I can understand why so many authors of westerns romanticize and distort history; it takes real talent - the kind that McMurtry possesses - to write a realistic, accurate and enthralling story. It's amazing how much I cared about Gus and Call, an inarticulate odd couple on a long cattle drive. What was it really like in the Old West? McMurtry's only agenda is to tell it like it was, and to tell it well. Dive into this fat story, and learn a lot about yourself and other people on the way.