It can be hard to truly grasp the impact of Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry’s eight-hundred-page epic, on Texas culture. The iconic novel, which was first published forty years ago, not only demystified a pivotal period in Texas history for readers who had only ever imagined the state—it also illuminated what it means to be Texan for those who were born and had lived their whole lives within its jagged borders. Whether your copy of Lonesome Dove is well-worn or you’re opening it for the first time for the Texas Book Club, the Texas Monthly stories below offer context for the Pulitzer Prize–winning western and spotlight its lasting influence. To become a member of the Texas Book Club, Texas Monthly’s official book club in partnership with the Texas…