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Shane MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, April 1, 2010

by Jack Schaefer (Author), Grover Gardner (Reader)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,581 ratings
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This unforgettable story of the friendship between a farm boy and a gunman struggling to escape his dark past was made into a critically acclaimed movie in 1953 which became a classic standard for Westerns. Shane, a mysterious traveller and ex-gunfighter, enters into the life of Joe Starrett and his family and carves a place for himself in their hearts. Although he tries to leave his gunslinging past behind, revealing little about himself and refusing to even carry a gun, the family senses a quiet tension about him like a slow burning fuse. In the end, he decides to fight Fletcher and Wilson, the town enemies, in order to break the power of the cattlemen over the homesteaders and save Joe Starrett's farm. The story is told through the eyes of young Bob Starett, who regards Shane with an awe and reverence tempered by the boyishness of the Old West.

''A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.''--Shane
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  1. Reading age
    11 - 14 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    1 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  5. Publisher
    Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  6. Publication date
    April 1, 2010
  7. ISBN-10
    1441732675
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1441732675
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The author has created a tale which captivates the reader's attention from beginning to end. His skill in depicting a character, a situation, or a mood, with a minimum of words, gives the story a tightly-woven quality often lacking in present-day novels. The book almost demands completion in one sitting. --Library Journal

The stranger, Shane, dresses in brown, black, and leather and is so tough he carries no gun. He drinks from the trough after his horse finishes. A biblical silence follows him, and people lose their senses when he looks their way. He's a man no bullet can kill. He's part attack Doberman, part heroic champion. Shane is a work of literature first and a western second. --St. George Daily Spectrum

Its pace is steady. Its tension is of the uncoiling spring variety. It's as clean as a hound's tooth.--Saturday Review of Literature

Narrative and literary superiority. --Kirkus Reviews

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blackstone Audio, Inc.; MP3CD Unabridged edition (April 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • MP3 CD ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1441732675
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1441732675
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 11 - 14 years, from customers
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,581 ratings

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  1. Jack Schaefer

    Jack Schaefer

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
2,581 global ratings
A Short Review For An Outstanding Short Western... A True Classic
5 Stars
A Short Review For An Outstanding Short Western... A True Classic
Shane, by Jack SchaeferJack Schaefer writes a classic western tale of a gunfighter in the late 1800's moving through town and who gets attached to a rural ranch family, the Starretts. Mr. Schaffer really reaches the levels of Louis L'Amour and other outstanding writers of their time in the western genre. Shane helps out on his new friends land and at the same time deals with an increased emotional tension with the ranch owner's wife like the true professional that he is. This is similar to Clint Eastwood's character of Preacher in the always outstanding film, Pale Rider.The book goes into great detail of the tools of Shane's trade, his custom tuned Colt 1873 Single Action revolver chambered in .45 Colt. You can easily visualize the revolver from the well written description in the book. His draw is fast as lightening and his instinctive honed aim is thoroughly true. A gunslinger that handles himself coolly when facing danger and blowing off taunts and attempts of those that have an interest in sparking violence... unless violence is the only cure for the towns ailment.Shane is read in many middle schools and even had a pretty good film based on it starring Alan Ladd. I read the book first prior to seeing the film back in middle school and so sadly the major issue I always had with the film is that it wrecks the image of Shane (only in that in the book he dressed more like a southern gambler and less like a frontiersman in buckskin), but at the same time casts a good actor to play the part. It is no surprise that this book was chosen for a film adaptation. A great story not overly drawn out and fast paced. A nice short read at 160 pages.For another great look at this book read the #1 2003 review by Jeffrey Leach here on Amazon. He really breaks it down well.If you like this book you are in luck because Jack Schaefer wrote other great westerns; like the one called First Blood... yes, the same title as the David Morrell book. What are the odds of two books with the same title written by good authors and both end up being great... truly awesome!
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Top reviews from the United States

No one you know
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the absolute best western novels
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
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Shane is truly one of the greatest westerns of all time. The story told through the eyes of a young boy named Bob and how he viewed Shane as a larger than life hero. Bob was one character that I heavily identified with as a young boy. many years later I read it again as a teenager and it still had that same view as when I was young. Now I've read it as a young man and read it and noticed that this time I identified as Shane this time around. I cant wait to read it again in a few years and see what changes for me next time.
One person found this helpful
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Cliff Harrison, Author
5.0 out of 5 stars Shane the Greatest Western Ever Told.
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2021
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Shane is one of the greatest westerns ever told. Or, maybe THE greatest. I'm almost 70 and the story was written before I was born. I have read Shane several times as a child and again as an adult and just now. I hope I have time to read it yet again. It is a short novel, a big story and not one word wasted. The brilliance of Jack Schaefer's crafting of Shane was in his storytelling being told in Bob's point of view, from the eyes and ears of a child. Too bad we didn't have more men in the world today like Shane. It would be a much safer place for the innocent and vulnerable ones. The rest is legend.
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The Children's Hour
5.0 out of 5 stars Heroes Comes in All Sizes and Shapes
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024
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SHANE
written by Jack Schaefer, Illustrated by Wendell Minor, (Houghton Mifflin,1949), 224 p, 12+yrs

The Starrett family’s life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm. Young Bob Starrett is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane and make it known that he is not welcome. But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starretts—and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud that will change the Starrett family forever.
Themes: Classics, Families, Friendship, Heroes, Wild West
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Jack Cohen
4.0 out of 5 stars Is it as good as the movie?
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2023
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Couldn't help asking this question as I read the book. Is it as good as the epic movie? No, it isn't. It doesn't have the many carefully drawn characters of the movie, and of course it doesn't have the Grand Tetons in the background of almost every scene.

