Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry

Before they became the legendary heroes of Lonesome Dove, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call were just young Texas Rangers — reckless, hungry for adventure, and too stubborn to die. Sent on a doomed expedition across a brutal, uncharted wilderness, they face deadly enemies, merciless deserts, and the haunting test of what it means to endure. Both brutal and deeply human, Dead Man’s Walk is a sweeping Western epic about courage, friendship, and the unbreakable will to survive against impossible odds.