You’ve probably seen the movie. Clint Eastwood, squinting through a cloud of gunsmoke, spitting tobacco juice on a dead bounty hunter’s forehead. It’s a classic. But honestly, most people have no clue that the 1972 novel it’s based on, The Rebel Outlaw Josey Wales, has a backstory so bizarre it makes the actual plot look like a Sunday school lesson.
The book is gritty. It's violent. It’s remarkably well-written for a guy who basically appeared out of nowhere.
But here is the kicker: the author, "Forrest" Carter, didn't exist. Not really.
The Man Behind the Myth
When the book first hit the scene in 1973—originally titled The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales before being republished as Gone to Texas—the author claimed to be a self-educated Cherokee storyteller. He told everyone his name was Forrest Carter. He talked about his heritage. He played the part of the folksy, soulful Native American intellectual perfectly.
Then the truth came out.
Forrest Carter was actually Asa Earl Carter. If that name doesn't ring a bell, his work will. He was a notorious KKK leader and the man who wrote George Wallace’s infamous 1963 "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" speech. Basically, a hardcore white supremacist had reinvented himself as a Native American novelist.
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Talk about a plot twist.
The wild part is that Clint Eastwood and the movie studio had zero idea who they were dealing with when they bought the rights. They just thought they’d found a killer Western. When the New York Times eventually unmasked Carter in 1976, it sent shockwaves through the industry. Some folks couldn't believe a man filled with that much hate could write a story about a ragtag, multi-racial "family" finding peace in the West.
What the Book Actually Covers
In the novel, Josey Wales is a Missouri farmer who just wants to be left alone. Then the "Redlegs"—Union-allied marauders—burn his house and kill his family. This isn't just a "bad guys vs. good guys" story. It’s about the Border War, a nasty, localized version of the Civil War where neighbors murdered neighbors.
Wales joins a group of Confederate guerrillas (Bushwhackers) to get his revenge. When the war ends and everyone else surrenders, he refuses. He becomes the titular "rebel outlaw."
- The Journey: He heads for Texas, trying to outrun the law.
- The Misfits: Along the way, he picks up a Navajo woman named Little Moonlight and an old Cherokee man named Lone Watie.
- The Message: It's a story about "shucking" the past.
It’s weirdly sentimental for a Western. The book spends a lot of time on the relationship between Wales and Lone Watie. In the movie, Chief Dan George plays Watie with a dry, hilarious wit. In the book, that dynamic is even deeper. They aren't just allies; they’re two men who have lost everything to the "civilization" of the North and find common ground in their shared status as outcasts.
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The Rare 75-Copy First Edition
If you're a book collector, you're looking for the Holy Grail. The very first printing was done by a tiny outfit called Whippoorwill Publishers in Alabama. Only about 75 copies were ever made.
Carter sent one of those copies to Eastwood’s office unsolicited.
Think about that. One of 75 copies changed film history. Most of those original books were supposedly destroyed or "pulped" as part of the deal when the big publishers took over the rights. If you find an original Whippoorwill copy in a dusty attic, you’re looking at a small fortune.
Why Does This Book Still Matter?
People still debate The Rebel Outlaw Josey Wales because it’s a massive exercise in cognitive dissonance.
How does a Klansman write a book that seems to empathize so deeply with Native Americans? Some critics, like author Sherman Alexie, have argued that Carter was just using the "Native struggle" as a proxy for the "Lost Cause" of the South. He was recasting the Confederate soldier as a victim, just like the tribes being pushed off their land.
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Others argue that the book stands on its own. It’s a story about the individual against the state. It’s about a man who realizes that the government (no matter which side) usually ends up screwing over the little guy.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking to dive into this story beyond the movie, here is what you need to do:
- Read "Gone to Texas": That's the title you'll find on most modern shelves. It's the same book as the original Rebel Outlaw. The prose is sparse and rhythmic.
- Check out the sequel: Most people don't know there is a second book called The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales. It’s arguably even more violent than the first one.
- Watch the Documentary: Look for The Reconstruction of Asa Carter. It explains the double life of the author in a way that will make your head spin.
- Analyze the "Lost Cause": If you read the book, keep an eye out for how Carter portrays the Union soldiers. They are almost universally depicted as "blue-bellied" cowards or butchers. It gives you a window into the author's real-world biases, even if he was trying to hide them.
The book is a masterpiece of the genre, even if the man who wrote it was a monster. That's the tragedy of it. You can love the art while absolutely loathing the artist. Josey Wales remains a symbol of the rugged individualist, but the shadow of Asa Carter ensures this story will always have a dark, complicated edge.
To truly understand the impact of the work, your next step is to compare the dialogue in the novel to the movie's script—Eastwood kept many of the "Carter-isms" (like "reckon" and "hoss") almost verbatim, preserving the strange, rhythmic voice of a man who lived a total lie.