WARMLY INSCRIBED BY GLENDON SWARTHOUT: FIRST EDITION OF THE SHOOTIST, THE BASIS FOR JOHN WAYNE'S LAST FILM

SWARTHOUT, Glendon. The Shootist. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975. Octavo, original black and brown paper boards, original dust jacket. $2500.

First edition of this novel about the last gunslinger in the West, determined to outsmart death, the basis for John Wayne's last film, inscribed: "for L— R— —to whom I am very grateful—Glendon Swarthout. Scottsdale. 1990."

"A taut, leathery, masterful tale" (Los Angeles Times). "This is definitely more than a Western; the characterization is flawless, the plot absorbing and convincing" (Library Journal). "The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout is the tale of the Old West's version of the modern 'hit man.' It is a splendid story, well-told and with a really satisfying ending" (Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post). "The final gun-battle is entirely convincing… I do not ever remember reading one better described" (London Daily Telegraph). John Wayne, already ailing and recovering from the recent removal of a lung and three ribs, lobbied aggressively to get the title role for the movie, made in 1976; it proved to be Wayne's final film.

Dust jacket with very minimal wear. A very nearly fine copy.