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Louis L'Amour (1908–1988)

Author of Last of the Breed

757+ Works 87,974 Members 1,149 Reviews 103 Favorited

About the Author

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. show more L'Amour knew early in life that he wanted to be a 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

Works by Louis L'Amour

Last of the Breed (1986) 1,811 copies, 31 reviews
The Haunted Mesa (1987) 1,445 copies, 23 reviews
The Walking Drum (1984) 1,404 copies, 26 reviews
Sackett's Land (1974) 1,339 copies, 31 reviews
Jubal Sackett (1985) 1,310 copies, 21 reviews
Hondo (1953) 1,281 copies, 28 reviews
To the Far Blue Mountains (1976) 1,236 copies, 12 reviews
Sackett (1961) 1,230 copies, 20 reviews
The Daybreakers (1960) 1,216 copies, 21 reviews
The Lonesome Gods (1983) 1,190 copies, 16 reviews
Education of a Wandering Man (1989) 1,167 copies, 40 reviews
The Warrior's Path (1980) 1,125 copies, 16 reviews
Ride the River (1983) 1,076 copies, 17 reviews
Flint (1960) 1,010 copies, 12 reviews
The Sackett Brand (1965) 995 copies, 11 reviews
Lonely on the Mountain (1980) 909 copies, 4 reviews
Lando (1962) 901 copies, 13 reviews
Mojave Crossing (1964) 868 copies, 9 reviews
Ride the Dark Trail (1972) 864 copies, 10 reviews
The Lonely Men (1969) 863 copies, 6 reviews
Comstock Lode (1981) 855 copies, 13 reviews
Mustang Man (1966) 855 copies, 11 reviews
Treasure Mountain (1972) 847 copies, 11 reviews
The Sky-Liners (1967) 835 copies, 6 reviews
Bendigo Shafter (1979) 809 copies, 13 reviews
Galloway (1970) 804 copies, 7 reviews
The Quick and the Dead (1973) 781 copies, 6 reviews
Down the Long Hills (1968) 762 copies, 14 reviews
The Ferguson Rifle (1973) 742 copies, 8 reviews
Silver Canyon (1951) 740 copies, 9 reviews
The Cherokee Trail (1982) 740 copies, 11 reviews
Sitka (1957) 739 copies, 7 reviews
The Iron Marshall (1979) 725 copies, 9 reviews
Reilly's Luck (1970) 724 copies, 8 reviews
Conagher (1969) 722 copies, 51 reviews
How the West was Won (1962) 714 copies, 7 reviews
Son of a Wanted Man (1984) 712 copies, 8 reviews
The Shadow Riders: A Novel (1982) 695 copies, 7 reviews
Fair Blows the Wind (1978) 695 copies, 11 reviews
Passin' Through (1985) 694 copies, 7 reviews
The Man Called Noon (1970) 693 copies, 9 reviews
Borden Chantry (1977) 684 copies, 6 reviews
The Man from the Broken Hills (1975) 684 copies, 4 reviews
The Californios (1974) 676 copies, 7 reviews
Guns of the Timberlands (1955) 664 copies, 11 reviews
The Rider of Lost Creek (1976) 647 copies, 7 reviews
Bowdrie (1983) 645 copies, 10 reviews
Tucker (1971) 644 copies, 8 reviews
Milo Talon (1981) 643 copies, 5 reviews
Crossfire Trail (1954) 642 copies, 7 reviews
The Mountain Valley War (1978) 640 copies, 6 reviews
To Tame a Land (1955) 635 copies, 10 reviews
Kiowa Trail (1965) 631 copies, 4 reviews
The First Fast Draw (1959) 622 copies, 4 reviews
The Man from Skibbereen (1973) 621 copies, 7 reviews
Utah Blaine (1954) 618 copies, 6 reviews
Dark Canyon (1963) 615 copies, 5 reviews
The Proving Trail: A Novel (1979) 614 copies, 7 reviews
Fallon (1963) 614 copies, 4 reviews
The Broken Gun (1966) 613 copies, 7 reviews
Last Stand at Papago Wells (1957) 613 copies, 7 reviews
High Lonesome (1962) 612 copies, 13 reviews
Heller with a Gun (1955) 609 copies, 4 reviews
The Tall Stranger (1957) 608 copies, 10 reviews
Westward the Tide (1977) 606 copies, 6 reviews
The Key-Lock Man (1965) 604 copies, 5 reviews
The Empty Land (1969) 603 copies, 7 reviews
Chancy (1968) 603 copies, 4 reviews
Showdown at Yellow Butte (1953) 601 copies, 7 reviews
Under the Sweetwater Rim (1971) 597 copies, 5 reviews
Over on the Dry Side (1975) 596 copies, 6 reviews
Hanging Woman Creek (1970) 591 copies, 8 reviews
The Burning Hills (1956) 591 copies, 3 reviews
End of the Drive (1997) 587 copies, 6 reviews
The Rustlers of West Fork (1979) 584 copies, 4 reviews
Brionne (1968) 577 copies, 4 reviews
Matagorda (1967) 574 copies, 6 reviews
The High Graders (1965) 574 copies, 6 reviews
Kid Rodel (1966) 569 copies, 6 reviews
Kilkenny (1954) 568 copies, 7 reviews
The Outlaws of Mesquite (1990) 567 copies, 3 reviews
North to the Rails (1971) 565 copies, 8 reviews
Callaghen (1972) 561 copies, 3 reviews
Shalako (1962) 556 copies, 6 reviews
Rivers West (1975) 556 copies, 8 reviews
Buckskin Run (1981) 556 copies, 4 reviews
Radigan (1958) 555 copies, 8 reviews
