
The Shootist
A Classic Western
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Narrated by:
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Brian Cox
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full cast
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Joe Jameson
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Michelle Fairley
About this listen
A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of this landmark Western, starring Brian Cox and Michelle Fairley.
‘The Shootist’ is John Bernard Books, the last surviving top gunfighter in a vanishing American West. He rides into El Paso in the year 1901, to be told by a doctor that he has a terminal illness. As word spreads that the famous assassin has reached the end, an assortment of vultures gather to feast upon his corpse. Most men would end their days quietly, but Books outwits them all by selecting the where, the when, and the manner of his death.
The Shootist is a classic Western novel written by Glendon Swarthout in 1975. It won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel of 1975, and was chosen in the Western Writers of America’s members’ poll in 2000 as one of the 10 greatest Western novels of the 20th century. It was made into a 1976 film starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall, which was John Wayne’s final film role.
Brian Cox (X-Men 2, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy) stars as John Bernard Books, with Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones, 24: Live Another Day) as the widow Bond Rogers, with whom he finds affection in his final days.
Cast:
John Bernard Books…Brian Cox
Bond Rogers…Michelle Fairley
Gillom Rodgers…Joe Jameson
Marshal Thibido…Craige Els
Charles Hostetler…Michael Bertenshaw
Shoup…Joe Sims
Norton…Ashley Kumar
Mrs Woodling…Heather Craney
Bartender…Clive Hayward
Adapted by Nick Perry
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
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What listeners say about The Shootist
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- jill
- 03-21-25
It’s not too late to do something good in your life.
Great ending with a beautiful and thoughtful message for everyone who has been in a similar situation.
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- Vince
- 03-18-25
Great storytelling
Brian cox does a superb job with this one. Better than the movie, excepting the absence of John Wayne.
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- Craig S.
- 01-11-19
Quick and dirty!
Awesome book and the narrators do a great job of keeping your interest. I often find myself having to backup the story a paragraph or two to confirm what I heard, but not this one. Give it a listen, you won't regret it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jim Whitney
- 05-03-19
Awsome book
well written and very much like the movie with John Wayne not the remake. It tells a story of the end of a mans life as a gun fighter in his own way
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kay L. Morris
- 08-09-22
The Shootist
Better than the movie, but I still loved the movie my all time John Wayne movie. I never knew there was a book. There are differences but still wonderful stories
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