Heart of the West


Book Description

This is a fantastic collection of western-themed stories, many feature the man's signature surprise endings. There are tales of cowpunchers, desperados and ranchers in love. Most explore happy times, though death and sorrow do pay an infrequent visit. More than once the folly of male/female relationships is explored with predictably humorous results.




Heart of the West


Book Description

A collection of 19 short stories from the West. Several of the funniest and best stories by O. Henry appear in this book, which is made up of about twenty-five of his inimitable tales of Western life and types which have appeared at intervals in the magazines. These stories are the best of their kind since Bret Harte. William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 - June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, and his surprise endings, was an American short story writer. He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. HEARTS AND CROSSES (excerpt) Baldy Woods reached for the bottle, and got it. Whenever Baldy went for anything he usually-but this is not Baldy's story. He poured out a third drink that was larger by a finger than the first and second. Baldy was in consultation; and the consultee is worthy of his hire. ""I'd be king if I was you,"" said Baldy, so positively that his holster creaked and his spurs rattled...







The Gift of the Magi


Book Description

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time.




Telemachus, Friend


Book Description

Clearly a literary great, O. Henry gave his great gifts to the world with his classic works, including this western short story, "Telemachus, Friend." Enjoy Henry's amazing imagination as you take a trip into the Old West. Telemachus, Friend is the 3rd short story of the Heart of the West collection of short stories by author O. Henry.




Fox Creek


Book Description

‡a"The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters enter the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to Henry for shelter and the gift of his wisdom. Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O'Connor's wife, to safety deep inside the Boundary Waters, his home for more than a century. On the last journey he may ever take into this beloved land, Meloux must do his best to outwit the deadly mercenaries who follow. Meanwhile, in Aurora, Cork works feverishly to identify the hunters and the reason for their relentless pursuit, but he has little to go on. In desperation, Cork begins tracking the killers, but his own skills in the wild are severely tested by a late season snowstorm. He knows only too well that with each passing hour time is running out. His fiercest enemy in this deadly game of cat and mouse may be his own deep self-doubt about his ability to save those he loves"--Dust jacket flap.




The Furnished Room


Book Description

"The Furnished Room" is a short story about love and dedication, about exhaustion and despair. A young man is in search for a girl he fell in love with. He rents a room near the theaters where she is to be seen and he devotes his days to the dream of finding her. When all of a sudden the sweet fragrance of her perfume fills his room ... Is he finally blessed with success? Or this is an evil ghost from the past? Will he get to embrace the girl he loves or she will drag him to the verge of sanity? William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, was an American writer who lived in the late 19th century. He gains wide popularity with his short stories which often take place either in New York or some small American towns. The plot twists and the surprise endings are a typical and integral part of O. Henry’s short stories. Some of his best known works are "The Gift of the Magi", "The Cop and the Anthem", "A Retrieved Reformation". His stories often deal with ordinary people and the individual aspects of life. As a result of the outstanding literature legacy that O. Henry left behind, there is an American annual award after his name, given to exceptional short stories.




O. Henry's Short Stories


Book Description

The Last Leaf, the Gift of the Magi, the Green Door, Roads of Destiny, the Ransom of Red Chief, Sound and Fury, the Handbook of Hymen, the Halberdier of the Little Rheinschloss, the Defeat of the City, After Twenty Years, a Retrieved Reformation, Friends in San Rosario, One Dollar's Worth, a Ramble in Aphasia, the Poet and the Peasant, the Robe of Peace-each story complete and unabridged.




Heart of the West (Collection of 19 Short Stories)


Book Description

A collection of 19 short stories from the West.Heart of the West, first published in 1907, collects many, though not all, of O. Henry's Western stories, and most of the stories in the book, though not all, are set in Texas. Perhaps reflecting William Porter's own experience as a young man in the middle of nowhere on the Texas prairie, where women were few and far between, many of the stories are comic tales of romantic rivalry, usually featuring two bluff and feckless young men in competition for the attention of the same rather remote and demanding young woman. This comically romantic longing is often deflected into an outlandish competition, the winner of which is supposed to get the girl. In the funniest story in the book, "The Handbook of Hymen" (which is set in Montana), two prospectors, Sanderson Pratt and his partner, Idaho Green, come down out of the mountains and each try to woo a pretty widow by the book-literally.