The Historical Accuracy of Lonesome Dove

Summary

“Lonesome Dove” is one of the most popular Texas novels of all time — with many millions of copies sold since it was first published in 1985. The miniseries that followed in 1989 was the second most popular mini-series of all time, behind “Roots.”

But Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says author Larry McMurtry was never as much in love with the book as his fans were.

Editor’s note: There’s a misstatement in this commentary. The “Yes, a hell of a vision” line quoted from the book are not its last lines but towards the end of the novel.

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