Outstanding writing, very descriptive richly developed story and characters. Early frontier days in Lonesome Dove, Texas and two old Texas Rangers Call and McCrae decide to drive their cattle company north and start the first cattle ranch in Montana. High drama with cowboys, indians, snake pits, prostitutes, outlaws - all the crazy the wild west has to offer. This is a longggggg book and once I hit about 40%, the story really picked up in action. This has been on my to read list for years and I should have picked this up sooner. My favorite character is somewhere between Gus and Clara. Gus, especially, I didn’t like so much in the beginning, but as his character develops - faults and all - Gus does what he does very well and has an incredible understanding of other people, how they think and act and even truths they aren’t willing to admit. Clara, on the other hand, is a strong do-it-herself independent woman in the Nebraska frontier that knows herself too well. Larry McMurtry has absolutely delivered a fantastic story. PS: I’m so glad I wasn’t a woman in those days