The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 3: The Frontier Stories
by Louis L'Amour
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour (3)
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Fiction. Western. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:This third volume of Louis L'Amour's collected stories gathers twenty-eight tales of the American West in a keepsake edition sure to delight fans old and new. This collection is a thrilling tribute to the unique spirit of our frontier heritage and proves again the enduring popularity of America's favorite storyteller.The essence of Louis L'Amour's timeless appeal can be found in these unforgettable short stories. Filled with men and show more women who embody the values we cherish most, L'Amour's frontier tales satisfy our longing for the inspiration provided by those who struggle against the odds with justice, honor, and courage.
Open this volume anywhere and you'll discover classic stories you'll never forget: like that of the man who finds a gruesome mystery at the site where a friend's ranch has vanished into thin air, or the one about the soft-spoken young suitor accused of cowardice who proves his courage when the guns are against him…without firing a shot. You'll read stories of ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances, from the drifter who poses as a murdered man to solve a mystery to the grizzled recluse who protects a runaway from a brutal "guardian" with the law on his side.
Whether following the exploits of a couple taking refuge in a cabin with a group of outlaws who don't intend to let them see sunrise or a man on horseback battling sleeplessness, Indians, and a cold-blooded killer in a life-and-death race through a harsh wilderness, these gripping tales all have one thing in common: you won't be able to put them down until the last page.
For lovers of great storytelling everywhere, this exciting collection features the unforgettable characters, heart-stopping drama, and careful attention to historical detail that have entertained readers for decades and earned Louis L'Amour a permanent place among our finest American writers. show less
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Member Reviews
I am very impressed with this collection of short stories. It is truly excellent as a manifestation of the genre. They are (of course) all "Westerns", and populated with gunslingers, ranchers, cattlemen, rustlers, Indians, and strong, resourceful women. As traditional representatives of the genre, they help perpetuate the mythology of the Old West, but in their treatment of characters, far more contemporary than those of Zane Grey.
Any such short story collection is likely to be quite a mixture in terms of quality. However, these stories are almost uniformly good to excellent. A total of 27 stories are included, plus one 71-page novella ("Monument Rock").
Below are my rankings, on a 5-asterisk scale.
4* Riding for the Brand
3* Four-card show more Draw
3* One Last Gun Notch
4* Shandy Takes the Hook
3* A Night at Wagon Camp
3* Six-gun Stampede
4* Valley of the Sun
4* Fork Your Own Broncs
3.5* Pardner from the Rio
4* The Guns Talk Loud
4* Squatters on the Lonetree
3* That Slash Seven Kid
3* Home in the Valley
3* Red Butte Showdown
3* Jackson of Horntown
4* Ride or Start Shootin'
4* Regan of the Slash B
4* Lonigan
3* Lit a Shuck for Texas
3* West of Dry Creek
2* There's Always a Trail
3* We Shaped the Land with Our Guns
2* To Hang Me High
1* West of Dodge
4* Monument Rock
3* A Gun for Kilkenny
3* In Victorio's Country
2* That Packsaddle Affair show less
Any such short story collection is likely to be quite a mixture in terms of quality. However, these stories are almost uniformly good to excellent. A total of 27 stories are included, plus one 71-page novella ("Monument Rock").
Below are my rankings, on a 5-asterisk scale.
4* Riding for the Brand
3* Four-card show more Draw
3* One Last Gun Notch
4* Shandy Takes the Hook
3* A Night at Wagon Camp
3* Six-gun Stampede
4* Valley of the Sun
4* Fork Your Own Broncs
3.5* Pardner from the Rio
4* The Guns Talk Loud
4* Squatters on the Lonetree
3* That Slash Seven Kid
3* Home in the Valley
3* Red Butte Showdown
3* Jackson of Horntown
4* Ride or Start Shootin'
4* Regan of the Slash B
4* Lonigan
3* Lit a Shuck for Texas
3* West of Dry Creek
2* There's Always a Trail
3* We Shaped the Land with Our Guns
2* To Hang Me High
1* West of Dodge
4* Monument Rock
3* A Gun for Kilkenny
3* In Victorio's Country
2* That Packsaddle Affair show less
A collection of 28 of the prolific western author's stories. If you are a fan, this is the book for you. Because some characters appear in more than one story, there is some confusion as they may be a good character in one story but shady in the next.
But this is nit picking. If you love his work, you will love this collection.
But this is nit picking. If you love his work, you will love this collection.
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Author Information
871+ Works 99,749 Members
Born in Jamestown, North Dakota on March 22, 1908, Louis L'Amour's adventurous life could have been the subject of one of his novels. Striking out on his own in 1923, at age 15, L'Amour began a peripatetic existence, taking whatever jobs were available, from skinning dead cattle to being a sailor. L'Amour knew early in life that he wanted to be a show more writer, and the experiences of those years serve as background for some of his later fiction. During the 1930s he published short stories and poetry; his career was interrupted by army service in World War II. After the war, L'Amour began writing for western pulp magazines and wrote several books in the Hopalong Cassidy series using the pseudonym Tex Burns. His first novel, Westward the Tide (1950), serves as an example of L'Amour's frontier fiction, for it is an action-packed adventure story containing the themes and motifs that he uses throughout his career. His fascination with history and his belief in the inevitability of manifest destiny are clear. Also present and typical of L'Amour's work are the strong, capable, beautiful heroine who is immediately attracted to the equally capable hero; a clear moral split between good and evil; reflections on the Native Americans, whose land and ways of life are being disrupted; and a happy ending. Although his work is somewhat less violent than that of other western writers, L'Amour's novels all contain their fair share of action, usually in the form of gunfights or fistfights. L'Amour's major contribution to the western genre is his attempt to create, in 40 or more books, the stories of three families whose histories intertwine as the generations advance across the American frontier. The novels of the Irish Chantry, English Sackett, and French Talon families are L'Amour's most ambitious project, and sadly were left unfinished at his death. Although L'Amour did not complete all of the novels, enough of the series exists to demonstrate his vision. L'Amour's strongest attribute is his ability to tell a compelling story; readers do not mind if the story is similar to one they have read before, for in the telling, L'Amour adds enough small twists of plot and detail to make it worth the reader's while. L'Amour fans also enjoy the bits of information he includes about everything from wilderness survival skills to finding the right person to marry. These lessons give readers the sense that they are getting their money's worth, that there is more to a L'Amour novel than sheer escapism. With over 200 million copies of his books in print worldwide, L'Amour must be counted as one of the most influential writers of westerns in this century. He died from lung cancer on June 10, 1988. (Bowker Author Biography) Louis L'Amour, truly America's favorite storyteller, was the first fiction writer ever to receive the Congressional Gold Medal from the United States Congress in honor of his life's work, & was also awarded the Medal of Freedom. There are over 260 million copies of his books in print worldwide. (Publisher Provided) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 3: The Frontier Stories
- Alternate titles
- The Frontier Stories, Volume Three
- Original publication date
- 2005
- First words
- He had been watching the covered wagon for more than an hour.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She might have been mistaken.
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.21)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 3
