Fiction

The Western Writers of America have surveyed their members and compiled a couple versions of the "greatest western novels of all time." I think this one was from the late 1980s.

1. The Virginian by Owen Wister (1902) Download PDF
2. The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark (1940)
3. Shane by Jack Schaefer (1946)
4. The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. (1947)
5. The Searchers by Alan Le May (1954)
6. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey (1912) Download PDF
7. Paso por Aqui by Eugene Manlove Rhodes (1926)
8. Bugles in the Afternoon by Ernest Haycox (1944)
9. The Long Rifle by Stewart Edward White (1932)
10. Vengeance Valley by Luke Short (1949)
11. The Hell Bent Kid by Charles O. Locke (1957)
12. Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz (1953)
13. Destry Rides Again by Max Brand (1930)
14. Hondo by Louis L'Amour (1953)
15. The Sea of Grass by Conrad Richter (1936)
16. Ride the Man Down by Luke Short (1942)
17. The Day the Cowboys Quit by Elmer Kelton (1971)
18. Stay Away, Joe by Dan Cushman (1953)
19. The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton (1973)
20. True Grit by Charles Portis (1952)
21. Monte Walsh by Jack Schaefer (1963)
22. Flint by Louis L'Amour (1960)
23. From Where the Sun Now Stands by Will Henry (1959)
24. Hombre by Elmore Leonard (1961)
25. The Wonderful Country by Tom Lea (1952)

Non-Fiction

The U.S. Federal government funded a study on the study of "history" and this short document was the result:
Final Report The President's Advisory 1776 Commission

The story of United States "western expansion" is covered in The Way to the West. It also covers the lifes of Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Kit Carson.