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Telegraph Days  By  cover art

Telegraph Days

By: Larry McMurtry
Narrated by: Annie Potts
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Publisher's summary

Not since the publication of his own beloved classic Lonesome Dove has there been a novel like this one, another big, brilliant, unputdownable saga of the West from Larry McMurtry. Telegraph Days is at once a major work of literature and a completely absorbing read; not just great fiction, but fiction on a great scale, encompassing many years, many characters, real and fictional, and the whole vast landscape of place, time, life, and heart, which has served for more than 130 years as the background for "the Western" in fiction and on the screen. Nobody writes, or has ever written, better about the West than Larry McMurtry, and nobody has caught better in words its myths, its often brutal reality, its overwhelming size, and the way it captured both the imagination and the hopes of those who settled there, only, as was so often the case, to dash those hopes.

Told in the voice of Nellie Courtright, a spunky, courageous, attractive young woman whose story this is in part, Telegraph Days is the big novel of the Western gunfighters that people have been hoping for years Larry McMurtry would write.

©2006 Larry McMurtry. All rights reserved. (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

  • Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Solo Narration - Female

  • Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007
  • Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Female, 2007

"McMurtry's latest skips through western lore with a wry smile." (Publishers Weekly)
"In his striving to demythologize the West, McMurtry's vision of the reality is compelling." (Booklist)

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What listeners say about Telegraph Days

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

One Woman's Wild West

The wild west & all it's colorful historical characters as seen through the eyes of a lone woman over her lifetime

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Larry McMurty once again does it the best!

If you could sum up Telegraph Days in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, thought provoking and exciting

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Nellie. I love Annie Potts so my minds eye saw the physical Annie Potts and the inspiration of Nellie Cartright.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Western!!!

Telegraph Days is one of the best stories of the old West that I’ve ever heard. Annie Potts’ narration was great!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great story by Larry

What can one say about Larry McMurtry other than he was the consummate writer, screenwriter and teller of tales of the Great West. . .and the key players in it! Combined with Annie Potts’ narration this is a wonderful narration of everything from Dodge City, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West to the OK Corral and many of those people’s migration to California and the beginning of the movie industry.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly disappointing

I have loved much of McMurtry's other works. I found this plot aimless. Nellie is is free-spirited but lacked something of a strength that made me admire McMurtry's other female characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brings the West alive.

Great story that pieces together so many of the legends of the West. And Annie Pots reading makes it even more special. She was perfect for this book! Sorry the time went by so quick.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An incredible reading!

Anne Potts gives an amazing performance that really brings the book alive. I'd love to find more like this from her.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delightfully Read

The great Larry McMurtry read by the marvelous Annie Potts: pure heaven. Written with great humor and warmth, and from a woman's point of view, this audio book is a favorite. Smooth:)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Historical fiction the way it should be told. By the person who lived it! A perfect smattering of famous names sauntering in and out of the story as it unfolds.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Annie Potts shines!

No one could've done Nellie Courtright any better. Annie Potts shines in this role! Highly recommend.

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