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Elmer Kelton Books in Order

Find every Elmer Kelton book in order, including standalone titles and complete series reading orders with publication years.

Updated 2026-07-11 / 77 books / 9 series

American author Elmer Kelton is best known for his Western novels, including *The Time It Never Rained* and the Texas Rangers series. A seven-time winner of the Spur Award, his work is celebrated for its authentic portrayal of the American frontier. This page provides the Elmer Kelton books in order, including both chronological order and series reading order.

All Elmer Kelton Books in Chronological Order

1956 Hot Iron POoSN / 1 Buy
1957 Buffalo Wagons POoSN / 2 Buy
1959 Bitter Trail POoSN / 3 Buy
1960 Texas Rifles POoSN / 4 Buy
1961 Donovan POoSN / 5 Buy
1963 Pecos Crossing POoSN / 6 Buy
1963 Horsehead Crossing POoSN / 7 Buy
1965 Massacre at Goliad POoBFB / 1 Buy
1967 After the Bugles POoBFB / 2 Buy
1968 Captain's Rangers POoToTB / 1 Buy
1968 Savage Guns(With: Brian Garfield,Alex Hawk) POoSN / 8 Buy
1969 Shotgun Settlement(With: Brian Garfield,Alex Hawk) POoSN / 9 Buy
1971 The Day the Cowboys Quit POoTTB / 1 Buy
1971 Bowie's Mine POoSN / 10 Buy
1972 Looking Back West: Selections form the Pioneer News-Observer POoNB / 1 Buy
1972 Wagontongue POoTTB / 2 Buy
1973 The Time It Never Rained POoSN / 11 Buy
1974 Manhunters POoTTB / 3 Buy
1975 Joe Pepper POoToTB / 2 Buy
1976 Long Way to Texas POoToTB / 3 Buy
1980 The Wolf and the Buffalo POoTTB / 4 Buy
1980 Barbed Wire POoSN / 12 Buy
1981 Eyes of the Hawk POoSN / 13 Buy
1982 The Good Old Boys POoHCB / 1 Buy
1982 Llano River POoSN / 14 Buy
1984 Stand Proud POoTTB / 5 Buy
1984 Shadow of a Star POoSN / 15 Buy
1985 Permian: A Continuing Saga POoNB / 2 Buy
1985 Elmer Kelton: 30 Years of Western Fiction POoNB / 3 Buy
1985 Dark Thicket POoTTB / 6 Buy
1986 There's Always Another Chance, and Other Stories POoSSC / 1 Buy
1986 The Big Brand POoSSC / 2 Buy
1987 The Man Who Rode Midnight POoTTB / 7 Buy
1988 Hanging Judge POoSN / 16 Buy
1989 Sons of Texas POoSoTB / 1 Buy
1989 The Raiders POoSoTB / 2 Buy
1989 The Rebels POoSoTB / 3 Buy
1990 Living and Writing in West Texas: Two Speeches POoNB / 4 Buy
1991 Honor at Daybreak POoTTB / 8 Buy
1992 The Art of Howard Terpning POoNB / 5 Buy
1992 The Art of Frank C. McCarthy POoNB / 6 Buy
1992 Slaughter POoSN / 17 Buy
1993 The Art of James Bama POoNB / 7 Buy
1993 Elmer Kelton Country: The Short Nonfiction of a Texas Novelist POoNB / 8 Buy
1993 The Best Christmas POoSN / 18 Buy
1993 The Indian in Frontier News POoSN / 19 Buy
1994 The Far Canyon POoSN / 20 Buy
1995 My Kind of Heroes: Selected Speeches POoNB / 9 Buy
1995 Texas POoNB / 10 Buy
1996 The Pumpkin Rollers POoSN / 21 Buy
1997 Cloudy in the West POoSN / 22 Buy
1998 The Smiling Country POoHCB / 2 Buy
1999 The Buckskin Line POoTRB / 1 Buy
1999 Legend POoSSC / 3 Buy
1999 Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land and Legacy POoNB / 11 Buy
2001 Badger Boy POoTRB / 2 Buy
2001 The Way of the Coyote POoTRB / 3 Buy
2002 Ranger's Trail POoTRB / 4 Buy
2003 Christmas at the Ranch POoSN / 23 Buy
2004 Texas Vendetta POoTRB / 5 Buy
2004 Jericho's Road POoTRB / 6 Buy
2005 Six Bits a Day POoHCB / 3 Buy
2005 Prairie Gothic(By: John R. Erickson) POoNB / 12 Buy
2007 Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer POoNB / 13 Buy
2007 Shotgun POoSN / 24 Buy
2008 Hard Trail To Follow POoTRB / 7 Buy
2008 Many a River POoSN / 25 Buy
2009 Other Men's Horses POoTRB / 8 Buy
2010 Texas Standoff POoTRB / 9 Buy
2011 ReadWest POoSSC / 4 Buy
2017 Wild West POoSSC / 5 Buy
2018 Hard Ride POoSSC / 6 Buy
2020 The Cowboy Way POoSSC / 7 Buy
2020 Tom Lovell: Storyteller with a Brush POoNB / 14 Buy
2021 Law of the Land POoSSC / 8 Buy
2022 The Unlikely Lawman(By: Steve Kelton) POoHCB / 4 Buy
2024 The Familiar Stranger(By: Steve Kelton) POoHCB / 5 Buy

