Prolific author and screenwriter McMurtry has carved a niche as the chronicler of a fictional West (with particular emphasis on his native Texas) in transition. He is credited with reviving the genre and imbuing it with realism laced with satire. Although he has written novels set in other areas of the US, the flavor of the Southwest permeates. Raised in Archer County, TX on a cattle ranch established by his grandfather, McMurtry began his literary career at North Texas State University writing for the literary magazine "Avesta." Upon graduation, he worked intermittently as a teacher, first at
