Rating: 
Summary: i'd give this 6 stars
Review: I've had the book for years and resisted reading it because of the imposing length, but I finally read it and there is not one page where I was not tremendously satisfied. I can't recall being this absorbed in a novel in ages. The characters are so wonderful and wondferfully drawn that you can't stand to be away from them for too long. Look no farther for the Great American Novel. This is it. Most other books suffer woefully by comparison. This will make you want to saddle up and ride the range for sure, even as it scares the living daylights out of you. Fantastic epic by a brilliant writer and storyteller. I may read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't need another 5-star review, but here's one anyway...
Review: A handful of entertainment works (books, movies, music, TV shows) have connected with me in ways that I can barely describe. They move me emotionally, they provoke my imagination, and they make me want to experience them over and over again. They describe people and situations to which I can completely relate. Bruce Springsteen's music does that for me. Star Wars used to do that until the prequels came about. The TV show St. Elsewhere used to do it (haven't seen it in years, but I assume it holds up). And Lonesome Dove continues to do so. There are so many positive reviews here that it's hard not to be redunant. I agree with it all: believable characters that you feel like you know, not long enough even at 900 pages, brutal but realistic violence. This is simply the best book I have ever read, and the emotional impact still rings true after nearly 16 years. I haven't reread it in several years, but I'm certain that I remember nearly every scene and much of the dialogue. Several warnings: 1) Nothing you read afterwards, for years to come, will compare. Lonesome Dove will spoil you and diminish everything else you read, no matter how good it may be. 2) It really is not long enough even at it's sizable bulk. You will not want this to end. It starts slowly, but like the cattle drive it depicts, it builds momentum. 3) You will have a difficult time convincing anyone else to read this fine book. You'll hear several standard excuses, especially "I don't like Westerns" and "It's too long" (refer people who say this to my #2 warning above). I know few people who have ever read the book, but those of us who have share the same feelings. It's frustrating to read something so wonderful yet have so few people with whom to share it. 4) McMurtry's sequel and prequels are inferior. You will want more after reading this book, but his other works in the series do not live up to the standards set here. They are good works by themselves, but are inconsistent with the facts and spirit established in the original book. I've heard him speak at several book signings, and for reasons unknown he seems to hold Lonesome Dove in contempt. It has always struck me that he must have intentionally sabotaged the other books as a way of "sticking it" to the fans who inundate him with their love for this book. Don't let that diminish your enjoyment of Lonesome Dove. 5) It is emotionally devastating. This is a sad, brutal, tragic book (bet that really sells you on it, doesn't it? well, sad and brutal have never been done so well). You will experience the characters' joys, but you will also share their considerable pain. Do not let anyone tell you how this book ends. I was not expecting the outcome, but it flowed naturally with the story. Given its realism and insight into life and human nature, the book ended in the only way it could if it were to remain true to itself. Life doesn't end happily, and neither does Lonesome Dove. These characters, their stories and their fates, will haunt you until the end of your days. When you're finished with the book, watch the movie- looking forward to seeing it should be some consolation after the letdown of finishing the book. Don't fall into the mentality that "the movie is never as good as the book". In this case it is, and they offer a wonderful complement to one another.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent-one of the best books I ever read
Review: Lonesome Dove is one of the best books I ever read. I couldn't put it down and finished it in record time. I have to dock it one star though, because as the book wears on McMurtry piles on too many characters. This is a fault I find with his other books as well. The other problem is the large number of chapter breaks--almost corresponding to commercial breaks for the planned TV mini-series.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelieable
Review: I had the book for several years before I read it. Nothing could match my ignorance in letting something so great just sit there on the shelve. I could not wait until the series came out and when I was informed that my long past friend, Billy Witleff was the screen writer, I was more intriged. The character development was the best I have ever seen and the story did not have any holes. I even know a fellow who can repeat the entire dialogue from start. Very few books have the impression that Lonesome Dove has. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, regardless if they live in Paris or Canada. You surely don't have to be a western lover to appreciate this book.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a powerful novel. Fiction writing at its best.
Review: Lonesome Dove is easily one of the best novels I have ever read. Gus and Call are two of the most well-textured and crafter characters I've had the pleasure to come across in popular fiction. It's tremendously rewarding when a book this popular is also so highly rewarding as a piece of literature. This was one of those books that made me long to experience all the things the main characters were going through as I was reading about them. I began consuming bacon, biscuits and buttermilk as I was reading this book, but I haven't really ate any of that since then. McMurtry will being you in completely into the world of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call and although it's a long journey, when it's all over, you won't want to leave. I knew the book was going to be rewarding when I noticed I was reading page 300 and felt like I had just started the book. Time flies. In its simplest terms, this is a book about a cattle drive from south Texas to Montana. On closer examination, the book examines themes of love, loyalty, duty and courage. One of the most amazing books I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating and magnificent novel. Thank you Mr. McMurtry.