Elmer Kelton Book Series Reading Orders / browse all ->

Non-Fiction Books in Reading Order 14 books / 1972-2020
01 Looking Back West: Selections form the Pioneer News-Observer 1972 Buy
02 Permian: A Continuing Saga 1985 Buy
03 Elmer Kelton: 30 Years of Western Fiction 1985 Buy
04 Living and Writing in West Texas: Two Speeches 1990 Buy
05 The Art of Howard Terpning 1992 Buy
06 The Art of Frank C. McCarthy 1992 Buy
07 The Art of James Bama 1993 Buy
08 Elmer Kelton Country: The Short Nonfiction of a Texas Novelist 1993 Buy
09 My Kind of Heroes: Selected Speeches 1995 Buy
10 Texas 1995 Buy
11 Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land and Legacy 1999 Buy
12 Prairie Gothic(By: John R. Erickson) 2005 Buy
13 Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer 2007 Buy
14 Tom Lovell: Storyteller with a Brush 2020 Buy
01 There's Always Another Chance, and Other Stories 1986 Buy
02 The Big Brand 1986 Buy
03 Legend 1999 Buy
04 ReadWest 2011 Buy
05 Wild West 2017 Buy
06 Hard Ride 2018 Buy
07 The Cowboy Way 2020 Buy
08 Law of the Land 2021 Buy
01 Massacre at Goliad 1965 Buy
02 After the Bugles 1967 Buy
01 The Good Old Boys 1982 Buy
02 The Smiling Country 1998 Buy
03 Six Bits a Day 2005 Buy
04 The Unlikely Lawman(By: Steve Kelton) 2022 Buy
05 The Familiar Stranger(By: Steve Kelton) 2024 Buy
Standalone Books in Reading Order 25 books / 1956-2008
01 Hot Iron 1956 Buy
02 Buffalo Wagons 1957 Buy
03 Bitter Trail 1959 Buy
04 Texas Rifles 1960 Buy
05 Donovan 1961 Buy
06 Pecos Crossing 1963 Buy
07 Horsehead Crossing 1963 Buy
08 Savage Guns(With: Brian Garfield,Alex Hawk) 1968 Buy
09 Shotgun Settlement(With: Brian Garfield,Alex Hawk) 1969 Buy
10 Bowie's Mine 1971 Buy
11 The Time It Never Rained 1973 Buy
12 Barbed Wire 1980 Buy
13 Eyes of the Hawk 1981 Buy
14 Llano River 1982 Buy
15 Shadow of a Star 1984 Buy
16 Hanging Judge 1988 Buy
17 Slaughter 1992 Buy
18 The Best Christmas 1993 Buy
19 The Indian in Frontier News 1993 Buy
20 The Far Canyon 1994 Buy
21 The Pumpkin Rollers 1996 Buy
22 Cloudy in the West 1997 Buy
23 Christmas at the Ranch 2003 Buy
24 Shotgun 2007 Buy
25 Many a River 2008 Buy
01 The Buckskin Line 1999 Buy
02 Badger Boy 2001 Buy
03 The Way of the Coyote 2001 Buy
04 Ranger's Trail 2002 Buy
05 Texas Vendetta 2004 Buy
06 Jericho's Road 2004 Buy
07 Hard Trail To Follow 2008 Buy
08 Other Men's Horses 2009 Buy
09 Texas Standoff 2010 Buy
01 Sons of Texas 1989 Buy
02 The Raiders 1989 Buy
03 The Rebels 1989 Buy
01 Captain's Rangers 1968 Buy
02 Joe Pepper 1975 Buy
03 Long Way to Texas 1976 Buy
01 The Day the Cowboys Quit 1971 Buy
02 Wagontongue 1972 Buy
03 Manhunters 1974 Buy
04 The Wolf and the Buffalo 1980 Buy
05 Stand Proud 1984 Buy
06 Dark Thicket 1985 Buy
07 The Man Who Rode Midnight 1987 Buy
08 Honor at Daybreak 1991 Buy

Where to start with Elmer Kelton

What is the best order to read Elmer Kelton books?

Publication order is usually the safest place to start. If a book belongs to a series, follow the numbered series reading order shown on this page.

Are standalone books and series both included?

Yes. Standalone titles appear in the full chronological bibliography, and series are broken out separately with reading-order links when catalog data is available.

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Source note: Sequencebooks organizes author, book, and series records from its catalog data. Publication years and series order are shown when available.