Books with title Chasing Mavericks

The remnants of the Expeditionary Force stranded on the alien-controlled planet 'Paradise' get a chance to prove themselves, in a simple off-world training mission with a ship full of teenage alien cadets. When the mission goes horribly wrong and the survival of everyone on Paradise is at risk, the Merry Band of Pirates may have to come to the rescue. Unless they get killed first...

The remnants of the Expeditionary Force stranded on the alien-controlled planet 'Paradise' get a chance to prove themselves, in a simple off-world training mission with a ship full of teenage alien cadets. When the mission goes horribly wrong and the survival of everyone on Paradise is at risk, the Merry Band of Pirates may have to come to the rescue. Unless they get killed first...

“Old Jake Hanlon sits on the edge of the mesa and looks out over miles of southwestern plain,” starts Jack Schaefer’s all-ages novel Mavericks. Old Jake Hanlon is “ancient and craglike, weathered and withered . . . something like a worn rocky butte himself.” Living in his memories, Hanlon prefers to reflect on his youth, when he lived every cowboy’s dream, rather than think about the old man he has become, now labeled “a decrepit old nuisance” by the folks in town. Ultimately, it is Old Jake’s recollection of the tales of his past—stories of endurance, strength, compassion, and cunning—that helps prepare him for death.ABOUT THE AUTHORJack Schaefer was a journalist and writer known for his authentic and memorable characters set in the American West. Schaefer received the Western Literature Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1975 and the Saddleman Award in 1986 from the Western Writers of America. His popular Western novels include Shane (1949) and Monte Walsh (1963).ACCLAIM“Unabashedly sentimental, this has some stunning scenes and a rhythm as smooth as a slow canter. And Old Jake, symbol of the best of the old West, leaves some indestructible memories.” -- Kirkus Reviews

"Old Jake Hanlon sits on the edge of the mesa and looks out over miles of southwestern plain," starts Jack Schaefer's all-ages novel Mavericks. Old Jake Hanlon is "ancient and craglike, weathered and withered . . . something like a worn rocky butte himself." Living in his memories, Hanlon prefers to reflect on his youth, when he lived every cowboy's dream, rather than think about the old man he has become, now labeled "a decrepit old nuisance" by the folks in town. Ultimately, it is Old Jake's recollection of the tales of his past--stories of endurance, strength, compassion, and cunning--that helps prepare him for death.