of his printed works, they had second lives and continuing influence when adapted as films and television productions. His novels and short stories have been adapted into 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Chalupa at cs.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
5,737 global ratings
PRINT TOO SMALL
2 Stars
PRINT TOO SMALL
I cannot read this book because the print is entirely too small!! Come on! Can't you print just a bit larger font??!See picture for comparison with a normal printed book.
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Top reviews from the United States

Story lines everywhere!
5.0 out of 5 stars Romance and excitement
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024
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Having heard much about how this book established the western novel genre and having never read one before, I was expecting lonesome cowboys, horses, and gun fights. What emerged is a much richer world than I expected. The riders are The most fleshed out of the characters while the women serve as both motivation and sometimes plot movers, though they don't seem quite as well-developed as the men. Even the villainous males have more personality than the passionate female Jane.

And speaking of Jane, the 2485534 mentions her faith and loyalty to her Mormon people throughout the narrative, making them central to her character and her choices, but assumes that the reader understands the tenants of Mormonism with absolutely no exposition of the group's beliefs, history, or why they are feared and sometimes reviled by " gentiles. " It seems to me that centering the book in the Mormon world without a better revelation of their beliefs and habits left the reader without some of the depth of character and understanding of plots that the writer assumes the reader will understand.
But the book succeeds mainly because it is an interesting story with riveting action sequences, beautifully -described locals, and some surprising plot twists.
2 people found this helpful
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Charles A. Ray
4.0 out of 5 stars The novel that paved the way for the Western genre
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
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Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey was originally published in 1912, and is traditionally considered the first true western, a book that shaped the genre for generations to follow.
It is the story of Lassiter, an enigmatic gunslinger from Texas who is hated and feared by the Mormon settlers in northern Utah. Lassiter’s path crosses with Jane Witherspoon, a single Mormon woman, who has defied the edict of the church that she marry the elder in her town.
When Lassiter arrives, a hidden grave on Jane’s property leads him to a quest that he’s been on for a long time—to determine the fate of his sister who had married a charismatic Mormon and fled her home in Texas.
Grey was a master wordsmith who could paint the most vivid pictures imaginable of the Old West and the people who populated it. While some of the narrative and dialogue shows the prejudices against Mormons that existed at the time Grey first wrote the story, it has a sense of veracity and credibility despite its lack of political correctness in modern times.
For fans of the genre, though, this is a book that is required reading, for it helps put all that followed it into the proper perspective.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.
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Bror Erickson
5.0 out of 5 stars The Landscape of Utah
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2014
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Riders of the Purple Sage is a classic of the western genre. I picked this book up, after ten years of living in Utah exploring the canyons, mountains and sage that Grey so vividly describes throughout the novel. His descriptions are quite awesome, but real. The story taking place in Utah, can't help but to involve itself with the Mormon religion. Evidently, Zane Grey was not LDS. Of course, the villainous character he describes to the LDS leadership of Cottonwoods, the fictional Utah border town making the back drop of the story, was not without warrant, but is also offset with the good nature of the town's people and even the devout Mormon heroine of the story who becomes the love interest of Lassiter a Mormon hater bent on vengeance in the name of his sister. The book was written in 1912 at a time when the Mountain Meadow Massacre was still a fresh wound in the minds of "gentiles" in the area. The LDS had even declared war on the U.S. government not so long before this book was written. This not even to mention the antics of such LDS enforcers as Porter Rockwell, still celebrated in Mormon culture, and Wild Bill Hickman, villified for having turned on Brigham Young. One familiar with these aspects of Mormon culture, will not find the plot to be incredible. Indeed, whatever tensions modern LDS believers may have in regard to this epic tribute to the beloved landscape of Utah, those who have lived as gentiles in Utah for any substantial period of time will recognize the tension with with Zane Grey presents the LDS, having ourselves known the Jane Withersteens, who even as devoted adherents of the Mormon religion stand opposed to it, and the Bishop Tulls of the region also driven by every prejudice the culture of the LDS instills in them.
So it is a classic of the genre, this is a great book. I especially recommend reading it to those who are perhaps planning a visit to see Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Canyon Lands or Arches, or otherwise find themselves in Utah.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Guy who cooks
5.0 out of 5 stars FUN SUMMER READING
Reviewed in Canada on June 30, 2023
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A tale of the old west and unrequited love!
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Boschini Matteo
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellissimo
Reviewed in Italy on December 29, 2023
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Bellissimo
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Jonathan Bate
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a great book!
Reviewed in Germany on April 28, 2019
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This is certainly one of the best Western books I have ever read, and in fact I'll put it into my top 100 books period.

A wonderful story of life in the Mormon old West, full of adventure, down-to-earth characters, romance, intrigue and colorful descriptions of the landscape. I can feel myself living the story. Great!
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Dr Gautam Dhar
5.0 out of 5 stars READ IT
Reviewed in India on October 19, 2015
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ZANE GREY AND HIS BEST
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Hardi, Les Huchon
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2014
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Five stars = top 20 books the Huchon ever read
4 = the Huchon happy if he wrote it
3 = the Huchon happy to read it
2 = the Huchon read it but not happy
1 = the Huchon tried to read it but gave up

This book has the lot. Scale, passion, drama, romance. Maybe not comedy but re-reading may reveal more layers. Massively influential book. Extremely easy to read. Possibly the most effortlessly evocative book the Huchon ever read.
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