Lonesome Dove
The strongest entry point for McMurtry's historical Western fiction and his most acclaimed novel.
Author guide
Larry McMurtry Books in Order
Larry McMurtry was an American writer and bookseller whose fiction ranged from Texas small-town novels and contemporary family dramas to historical Westerns. His best-known novel, Lonesome Dove, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He also wrote essays, biographies, travel writing, memoirs, and co-authored the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain.
literary fictionwestern fictionhistorical fictionessaysmemoirbiography
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
The Last Picture Show
A foundational Texas novel and the starting point for the Duane Moore sequence.
Horseman, Pass By
The first published novel and an effective starting point for McMurtry's early Texas fiction.
Sin Killer
The first volume of the Berrybender Narratives.
The Desert Rose
The first novel in the Desert Rose sequence.
Read in order
Books by series
fiction-series · complete
Thalia, Texas
Novels connected by the fictional North Texas community of Thalia and its surrounding world.
fiction-series · complete
Houston novels
A loosely connected group of novels centered on Houston and recurring characters and families.
- 1 Moving OnAmazon ↗
Book 1 · novel · 1970
- 2
All My Friends Are Going to Be StrangersAmazon ↗Book 2 · novel · 1972
- 3
Terms of EndearmentAmazon ↗Book 3 · novel · 1975
- 4
Somebody's DarlingAmazon ↗Book 4 · novel · 1978
- 5
Some Can WhistleAmazon ↗Book 5 · novel · 1989
- 6
The Evening StarAmazon ↗Book 6 · novel · 1992
fiction-series · complete
The Desert Rose series
Novels centered on Harmony and Pepper Rose and their family.
fiction-series · complete
Lonesome Dove
Four connected Western novels featuring recurring characters including Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call.
fiction-series · complete
Berrybender Narratives
A four-volume historical Western series following the Berrybender family during its journey through the American West.
fiction-series · complete
Duane Moore
A five-novel sequence following Duane Moore and the evolving community around Thalia, Texas.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (9)
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Cadillac JackAmazon ↗novel · 1982
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Anything for BillyAmazon ↗novel · 1988
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Buffalo GirlsAmazon ↗novel · 1990
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Pretty Boy FloydAmazon ↗novel · 1994
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Zeke and NedAmazon ↗novel · 1997
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Boone's LickAmazon ↗novel · 2000
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Loop GroupAmazon ↗novel · 2004
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Telegraph DaysAmazon ↗novel · 2006
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The Last Kind Words SaloonAmazon ↗novel · 2014
Nonfiction (10)
- Crazy Horse: A LifeAmazon ↗
biography · 1999
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Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and BeyondAmazon ↗memoir · 1999
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Roads: Driving America's Great HighwaysAmazon ↗travel-memoir · 2000
- ParadiseAmazon ↗
travel-memoir · 2001
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Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West, 1846-1890Amazon ↗history · 2005
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The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and the Beginnings of Superstardom in AmericaAmazon ↗biography · 2005
- Books: A MemoirAmazon ↗
memoir · 2008
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Literary Life: A Second MemoirAmazon ↗memoir · 2009
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Hollywood: A Third MemoirAmazon ↗memoir · 2010
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CusterAmazon ↗biography · 2012
Essays and speeches (4)
Plays (1)
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Brokeback Mountain: Story to ScreenplayAmazon ↗screenplay-book · 2005