No Country for Old Men
The House on Mango Street

With His Pistol in His Hand

Gregorio Cortez Lira, a ranchhand of Mexican parentage, was virtually unknown until one summer day in 1901 when he and a Texas sheriff, pistols in hand, blazed away at each other after a misunderstanding. The sheriff was killed and Gregorio fled immediately, realizing that in practice there was one law for Anglo-Texans, another for Texas-Mexicans. The chase, capture, and imprisonment of Cortez are high drama that cannot easily be forgotten. Even today, in the cantinas along both sides of the Rio Grande, Mexicans sing the praises of the great “sheriff-killer” in the ballad which they call “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez.”

Américo Paredes tells the story of Cortez, the man and the legend, in vivid, fascinating detail in “With His Pistol in His Hand,” which also presents a unique study of a ballad in the making. Deftly woven into the story are interpretations of the Border country, its history, its people, and their folkways.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

    Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt weaves a heartfelt narrative about Tova Sullivan, a widow who finds solace in her friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus residing at the local aquarium. As Tova navigates her grief and the mystery surrounding her son's disappearance, the unlikely bond with Marcellus leads her to uncover long-buried truths about the past. This debut novel is a poignant exploration of connection, hope, and the complexities of life.

    Read More about "Remarkably Bright Creatures"...

  • Walt Longmire is back after the escapades of First Frost and encounters one of his most baffling cases in Wyoming’s brutal and unforgiving Red Desert. When Blair McGowan, the mail person with the longest postal route in the country of over three hundred mile a day, goes missing the question becomes—where do you look for her? The Postal Inspector for the State of Wyoming elicits Sheriff Longmire to mount an investigation into her disappearance and Walt does everything but mail it in; posing as a letter-carrier himself, the good sheriff follows her trail and finds himself enveloped in the intrigue of [...]

  • Mirroring the music of New Orleans, Kane's poems combine traditional form with improvisational flourishes. Rhythm & Booze charts her progress as she undertakes a number of journeys, from youth to experience, from blues bars to college classrooms, from city to country, from chaos to something approaching peace.

  • Hailed as “deeply felt” (New York Times), “a revelation” (Pacific Standard), and “the book on climate change and sea levels that was missing” (Chicago Tribune), Rising is both a highly original work of lyric reportage.