Off the Mangrove Coast
by Louis L'Amour
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Louis L'Amour is an American legend, a master storyteller whose tales of action and heroic adventure echo his own intrepid exploits. Relentless suspense, breathtaking danger, riveting characters-these are the hallmarks of L'Amour's classic fiction. Off the Mangrove Coast collects for the first time in one volume nine of his extraordinary stories-some long out of print and unavailable anywhere else, some never before published.From the jungles of Borneo to the hidden canyons of the American show more West, from small-town fight clubs to a Parisian café at the end of World War II, these are tales of betrayal and revenge, courage and cowardice, glory and greed, as only Louis L'Amour can tell them.
Here are vintage stories of men and women who dare what others will never attempt, who fight for justice and dreams when the odds are against them. A charismatic boxer with quick hands and a hair-trigger temper itches to fight all comers-but if he's ever going to get a shot at a championship, he will first have to fight the man who ruined his father. A beautiful movie star finds a dead man in her apartment and begs a former lover to clear her name, only to enmesh the tough private eye in a murder with ties to the mob.
Here too, are tales of high adventure. A reluctant hero, hired to guide a diamond-hunting couple up a river ruled by headhunters and pirates, risks everything in pursuit of a legendary stone and the mysterious warlord who guards it. And in the title story, Off the Mangrove Coast, a young renegade who'd grown to manhood riding freights, prizefighting, and working mines sails the exotic South China Sea with a trio of dangerous men in search of treasure they figure to divide four ways. But when it's time to dive for the prize, can he trust any of them to guard his back?
Combining electrifying action scenes, vivid historical detail, and characters who seem to leap off the page, these spectacular stories honor the legend of Louis L'Amour. A memorable addition to the author's already impressive catalogue of work, Off the Mangrove Coast celebrates L'Amour's unequalled genius, creative vision, and humanity.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Member Reviews
An assortment of short stories in a mid-twentieth century setting, some better than others, but all evidently drawn from the author's own experiences.
Entertaining short stories by L'Amour. The description on the back cover begins, "From the jungles of Borneo to the hidden canyons of the American West, from small-town fight clubs to a Parisian cafe' at the end of World War II, here are tales of betrayal and revenge, courage and cowardice, glory and greed...
remembering the story of the diamond seeking couple in Borneo...
remembering the story of the diamond seeking couple in Borneo...
No rating, did not finish. The stories appear to not be the author's best by any stretch of the imagination.
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Author Information
870+ Works 99,522 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
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Off the Mangrove Coast
- Original publication date
- 2000-05
- People/Characters
- Limey Johnson; Smoke Bassett; Long Jack; The Scholar
- Important places
- South China Sea; Borneo
- First words
- There were four of us there, at the back end of creation, four of the devil's own, and a hard lot by any man's count.
A brutal blow in the ribs jerked Tandy Moore from a sound sleep - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I will remember all that happened, the money I found, the men that died, and the friend I had . . .off the mangrove coast.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Somebody dropped a tire iron and people were moving toward me.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.52 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1900-1945
- LCC
- PS3523 .A446 .O37 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1900-1960
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 538
- Popularity
- 55,190
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.30)
- Languages
- English, Norwegian (Bokmål)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 8