Review: I read this book a long time ago and was, quite literally, spellbound. Recently I picked it up again and was equally spellbound, and even more appreciative. Not because it is so thoroughly American or that it's about the rootin' tootin' Wild West of yesteryear, but because it is quite simply: amazing. You know the plot, but the plot is hardly of any consequence, except as a vehicle for the richly detailed pageantry of life on that vanished frontier. A vast array of characters peoples this wonderful, and I must add, often times hysterical, story. I think a novel likes this depends greatly on it's characters. Because in the world it is set in, there is nothing but the here and now, and the people around you. Abstract concepts and news from the cities back east exist not. Throughout the read, from page to page, the characters will alternately amaze you, infuriate you, vex you, bore you, stun you, make you laugh, make you cry, but most all, they'll make you think long and hard about what life in those days and frontier living must have been like. Can't say I'd want to experience them if I had a choice to. Gus McCrae: White haired comedian, sarcastic and boisterous. Boasts that he did a year at a fancy college in Tennessee and that he knows his Latin letters. Quick to laugh, long in the tooth, but a fighter unmatched in a hard land. If you need a "God persona", he's your man Woodrow Call: Humorless, down to business. Understands very little about people and himself. Driven and hardworking, a dry desert to Gus's watery world. Lorena: Beautiful Lorena, lost in a world of brutes, fools, and savages, save Gus. She's paid to do the only thing her times and circumstances would her allow to. She wants to go to San Francisco. She'll hardly spare a glance at her #1 fan. Deets: The epitome of the kind, decent, able black man of that age. A peerless tracker, "never shirked a task". The kind of hero who takes what comes, little highs, little lows. He loves to look at the moon on a starry night. Pea: Simpleton of the plains. Can't think much but for hunger and thirst. Still, you'd want him by your side when the shooting starts. July Johnson: Pea seems practically alive with pleasure next to this clueless dolt. But he does his job and serves the community. He just can't understand why his wife hates his guts and can't stand the sight of him. Newt: Call's unclaimed son by a long since dead town whore. Idolizes his elders, able horseman, sensitive young man. Wants to seem tough and capable, but alone he is very much afraid of failing in his duties and looking bad to the others. Blue Duck: The big murderous Indian of Pea's nightmares. Here is a nasty, and I do mean nasty, savage. The devil in the flesh. If Gus and Call couldn't make him swing from his neck, then nobody could. He kidnaps pretty blond Lorena along the way, and his little band of sickos is gonna have some fun. Dish Boggett: Poor lovestruck Dish, to adore someone who wouldn't give you the time of day. Here is a man who lives on horseback. Top hand cowboy who won't tolerate the jibes of his lessers. There are many more. They lived what we dream, and they dreamed, and worked towards, what we live. Any real man has to read this book. Mr. McMurtry has purchased a certain amount of immortality with this one. And the prequel is also excellent: Comanche Moon. I'm not even a big fan of Westerns either.
Rating:
Summary: One word: magnificent
Review: I have never been a fan of the literary western genre and confess that I read this book solely because I watched the movie based upon this book. Incredibly, the book supercedes the movie and McMurtry's characterization of Woodrow and Gus are truly stunning. It's the characters that turn this book into a compelling classic, rarely does the reader encounter such deftly-drawn and intriguing men as McCall and McCrae. You feel as if you are in Lonesome Dove with these men, and with them every step of the way from Texas to Montana. It's a magnificent journey and McMurtry is a superlative writer. Even if you've never read a western book in your life, this is a literary masterpiece, the Shakespeare of the range, so to speak.
Rating:
Summary: Lonesome Dove
Review: Lonesome Dove epitomizes the true Western in every sense of the word. Not only is it a captivating read, but fans of the epic mini-series of the same name will forever have etched on their hearts the dry humor of Gus and the stoic determination and rugged character of Woodrow. A wonderful read that makes the movie even better because you come to know the characters even more intimately.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best novel I've ever read
Review: If you read only one western in your life, treat yourself and make it this one.
Rating:
Summary: You won't find a better story than this.
Review: You won't find a better story than this. Beautiful in it's simplicity. Rich in it's sparcity. Such a solid bunch of characters and impeccable dialog is rare. I've taken to scoring the way a story like this handles death and this book deals with it many times and the same sparce beauty comes through in a completely new and unique way each time. We get to see brief, but perfectly timed moments of introspection, usually courtesy of Gus, of the journey through life, the joys and regrets, and the pride/shame associated with 'taming' the land. The reader is a part of the journey, part of the changing landscape and part of the joy and the regrets. At the end of the drive, I wanted to return with Captain Call to correct some of life's mishaps, but had to resign myself to the fact that what's done is done and there ain't no changin' it. Each character has their own personality and uniqueness that is a pleasure to meet and get acquainted with. McMurtry never wasted time building suspense into a situation or event. The event simply occurs and you smile as you ride on down the road. If at all possible, the last 50 pages should be read in one sitting. At the end you will want to be alone for several hours where nobody will disturb the end of your journey.
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