HONDO

With a gentleness befitting the hero of L'Amour's tale of the Old West, actor David Strathairn puts a subtle emotional intensity into his reading that makes this audiobook hard to forget. At a remote Arizona ranch, Hondo Lane, former scout for the U.S. Cavalry, befriends Angie Lowe and her young son amidst rising tension between whites and Apaches. But Indians are the least of Hondo's worries as Angie's shiftless husband, an unscrupulous gambler, returns to take back what is his. Hondo's heroism and the quiet nobility of Apache leader Vittorio come through in Strathairn's voice, reminding us how the West was won with blood, courage, and moral ambiguity. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]