Longhorns East

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Paperback
$14.95 US
| $19.95 CAN
On sale Aug 22, 2023 | 368 Pages | 978-1-4967-3830-1
From nine-time Spur Award–winning Western author Johnny D. Boggs comes the incredible story of the biggest, longest, wildest cattle drive in America’s history—from the heart of Texas to New York City. . .

Tom Candy Ponting was no ordinary trail boss. He didn’t smoke, chew, cuss, or even carry a gun. Unlike his competitors, he learned how to herd cows on a farm back in England—and how to handle cowboys in bareknuckle prizefights. But his skills and know-how were really put to the test when he accepts  a bet he might live to regret: lead a cattle drive from Texas to New York City. Not one to back down on a dare, Ponting assembles the motliest crew of cowboys ever seen—Texans, Englishmen, Mexicans, Freemen, Cherokee—and charts a course through the unfriendliest country to move seven hundred head of cattle, never easy in the best of times. Along the way, they’ll cross railroads and rustlers, hucksters and hustlers, with detours and dead ends aplenty. But if they succeed, the team will make more than just a whole lot of money. They will make history. . . .   

Inspired by the real-life adventures of legendary cattleman Tom Candy Ponting, Longhorns East takes readers on an unforgettable journey as big and bold as the American Dream itself.
Praise for Longhorns East

“Absorbing…adventure-filled…(Boggs) is an artist when it comes to writing about the American West. Just might be the best of his books.” —The Denver Post

“An epic story spanning …moves with a page-turning tempo as Ponting and his cowboys proceed to face perilous river crossings, thieves, rail disaster, and more on the trail to New York. A good amount of historical detail from the places Tom encounters along the way is fused deftly into the narrative. Another treat for fans of the Western novel from award-winning author Johnny D. Boggs.”Historical Novels Review

Praise for Johnny D. Boggs

 
“Johnny D. Boggs is one of today’s major writers in the western genre…Filled with bandits, bad weather, prairie fires, Indian attacks, disgruntled drovers, and stampedes, [A Thousand Texas Longhorns] has everything a western aficionado would love. It’s written by a masterful storyteller, and I cannot praise this book enough.” – Historical Novels Review, EDITOR’S PICK for A Thousand Texas Longhorns
 
"Boggs' gift for memorable storytelling rises to its highest level in Return to Red River...bringing the reader to a dramatic, page-turning cattle drive, leading to an unforgettable ending. All this is set against Boggs' impeccable research of place and time." —True West on Return to Red River
 
"Moves with impeccable pacing and crisp realism, from its stark beginning to the fireball climax."
Roundup Magazine on Return to Red River
 
"Johnny D. Boggs' strongest, purest Western to date. Boggs excels at describing the uniquely beautiful, if somewhat brutal, terrain of the Southwest. The Killing Shot is a Western in the classic sense, full of living, breathing characters and boasting a story that never sags."Tucson Weekly
 
"Boggs' historical asides are aided by a narrative style that drive the story along full gallop." —True West on The Despoilers
 
"Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." —Roundup Magazine
 
"Boggs is among the best Western writers at work today. He writes with depth, flavor, and color, all of which are evident in this right-of-passage tale...Boggs tells the familiar story with authenticity and power." --Booklist on The Lonesome Chisholm Trail
Booklist has called Johnny D. Boggs “among the best western writers at work today.” He won the prestigious Spur Award from Western Writers of America in 2006 for his novel Camp Ford, and in 2002 for his short story “A Piano at Dead Man’s Crossing.” In 2012, West Texas Kill was awarded the Spur Award for Best Original Paperback. His novels Ten and Me and The Hart Brand were Spur finalists in 2000 and 2007, and he won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award in 2004 for his novel Spark on the Prairie. He was also awarded True West Magazine’s Best of the West Award “Best Living Fiction Writer,” 2008. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Lisa Smith; son, Jack Smith Boggs; and basset hound, June. View titles by Johnny D. Boggs

About

From nine-time Spur Award–winning Western author Johnny D. Boggs comes the incredible story of the biggest, longest, wildest cattle drive in America’s history—from the heart of Texas to New York City. . .

