The hanging tree vs The outlaws of Mesquite: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: West, Westerns, Social life and customs, Fiction
The hanging tree
More
Dorothy M. Johnson wrote dozens of highly acclaimed western stories and books in her long career. The stories in this book are her very best. They were ranked as four of the top five stories of the 20th century by the…
The outlaws of Mesquite
More
Meet the frontier bad men—like Leo Carver—a man so hated that everyone in the town of Canyon Gap planned to turn up for his hanging. Then meet those who dared to challenge them—like Marshal Lou Morgan, who tried to save…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The hanging tree has the widest readership — 577 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| The hanging tree | The outlaws of Mesquite | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (577) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (1) | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (15) |
Reception
| The hanging tree | The outlaws of Mesquite | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 577 | 15 |
| Editions | 9 | 10 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 322 | — |
| Reading it now | 8 | — |
| Written reviews | 55 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 189 | — |
| Pages | 272 | 210 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The hanging tree or The outlaws of Mesquite?
The hanging tree has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The hanging tree 4.2/5, The outlaws of Mesquite 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: The hanging tree or The outlaws of Mesquite?
The outlaws of Mesquite is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The outlaws of Mesquite (210 pages, ≈ 3 h 53 m); The hanging tree (272 pages, ≈ 5 h 02 m).
Which is harder to read: The hanging tree or The outlaws of Mesquite?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The hanging tree: Moderate; The outlaws of Mesquite: Moderate.