But it is a very good novel. A fast, engaging read, a story told with energy and insight. The story line of both the book and movie are almost identical, differing only in a few details. The usual western fiction cliches are in both versions, more so in the book, where Shane is portrayed as almost superhuman.

Viewed independently, an enjoyable novel, well worth reading.
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Lynda Scheer
5.0 out of 5 stars Killer in our midst . . .
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2009
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Jack Schaefer has set his story at the time of Wyoming's Johnson County "wars" between cattlemen and anyone, like rustlers and homesteaders, who cut into their profits. First published in 1949, the novel also reflects something of the war that had just ended for Americans who fought in Europe and the Pacific. We have a young family struggling to put down roots on the frontier, wanting little more than an ordered life and the opportunity to make a living among a gathering of neighbors who want the same for their own families.

But they are prevented by men who want the open range for themselves and their own economic interests, and they'll stop at nothing to get their way. While the father of the family attempts bravely to hold his own, his neighbors are intimidated, feeling threatened and outnumbered. Shane, a man with a shadowy past, arrives in the middle of this conflict, and while he assumes for a time the life of a hired hand, his gunslinger services are eventually needed to defend the lives and property of the family that has given him a home. We see what we have suspected, that he is a killer, and there's no place for him in their sunny, settled world. He must go back on the trail and disappear.

Given the time in which it was written, "Shane" is a commentary on the role of violence in a world where law and order, on an international level, had been in short supply. Americans - and especially returning soldiers - had seen this for themselves. The novel carries this disturbing awareness right into the daily life of home and hometown. The mystery of Shane's identity suggests that what he represents in the story is a darker side of ourselves that does not integrate well with the more honorable aspects of self we prefer to acknowledge.

The simplicity of Schaefer's tale, and his choice of a boy as narrator, allow readers to fill in a lot of details and emotions that tap into their own deeper fears and desires. The two men joining forces to uproot the tree stump is like a scene from a dream that wants to be understood - it's not just about a tree stump. But what? While the film for all its widescreen glory is not without merit, it's dated in a way the book may never be. In its 250+ pages, it speaks of elemental forces and how we go about living in a world where we are threatened by circumstances beyond our control.

Thanks to the University of Nebraska Press for assembling this critical edition which includes several fine essays providing historical background, analysis of the text, commentary and reviews on the film adaptation.
19 people found this helpful
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David Hardwick
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
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There are plenty of “grade B” westerns out there, and they are fun to pick up now and again. But Shane is more than just good story set in the “Wild West”, it’s a well crafted, well written tale that everyone should read at least once. I’ve read and reread this story several times and it still seems fresh.
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Nicole
5.0 out of 5 stars Written in the 40’s— a classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2022
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Shane was great, I see now how it’s a genre-defining classic. Good characters and story. People are claiming there’s a lot of offensive things in the book, which is true, BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN OVER 70 YEARS AGO! You can’t expect to hold it to today’s standards. So, if you’re a big baby, this historical, vintage read isn’t for you.

I love it though, I’m going to buy a hardcover version now. Love the story. Definitely worth the read if you’re a fan of westerns.
10 people found this helpful
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Ivy
5.0 out of 5 stars Shane, Come Back!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023
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No really, come back, Shane!! I wish this book had a sequel because it was a gift, and it was so loved, it was read twice. A true classic.
If anyone you know loves Westerns, gets this for them..I started reading out of curiosity before I wrapped it, and I got sucked in, too!!
BTW, they've now read it three times..yeah, it's that good...
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Top reviews from other countries

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Bill
5.0 out of 5 stars SHANE
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2024
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A brilliant, timeless, unique novel. If I were to associate one quality with Shane, it would be kindness. But close behind would be bravery; a fearless, unwavering determination to protect those he loved, to go against the crowd, to win out against all odds. Shane is as kind as he is brave. That's why he's timeless.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Western
Reviewed in India on February 26, 2024
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Narrated through the voice of a little boy, it’s first and last, a boy’s dream of being a man. Period.
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Leonardo
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book
Reviewed in Spain on September 7, 2023
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Beautiful writing and great edition
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Dirk Michael Zebisch
5.0 out of 5 stars Der Western aller Western
Reviewed in Germany on March 3, 2021
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Ein Western aus der Sicht eines Jungen geschrieben, dicht, intensiv, gut lesbar. Mit Helden und deren Menschlichkeiten.
Mir gefällt besonders, dass ich mich als Leser mit den verschiedenen Charktern identifizieren kann. Manchmal gleichzeitig...
Noch besser hätte mir gefallen, wenn Nebenkrigsschauplätze wie der Quasiflirt zwischen der Frau des Hauses und dem Stranger einfach weggelassen worden wären.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few westerns
Reviewed in Canada on March 18, 2019
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I liked how Shane attacked 'the stump' and was taken on as ' a hand ' on the ranch he worked on and his relationship with the young boy who was a son of the rancher.
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