10 Essential Elmore Leonard Reads: The Best Books By The Late, Lauded Novelist. I think this story has now been filmed five times. Open this photo in gallery: Novelist Elmore Leonard in some semi-grungy lane in downtown Toronto in 2004. Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-2013) started his career as a professional writer by producing short Western stories for the pulp magazines. According to the introduction, Mr. Leonards first attempt was not very good and was rejected, whereupon he decided that next time he would do his research first. Sign In. One of the great storytellers of our time, Elmore Leonard began his career writing Westerns, a genre he loved. (Photo by Michael Brennan/Getty Images) When revered writer Elmore Leonard died Tuesday due to complications from a stroke, he left behind not just family and loved ones, but a large community of … They are set in the Arizona Territory of the 1870's and 1880's. That said, his work is either dynamite TNT or a bottle rocket, which might be a gracious way of saying he can write a dud. “Showdown at Checotah.” McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, New York : Vintage Press, 2003. In 1950, fresh out of college and keen to make his name as a writer, Elmore Leonard decided he needed to pick a market, a big one, which would give him a better chance to be published while he learned to write. Elmore Leonard is one of my three favorite authors. I'd recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys nitty gritty westerns with a twist. Elmore Leonard, one of the most popular and admired authors of his time, wrote more than forty novels and dozens of short stories. Elmore had a job at one of the factories, and he stayed clean and sober, so it didn’t really seem like that big a deal that he wanted to be Elmore Leonard the famous writer. This book includes Elmore Leonard's famous short story "3:10 to Yuma". A bull's-eye of a short fiction collection that spans the master's career. Take a Look. Take a Look. Elmore Leonard was “the Dickens of Detroit,” “the poet laureate of wild assholes with revolvers,” and above all a master craftsman. Now, writer and film critic Terrence Rafferty has gathered the best of Leonard’s Westerns in a single volume, four classic novels and eight outstanding short stories, including the tales that inspired such powerful films as Hombre, Valdez Is Coming, and 3:10 to Yuma. All told, Leonard wrote thirty Western short stories and eight Western novels. :) Travel Movies Books Food Other. This is a volume of all 30 of them, coming to over 500 pages. The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard Exciting, fast paced short stories by a young writer who is destined to become famous. Films Based on Elmore Leonard Novels and Stories show list info. :) (Series Order Book 29) by Book List Guru American novelist Elmore Leonard with his wife Christine in Detroit, Michigan, circa 1992. Sign In Trending New Popular type to search. Peter Leonard isn't sure where his father's unpublished stories were hiding, but once he read them, he knew they had to be published. In this superb short fiction collection, Elmore Leonard, “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review), once again illustrates how the line between the law and the lawbreakers is not as firm as we might think.In the title story, the basis for the hit FX series Justified, U.S. In this superb short fiction collection, Elmore Leonard, “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review), once again illustrates how the line between the law and the lawbreakers is not as firm as we might think.In the title story, the basis for the hit FX series Justified, U.S. Back in the Fifties, before he wrote the murder mysteries that made him famous, Elmore Leonard wrote Westerns -- short stories for Western magazines. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail . Below is a list of movies based on either novels or short stories of author Elmore Leonard. It's interesting to see that each successive film version of this story gets more and more violent as it drifts further and further away from Leonard's plot, which relies and superb timing and creation of atmosphere. “Louly and Pretty Boy.” Dangerous Women, Penzler, Otto ed. Picking the 10 "best" Elmore Leonard novels is a mug's game, but I'm willing to share my own personal top 10, if you bear in mind that I haven't read all of Leonard's books.. Elmore Leonard Books in Order: Raylan Givens series (Justified books), Chili Palmer, Carl Webster, Jack Foley, Ryan, children's books, all short stories, ... and nonfiction.