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.