Louis L'Amour: American Author Challenge

"Born in North Dakota in 1908, Louis L'Amour published several short stories, but it was his first Western novel, Hondo (1953), that gained him instant success. While L'Amour later wrote works in different genres, it was his many Westerns that gained him great popularity among readers.
He held a number of jobs, ranging from lumberjack to elephant handler. He returned home to pursue his dream of becoming a writer and published his first book of poetry in 1939. L'Amour's plans were soon interrupted by World War II, for which he served as an Army lieutenant in Europe.
L'Amour died on June 10, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. Having written more than 100 books and 400 short stories, he remains one of the most prolific and popular authors in the world."

**This is part of our American Author Challenge 2018. This author will be read in August. The general discussion thread can be found right here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/279501

^I still have seven of these fake leather-bound editions, on shelf. I always thought they were cool.

Louis and I go a long way back. I started reading westerns at an early age. I think I started with Zane Grey and then got seriously hooked on L' Amour. I am not sure about the exact total, but I wouldn't be surprised that I had read 25-30 of them. The Sackett family saga was my favorite. I think he makes a fine American choice. I have not read much of his work, the past couple of decades, but I did enjoy his memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, a few years ago, which I recommend.

Anyone else, get addicted to him, at an early age or still reads him?

This month, I will probably read The Walking Drum and possibly another.

yay. I've got Utah Blaine on hand

I have not read Louis L'Amour, but I have one of the Sackett novels, The Daybreakers, sitting right here, and will read it as soon as I finish the Richard Russo tome I'm lost in now.

I have downloaded the audio of Sackett's Land. I think it will be my first L'Amour. (I might have listened to one in the car while traveling with my parents years ago.)

I have never read any of L'Amour's books, not being a western fan. I found Rider of Lost Creek at the library. It recommended itself to me because it was the skinniest book on the shelf.

>3 msf59: I loved tv westerns as a kid! And have Lonesome Dove winking at me. But if I were to read one LL, what should it be Mark.

I'm planning to read The Cherokee Trail. I also own a copy of Comstock Lode and Sackett's Land and hope to get to one or both of those. I've been especially eager for this month's AAC.

I've not been great about participating in the challenge this year, and don't expect to read a L'Amour this month. But wanted to mention that Grub Line Rider is on sale for Kindle (US) for $1.99. It's a collection of short stories, according to Amazon.

I'm starting with Showdown at Yellow Butte, an early novel originally published as by "Jim Mayo." If time permits, I'll likely move on to The Rider of Lost Creek or Down the Long Hills.

Count me in for at least on Sackett book, maybe more! I recall really enjoying Jubal Sackett back in the day. It was long, but compellingly good.

I know I've read some of his books. Most likely whatever was on the shelves at my house growing up. I can't remember any of them though. I picked up Sackett's Land on Kindle for $5.99 just now. I chose it because he ends up in the Carolinas, I guess. Lol

I'm not a huge L'Amour fan, but the library has several options. Education of a Wandering Man is one non-fiction option. Others include Long Ride Home, The Outlaws of Mesquite, Passin' Through, and Westward the Tide. I won't be back at work until August 13 so I won't get around to reading one right away.

I remembered that my mother in law has a number of his. I picked up The Lonely Men featuring Tell Sackett.

I finished his The Cherokee Trail late last night. Excellent. The story of a Civil War era widow from Virginia who goes west and takes over the running of a stage stop on the stagecoach run.

I'd never read a Louis L'Amour before but I think this'll be the first of many. In a week or two, I'll likely pick up Sackett's Land

I'm reading The Daybreakers and am enjoying it. I thought the style a little overwrought at the beginning, but either I got used to it when I got caught up in the story, or it settled down a bit.

^"The Walking Drum is a novel by the American author Louis L'Amour. Unlike most of his other novels (whose number exceeds 100), The Walking Drum is not set in the frontier era of the American West, but rather is an historical novel set in the Middle Ages—12th century Europe and the Middle East."

^I have only read his westerns, but I had this one saved on audio, (for many years now) and it sounded really interesting, so I started it today. It actually moves along very smoothly and is well-written, at least in the early going. It came out in 1985. L'Amour died in 1988, so it was one of his last books.

>15 brodiew2: I think The Lonely Men was my very first L'Amour, Brodie. A great introduction to Tell Sackett, who might be my favorite of this large clan. Great choice.

Flint is my favorite Louis L’Amour book. It is a sort of Lassiter type book and takes place on the Mongolian Rim in Arizona/Utah boarder.

One thing about L’Amour’s books - if he wrote about an area any landmarks that he write about are really there. The stories may be fiction but the settings are not.

L’Amour is a pen name. His real last name was LaMoore. Clever wasn’t he?

