Rating: 
Summary: An outrageous book
Review: Basically talking about this book is not a challenge to me because I loved this book and the plot and the ending was a key factor to that. From the beginning the characters were very truthful and it felt like that you could compare to some of the characters because this kind of thing could happen to any town. This story has a great story about a mob who takes matter of justice into its own hands. But some people were against it and some were with it. This book shows us all how matter of time can change a person's life in a matter of seconds.An emotional situation in this book was the feelings that young Tetley got out of him. Those feelings could be compared with me that we were bunch of people who just wanted to fight stones with stones and just went in too much of a hurry. I think Walter is a very good writer because of course if he wrote this book he is a brilliant man because it really exposes a man's feeling towards something even though he acts tough. Yes I would recommend any young adult to read it because this can show an outlook to a brand new life and how it can change your feelings.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful western about results of mob justice.
Review: I am an English teacher. I came across reviews of The Ox-Bow Incident while doing a search for a student. I have always regarded this as a book which should be required reading, both for its literary and social value; and when teaching 11th grade, I have used it as a class assignment. The first part of the book which some readers found slow is really quite necessary; it provides the background that shows the reader that these are quite ordinary people - people that one would meet everyday. It contrasts with the violence in which they later become involved. The lynching of three innocent men is really not the crux of the story but rather the pivotal incident which allows the author to lead the reader to see what happens when one abandons law and order and then, when there are tragic results, must come to terms with his own conscience. I would also recommend the film with Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn which is well acted and true to the novel. I have generally found that once students get into the novel, the book generates a good deal of thoughtful writing and discussion.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ox-Bow Incident
Review: I thought that overall this book had a good story in it but, i found it hard to get through all the scenery that they talked about,it was an interesting book but i don't think that it should be added on to the book list because it in a way reminded me of mice and men.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbound
Review: I was so enthralled by this book I read it in one day. I was so spellbound I had trouble putting it down at all. Clark's description and dialogue are superb. The theme of the law verses the mob is well known. There is a deeper theme of what happens when the minority who know better don't stand strongly enough against the majority about to commit wrong as evidenced in Davies confession to Art Croft in the hotel room towards the end of the book. The Ox-Bow Incident is not only a classic western but a classic of American literature.
Rating: 
Summary: weak on plot, strong on dialogue, philosophy, etc
Review: I would imagine that this book was more powerful when it was first published back in 1940. But today, the plot seems very predictable, with bits and pieces falling into place too neatly all along the way. Nothing comes as any real surprise, including the ending.
The book is worth reading, though, for its philosophical dialogue and its interesting look into the minds of true-to-life characters with varying points of view on justice and the law.
As at least one other reviewer has mentioned, the book is hard to put down. And it's a refreshing read because its style is not unduly difficult.
One sign of good literature is when the characters appear so alive that you feel a strong urge to step into the book and shake them to keep them from making fatal mistakes. Young Gerald Tetley was such a character for me. There's no reason he couldn't have stood up to his stupid father. And, if he had, things might have turned out better for everyone.
Warning: THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK BUT PLAN TO MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS NEXT PART!!!
One especially weak point in the plot for me was the idea that the murder victim never really died. That was so obvious that I saw it coming right from the start.
Also, Kinkaid was shot for no discernable reason. The victims of the lynching bought the cattle legally, yet another group shot Kinkaid and coincidentally rushed off in the same direction. What was their motive? The author never offers any clue.
To make the story even more difficult to swallow, the lynching victims happen to come into possession of Kinkaid's gun which has been taken by the shooters. The story treads dangerously close to becoming a banal political statement here in the way that the movie Dead Man Walking was. When every element of the plot is so carefully arranged so as to create the most gruesome case against vigilantism possible, the sheer unbelievability that results makes it harder to take the story seriously. Dead Man Walking was a dismal failure in this respect, but this book was saved by the care and intelligence that went into creating the intricate thought processes of each character and their interactions with each other.
Also, the inclusion of the character Rose Mapen in the book along with that of her husband is not integral to the plot. I was bothered by this at first, but now I see that these characters help to lend the book the feel of a typical Western.
I find it very satisfying how the book hints at the gendre of Western without actually stooping to its bland, commercial level. The last Western I read (_Cherokee Justice_ from the Trailsman series by Jon Sharpe) was a sickening blend of shoot-em-up bang bang and Romance-novel style sex scenes that made me want to wretch. (Anyone that finds the word 'rump' sexually enticing must have a screw loose. Sorry.)
Rating:
Summary: Twist at end makes for good read
Review: The short: 1.great theme overall 2.okay plot 3.you should read it, but only if you have the time to waste by reading the first 100(tedious) pages and ENDLESS descriptions.
Rating:
Summary: A good novel
Review: This book shows the violence that comes from a mob. It is a great example of how when men get angry, their judgement is distorted. In the Ox-Bow Incident the story is told by a trailhand named Art Croft. The book is a regular western novel until the men of the mob let their anger dictate their actions. I think this is a good book that reminds you to think before you act.
Rating:
Summary: The Ox-Bow Incident
Review: This book was overall and okay book. In a way it reminded me of a book called Mice and Men, there was alot of scenery in this book and the author had the same writing style. I though that this type of book was already covered in literature in high school because of the kind of book it was so i would not agree with it being put on the list
Rating:
Summary: The Ox Bow Incident
Review: This is a study in mob violence. It is definitely slow starting and preachy in its first 100 pages. It demonstrates how a charismatic leader who is significantly above most of the gathered cowboys and townsfolk in social status, can override the voices of reason and turn ordinary people into a lynch mob. It plays on the distrust of the law (see the OJ trial for a modern example) common to everyday folk in the West of 1885. I wish there had been more character development. One knows little about any of these people, including the victims. However, it provides a valuable insight into the ease with which a crowd can be turned into a mob, and how hard it is for an individual to speak up against a mob. Definitely a worthwhile book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Mob justice in the Old West
Review: Walter Van Tilburg Clark's classic novel begins like many Westerns: two ranchers, Art Croft and Gil Carter, ride into the town of Bridger's Wells. They stop at the saloon, have a few drinks after which a poker game begins followed by a fight. Things change quickly when a young man storms into town with a tale of murder and cattle rustling. Though he hasn't actually seen any of the events he's describing, the young man's tale is strong enough to insense the men in the bar. They form a lynch mob and go after the murderers and rustlers. "The Ox-Bow Incident" is told through the eyes of Art Croft. From him, we see and hear Farnley who is dead set on forming the mob to exact justice; of Osgood and Davies, who both try to convince the group that justice can only be handled properly by the law; and Art himself who has doubts about the lynch mob but goes along, like every other man. This is a story about who determines what is right and wrong and how justice should be determined with all the facts instead of partial truths and one-sided ideals. It deals with the mob mentality and its consequences. Not your typical fare with a Western. Clark expertly handles the subject matter, and as I was reading, I felt as though I were part of the mob, knowing the mob is not right but powerless to do anything to stop it, swept along for the ride and the outcome. A definite classic.
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