Posted on 11/02/2021 2:33:22 PM PDT by ammodotcom
To tell the tale of Louis L'Amour is to tell the tale of a bygone America, one where freedom was much easier to come by, though just as dangerous to defend.
L'Amour documented the world of frontier liberty, with all its perks and pitfalls, in an extensive manner that no one else can boast, penning over 100 Western novels. While his books were fiction, L'Amour knew the cowboy life second hand, growing up at a time when remnants of the Old West frontier were still very much alive in pockets of the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammo.com ...
Louis L’Amour - His Sackett family novels are really well done, and he actually starts the arc in 1699 England (Sackett’s Land) then carries on with the descendants in the American West.
Zane Grey - Riders of the Purple Sage is a good place to start.
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The Sackett series are a fantastic read
The Walking Drum is a historical fiction novel and it might be the best from Louis although as someone said above... Last of the Breed deserves a mention as well as the Sackett series.
I loved Louis. I collect the leatherbound editions of his books and still have about 20 to find.
Great author.... maybe one of the best, if not the best, authors to hook young men on as the moral principles for young men are top notch.
The price was more than right, my wallet at the time was very thin though. Right decision but I’m still regretting it.
I went to South Dakota during my 9th grade summer and picked up one of his books at a gas station. I read it, bought two more on the trip and proceeded to collect all of his novels. During college my mom threw them all out, I wish I had that shelf back.
And if you like short novels or long ones.
Bendigo Shafter is a personal favorite of mine because the idea of "How does a Town start" is an interesting one for me.
"Comstock Lode" is about a mining town, "Hondo" is your basic Western. "The Ferguson Rifle" is pre civil war.
"Fair Blows the Wind" is set in the 1600s and has much to do with Ireland It starts the saga of the Chantry Family.
"The Walking Drum" is set in the 12 century and is about merchant caravans.
"Reilly's Luck" is a Western but they travel to other parts of the world as well.
"The Iron Marshal" is a fish out of water when a New York city gang member end up in Kansas.
"Sackett's Land" is set in the Elizabethan era and is the start of the saga of his most famous family The Sacketts.
Finally you have "The Last of the Breed" which is set in the 1980s. An American Pilot captured by the Soviets escapes and decides that if his ancestors could cross the Bering straits to reach America he could do the same to get back home.
So, depending on your tastes, you have a great deal to choose from.
The Western genre is a “can’t miss” with me.
I immigrated to the USA in 1970, lived in NM and Texas, and have lived vicariously through the novels of Max Brand, Louis L’Amor, Zane Grey and others. Along with the old movies with the Duke, Jimmy Stewart, Glen Ford, Richard Widmark, William Holden, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and so many more, it gave me a great appreciation for how this Nation was built on strong leadership and iron fortitude.
Now I am in my 70’s, and I weep for my country, and how it has been debased , especially in the last two decades by spineless cretins.
I pretty much spent my weekly allowance on Louis L’Amour books in high school.... And way back then, they cost 35 cents for a new paperback.
All of them are worth a read, and yeah, the Sackett family series is great.... But for some reason, “Rileys Luck” was my favorite back then, although I couldn’t tell you why now.
I suppose Louis L’Amour is more responsible for forming my value system than any other author, although Horatio Alger’s and ‘Arthur M. Winfield’s’ books from my father’s youth had a lot to do with it too.
I’ve always loved his books.
I particularly liked how he didn’t blur the lines between right and wrong, unlike modern writers.
I also loved how the hero never quit until the day was won.
How The West Was Won was another great one from L’Amour. I enjoyed how the different families stories were joined throughout the book.
Great storytelling.
I recently read his biography. He was an interesting guy.
My favorite author hands down.
The Walking Drum is worth the read.
His dad was fat? What's that got to do with anything?
(Kidding. It's just the way the sentence is worded.)
Ouch. At least you didn’t have to rent a freight train to get it all back to your house.
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