Max Brand books

Anthologies

Bold West Reading Order

Bull Hunter Reading Order

Dan Barry Reading Order

Dr. Kildare Reading Order

Free Range Lanning Reading Order

Luck Reading Order

Montana Reading Order

Non-Fiction

Ronicky Doone Reading Order

Rusty Sabin Saga Reading Order

Short Story Collections

Silvertip Reading Order

The Golden West Reading Order

The Rancher Reading Order

Thunder Moon Reading Order

Frederick Schiller Faust was born in Seattle in 1892 and grew up in California’s Central Valley. He began writing for pulp magazines in 1917, and his output was staggering. Under the Max Brand name alone he published dozens of novels, but his total body of work across all pen names may exceed 500 titles. His Western fiction, featuring hard-bitten cowboys, mysterious loners, and frontier justice, defined the genre for a generation of readers. He also created Dr. Kildare, the young hospital intern whose stories were adapted into a long-running series of films and later a popular television show.

Faust’s writing was fast-paced and plot-driven, built on sharp dialogue and a knack for memorable characters. His best-known Western series include the Dan Barry books, the Silvertip adventures, and the Thunder Moon stories, each with a distinctive hero and setting. He also wrote poetry and aspired to literary recognition beyond the pulps, though his popular fiction was what paid the bills and earned him lasting fame.

Despite his success, Faust spent much of his life in financial difficulty because of his lavish lifestyle. He lived in Italy for years in the 1920s and 1930s before returning to the United States. During World War II, he worked as a war correspondent for Harper’s Magazine and was killed by shrapnel during the Allied advance on Santa Maria Infante, Italy, in May 1944. He was 51 years old. His books have remained in print ever since, with new collections and reissues appearing regularly into the 2020s.