At the end of the Civil War, Texas was a wide open frontier with millions of unbranded, wild cattle. The Goodnight Trail tells how three former Texas Rangers gather a herd of cattle and join with Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving and drive these cattle over new territory in order to reach the new market of Denver, Colorado. Colorado was mining country and miners needed beef. Others were driving their herd north to Kansas, but the Goodnight Trail promised good water, with fresh grazing , and a ready market at the end.

Like an old time Saturday matinee, this book is a true cowboy adventure. With Indian battles, cattle stampedes, and gunplay, the plot follows this small band through all their ups and downs on this journey and even manages to throw a romance into the mix.

For pure escapism, I found The Goodnight Trail to be an enjoyable, action packed story, loosely based on actual history. Written by prolific western author, Ralph Compton, this is one of his earlier works, which is important to note, as since his death in 1998, his publishers continue to release books under his banner, but written by other authors. ( )