I have had several adventures with Louis L’Amour books. One of his books - I don’t remember which one - was set out in what is now the Oklahoma panhandle. There is an extinct volcano pipe out there. It is called Rabbit Ears. It is actually a double pipe basalt tube that is so ancient that the surrounding mountain has eroded away leaving the basalt standing. Rabbit Ears was a landmark on the Cimmarron Cut-Off on the Santa Fe Trail. When I read the book I wanted to see this Plains phenomena. When I graduated from library school a friend, her daughter, and I went on a camping trip to the Palo Douro Canyon, which features in another Louis L’Amour novel. From there we drove up to Rabbit Ears, which is now an Oklahoma state park, and then over to Ratone, New Mexico. On the way to Ratone we came across another fascinating piece of Plains geology - Capulin Mountain. This is a U. S. National Monument and it is a volcano. A young volcano. It is about 60,000 years old and even though it is classed as extinct the crater still emits steam. Apparently the hot spot it was on top off has disappeared. But it is fascinating. In fact that whole area of Mesa country is beautiful and still wild. If you are ever out in that part of the west make whatever detour you have to and visit that far northeast corner of the state of New Mexico.

>18 msf59: You reminded me that I have one or two L'Amour audiobooks buried somewhere that I picked up at a library sale some years ago.

I am enjoying Utah Blaine. Kinda like a Randolph Scott western of the 50's.

>22 benitastrnad: He certainly makes me "feel" the western landscape.

I'm about to wrap up Utah Blaine this morning and I must say, for what it is, I liked it quite a bit. The story is one of L'Amour's basic themes - range war. He has some well drawn characters in this. There is one extended fisticuffs episode that was a little too over the top (L'Amour loves those types of events in my experience) - over the top because our 'hero' Utah Blaine is a little too superhuman with it. Anyway, a bit of romance hints, strong main character who the reader can empathize with made for a good story. I have the big gun battle finale to look forward to in the final pages.

As has been noted here, L'Amour writes with a very strong sense of place.

In the past I've enjoyed L'Amour's shorter fiction quite a bit. The Strong Shall Live I read half a dozen years ago and it had some excellent stories in it. I'll try and read at least one ,maybe two more westerns this month. I found one of my unread L'Amours that looks good but I'm still missing a couple. I know I have a copy of Hondo somewhere ...

This was a refreshing change of pace for the AAC. Thanks Mark.

I finished the audio of Sackett's Land while I was fixing lunch this afternoon. At some point in the not too distant future I'll have to continue with To the Far Blue Mountains. Happily, it looks like the public library has most of this series in its Overdrive audio collection!

Just obtained my Nook copy of The Walking Drum for this month's read. I'm intrigued by this book, being outside the general subject area of the author, and coming later on in his writing career. I've previously read Education of a Wandering Man and loved it. My Dad was a great fan of his westerns, but I resisted the temptation (so far). I'm looking forward to this read.

Karen O.

>22 benitastrnad: I love hearing about your L' Amour adventure tales, Benita. I remember hearing about this too, where he visited every landmark that he mentions in his work. How cool.

I think you will really like The Walking Drum. It might be the best thing he has written, IMHO.

>25 RBeffa: You are welcome, Ron. He turned out to be the perfect choice. I will have to try his short fiction, at some point.

>26 cbl_tn: How was Sackett's Land? I read it, several decades ago but I want to revisit it this month or shortly after. I love this family saga.

>26 cbl_tn: I listened to a handful of L'Amour's a few years back and enjoyed them. To the Far Blue Mountains was one of them. I believe it goes back to the patriarch of the Sackett Clan and his journey to the New World.

So far this month, I've read Showdown at Yellow Butte, which was a fast-paced story of a situation like a range war and Down the Long Hills, a quite enjoyable novel of how two youngsters survive in the wilderness after the massacre of their wagon train — a mite far-fetched, perhaps, but gripping nonetheless.

I finished The Daybreakers and surprised myself by going to the library today and checking out an omnibus that contains the first 3 Sackett novels, including Sackett's Land, To the Far Blue Mountains and The Warrior's Path. I will probably not read them all right now, but I'm now interested in this "clan", and want to know more about them.

Rider of Lost Creek was an oldie, first published in 1947. The hero was Lance Kilkenny who figured out what was going on and led the good guys against the bad guys who were stirring up trouble amongst the ranchers. Kilkenny took on the brains who stood to make a killing by fostering the unrest. Once the fighting was done, the ranchers were able to live in peace as Kilkenny rode off into the sunset.

Fantastic timing: To the Far Blue Mountains (Sacketts Book 2) is a Kindle Deal. 2 bucks! Come on down! I plan on reading Sackett's Land, Book One, (a reread), later in the month.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ref=pe_3778560_295525590_pe_1725760_157297530_...

>33 msf59: Thanks for letting us know. $1.99 is a good price so I snagged a Kindle copy.

>34 lindapanzo: Good for you, Linda. I also finished The Walking Drum today, which I highly recommend. It is not a western but a fine adventure story.

Found and starred this thread. Thanks to @harrygbutler for telling me about it.

I enjoyed reading all the comments by those who had little experience with Louis L'Amour. Back in the late 1980's I was looking for something to read at the local library, and picked up Jubal Sackett for the cover. I disdained to read anything from the "western" genre, but the young man in mountain man gear looked intriguing.

And so I got hooked.

I have read almost every one of L'Amour's books, and own most of them. They are my comfort rereads. Some of his stories are much better than others, but I can only think of two that I chose to not finish.