Tom Candy Ponting was no ordinary trail boss. He didn’t smoke, chew, cuss, or even carry a gun. Unlike his competitors, he learned how to herd cows on a farm back in England—and how to handle cowboys in bareknuckle prizefights. But his skills and know-how were really put to the test when he accepts  a bet he might live to regret: lead a cattle drive from Texas to New York City. Not one to back down on a dare, Ponting assembles the motliest crew of cowboys ever seen—Texans, Englishmen, Mexicans, Freemen, Cherokee—and charts a course through the unfriendliest country to move seven hundred head of cattle, never easy in the best of times. Along the way, they’ll cross railroads and rustlers, hucksters and hustlers, with detours and dead ends aplenty. But if they succeed, the team will make more than just a whole lot of money. They will make history. . . .   

Inspired by the real-life adventures of legendary cattleman Tom Candy Ponting, Longhorns East takes readers on an unforgettable journey as big and bold as the American Dream itself.

Reviews

Praise for Longhorns East

“Absorbing…adventure-filled…(Boggs) is an artist when it comes to writing about the American West. Just might be the best of his books.” —The Denver Post

“An epic story spanning …moves with a page-turning tempo as Ponting and his cowboys proceed to face perilous river crossings, thieves, rail disaster, and more on the trail to New York. A good amount of historical detail from the places Tom encounters along the way is fused deftly into the narrative. Another treat for fans of the Western novel from award-winning author Johnny D. Boggs.”Historical Novels Review

Praise for Johnny D. Boggs

 
“Johnny D. Boggs is one of today’s major writers in the western genre…Filled with bandits, bad weather, prairie fires, Indian attacks, disgruntled drovers, and stampedes, [A Thousand Texas Longhorns] has everything a western aficionado would love. It’s written by a masterful storyteller, and I cannot praise this book enough.” – Historical Novels Review, EDITOR’S PICK for A Thousand Texas Longhorns
 
"Boggs' gift for memorable storytelling rises to its highest level in Return to Red River...bringing the reader to a dramatic, page-turning cattle drive, leading to an unforgettable ending. All this is set against Boggs' impeccable research of place and time." —True West on Return to Red River
 
"Moves with impeccable pacing and crisp realism, from its stark beginning to the fireball climax."
Roundup Magazine on Return to Red River
 
"Johnny D. Boggs' strongest, purest Western to date. Boggs excels at describing the uniquely beautiful, if somewhat brutal, terrain of the Southwest. The Killing Shot is a Western in the classic sense, full of living, breathing characters and boasting a story that never sags."Tucson Weekly
 
"Boggs' historical asides are aided by a narrative style that drive the story along full gallop." —True West on The Despoilers
 
"Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." —Roundup Magazine
 
"Boggs is among the best Western writers at work today. He writes with depth, flavor, and color, all of which are evident in this right-of-passage tale...Boggs tells the familiar story with authenticity and power." --Booklist on The Lonesome Chisholm Trail

Author

Booklist has called Johnny D. Boggs “among the best western writers at work today.” He won the prestigious Spur Award from Western Writers of America in 2006 for his novel Camp Ford, and in 2002 for his short story “A Piano at Dead Man’s Crossing.” In 2012, West Texas Kill was awarded the Spur Award for Best Original Paperback. His novels Ten and Me and The Hart Brand were Spur finalists in 2000 and 2007, and he won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award in 2004 for his novel Spark on the Prairie. He was also awarded True West Magazine’s Best of the West Award “Best Living Fiction Writer,” 2008. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Lisa Smith; son, Jack Smith Boggs; and basset hound, June. View titles by Johnny D. Boggs