>32 Familyhistorian: that is one of a trilogy, of sorts.

Aside from the Sackett books, there are two other families featured throughout L'Amour's works: the Talon and Chantry clans. And members of those families pop up in other stories.

Have fun! You've a world of reading ahead...

Now I've got my husband hooked...we've started watching the TV mini-series "The Sacketts" starring Glenn Ford, Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck and a few other worthies, from 1979. It combines The Daybreakers and Sackett, and takes some liberties, but by and large it preserves the feel of the book I read.

>36 fuzzi: From the sounds of the forward, Kilkenny shows up in a few of the books and the ending was not very conclusive. I figured there would be more books with him as the hero.

>37 laytonwoman3rd: hahaha! Now you need to read and then watch Conagher with (sigh) Sam Elliott in the title role.

>38 Familyhistorian: I liked Kilkenny, though I have to admit to liking most of L'Amour's protagonists.

>39 fuzzi: Be still my heart....there's only so much a girl can take! (Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck in the same screenshot is pretty heady stuff.)

>40 laytonwoman3rd: :melt:

Interesting site on all the Sackett appearances in L'Amour's books:

http://herbthiel.com/original/louischron2.html

One not listed is the main character from The Walking Drum, who I believe is the forerunner of the Talon family.

Those old Western min-series and movies with Sam Elliot are very popular out where I come from. Almost as popular as Gunsmoke!

I started a series challenge for the Sackett books, here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/294945

Come on over!

Finished Westward the Tide. I decided to check out the Wikipedia article on L'Amour and discovered his middle name was Dearborn. I decided that must have been his mother's maiden name so I investigated further and discovered it was. Dearborn is an ancestral surname for me as well. Turns out Louis L'Amour is my 7th cousin once removed.

>44 thornton37814: oh, how interesting!

>44 thornton37814: Cool!

>44 thornton37814: Great results for your search, Lori. Isn't it great when surnames show up as children's middle names?

>47 Familyhistorian: It really is!

I finished Sackett's Land today. It's quite the swashbuckling adventure. It's an easy read and I enjoyed it. I only had one teeny quibble. There was a part when they were over in the Americas and talking about the freedom to do things and they mention "the King" but it's Queen Elizabeth time. Like I said, a teeny quibble. Barnabas is a larger than life hero for sure.

>44 thornton37814: That is a nice family connection.

I started on The Daybreakers yesterday evening, having picked it up at the library. I knew I had read one or two Sackett novels in the 80's and this is one of them. I ended up reading about 60 pages before bedtime and I'm pretty sure I'll finish it this weekend.

Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour 3.8 stars

"We are all us, it has been said, the children of immigrants and foreigners - even the American Indian, although he arrived a little earlier."

This is the first story, in L'Amour's beloved Sackett family saga. It is set in 1599, England and follows Barnabas Sackett, in his various adventures, as he flees to America, and lands on the Carolina coast. It is a good solid story, with a mix of action, historical detail and romance.

I have read many of the Sackett books. There are 16. I am sure I have read this one before but I might just read a couple more.

The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour 4.2 stars

The Walking Drum is not set in the frontier era of the American West, but rather is an historical novel set in the Middle Ages—12th century Europe and the Middle East. It follows Mathurin Kerbouchard, a young celtic, as he wanders the land looking for his father and looking to avenge the murder of his mother. Yes, he is a bit of a superman, (which may cause a little eye-rolling), in all his various, swash-buckling, death-defying, adventures but it is good clean, fun. It is a rousing story and L'Amour has definitely done his homework. Sadly, it was one of his last books.

I have been reading another book about The West for Suzanne’s 75er’s Non-Fiction challenge. Lasso the Wind by one of Mark’s favored nonfiction authors, Timothy Egan. This book is one of Egan’s first and was published in 1999. It is a book of essays about The West, which was Egan’s “beat” as a reporter for the NYT. I just finished the essay on the Morman’s and their bloody history. It will certainly make you think about reading more about this religion that Egan says is an overgrown cult. It made me think back to a couple of years ago in the AAC when we read Zane Grey. For that one I choose to reread Riders of the Purple Sage and Egan says that he is in complete agreement with Grey on his assessment of Mormans and what they did in Utah.

Egan also skewered cattle ranchers all across The West for importing “soft” European breeds of cattle that can’t take the weather necessitating the massive government subsidies to cattle ranchers. He also loves pointing out that ranchers and ranching, as well as farming, has jeapodizezd one of the great alpine ecosystems on the planet. It is a very interesting alternative (?) view of The West as we think of it, and as was created for us by writers like Louis L’Amour.

Long Ride Home: Stories by Louis L'Amour, 2 1/2 - 3 stars

Eight shorter length stories, all entertaining. These kind of remind me of the type of stories that were staples of TV westerns. This is not high-brow literary stuff. It is entertainment. L'Amour, as I have noted before, seems to always have the good guy survive a gunfight that stretches belief and he also loves giving a blow by blow step by step accounting of a fistfight. I'm sure this appealed to his core readership many decades ago but are the least interesting parts of the story to me. I find these short stories more entertaining than the novels.