Bowdrie's Law (1972) 552 copies, 7 reviews
Catlow (1962) 552 copies, 2 reviews
The Trail to Seven Pines (1951) 544 copies, 4 reviews
Where the Long Grass Blows (1976) 537 copies, 4 reviews
Taggart (1959) 535 copies, 6 reviews
Beyond the Great Snow Mountains (1999) 521 copies, 6 reviews
Kilrone (1966) 519 copies, 3 reviews
War Party (1975) 518 copies, 7 reviews
Killoe (1962) 510 copies, 4 reviews
The Strong Shall Live (1980) 505 copies, 9 reviews
Law of the Desert Born (1946) 499 copies, 4 reviews
Long Ride Home (1989) 497 copies, 10 reviews
The Riders of High Rock (1951) 490 copies, 1 review
Monument Rock (1998) 489 copies, 3 reviews
West of Dodge (1996) 486 copies, 6 reviews
Off the Mangrove Coast (2000) 483 copies, 4 reviews
Dutchman's Flat (1986) 470 copies, 4 reviews
Lonigan (1988) 457 copies, 3 reviews
May There Be a Road (2001) 454 copies, 8 reviews
The Trail to Crazy Man (1986) 452 copies, 4 reviews
Riding for the Brand (1986) 447 copies, 5 reviews
Yondering (1980) 446 copies, 9 reviews
The Rider of the Ruby Hills (1986) 442 copies, 4 reviews
Valley of the Sun (1995) 438 copies, 5 reviews
Trouble Shooter (1951) 433 copies, 3 reviews
With These Hands (2002) 429 copies, 8 reviews
The Hills of Homicide: Stories (1983) 395 copies, 8 reviews
Night Over the Solomons: Stories (1986) 346 copies, 4 reviews
West from Singapore (1987) 317 copies, 3 reviews
From the Listening Hills (2003) 290 copies, 3 reviews
Smoke from this Altar (1990) 227 copies, 6 reviews
Frontier (1984) 144 copies, 1 review
The Sixth Shotgun (1949) 139 copies, 2 reviews
A Man Called Trent (1965) 137 copies, 5 reviews
West of the Tularosa (1986) 119 copies, 2 reviews
The Sacketts Volume 1 (1980) 111 copies, 3 reviews
Grub Line Rider (1951) 105 copies, 4 reviews
Showdown Trail (1986) 97 copies, 1 review
The Sacketts Volume 3 (1980) 96 copies, 3 reviews
The Shadow Riders [1982 TV movie] (1982) — Novel by — 92 copies
The Sacketts Volume 2 (1980) 83 copies, 2 reviews
The Sacketts Volume 4 (1980) 82 copies, 3 reviews
Big Medicine (1986) 79 copies, 2 reviews
No Traveller Returns (2018) 76 copies, 3 reviews
Man Riding West (1986) 58 copies, 1 review
The Lawless West (2007) 56 copies, 2 reviews
Trailing West (2008) 55 copies, 2 reviews
Mistakes Can Kill You (1986) 55 copies, 2 reviews
Riders of the Dawn (2006) 49 copies, 1 review
Desert Death-Song (1950) 46 copies
Law of the Desert Born: A Graphic Novel (2013) 42 copies, 5 reviews
Radigan [and] North to the Rails (2008) 42 copies, 1 review
The Golden West (2003) 39 copies
The Sacketts Volume 5 (1986) 39 copies, 1 review
Showdown on the Hogback (2005) 37 copies, 1 review
Glory Riders (2011) 35 copies
Louis L'Amour Collection (7 Audiobook) (1999) 32 copies, 1 review
Shalako/Catlow (2008) 32 copies
The Sackett novels of Louis L'Amour (1980) 30 copies, 1 review
The Sacketts (1995) 29 copies, 1 review
Lone Star Law (2005) 27 copies
Booty for a Bad Man (1991) 27 copies, 3 reviews
A Gun for Kilkenny (1986) 25 copies, 1 review
Lost Trails (2007) — Contributor — 24 copies, 1 review
Lit a Shuck for Texas (1986) 20 copies
Home in the Valley: A Western Sextet (1986) 19 copies, 2 reviews
There's Always a Trail (1948) 19 copies, 1 review
Rowdy Rides to Glory (1987) 17 copies
McQueen of the Tumbling K (1986) 16 copies
The Turkeyfeather Riders (1986) 14 copies
Sackett's Gold 13 copies
Dead Ringer: A Western Trio (2021) 13 copies
Showdown (2009) 12 copies
Tales from the Old West [UNABRIDGED] (2005) 11 copies, 1 review
Keep Travelin', Rider (1986) 11 copies
The Diamond of Jeru (2000) 10 copies
Down the Pogonip Trail (1949) 10 copies
The Kilkenny Series Bundle (2015) 10 copies
Bannon (2019) 9 copies
The Sacketts (Vol 2) 8 copies, 1 review
No Man's Man (2000) 8 copies
A Job for a Ranger (1983) 8 copies
Four-Card Draw (1986) 8 copies
Bowdrie Passes Through (1983) 8 copies
Unguarded Moment (1983) 8 copies
Ride! You Tonto Raiders (1949) 8 copies
Bill Carey Rides West (1990) 7 copies
A Trail to the West (1983) 7 copies
Down Sonora Way (1984) 7 copies
L'Amour: A Collection (2010) 7 copies
The Courting of Griselda (1997) 6 copies
Louis L'Amour (1994) 6 copies
Survival (Louis L'Amour) (1999) 6 copies
His Brother's Debt (1986) 6 copies
The Sacketts Volume Two 12-Book Bundle (2014) 6 copies, 1 review
Horse Heaven (1950) 5 copies
Where Buzzards Fly (1984) 5 copies
Lännen mies (1979) 5 copies
Dead Man's Trail (1983) 5 copies
MCNELLY KNOWS A RANGER (1984) 5 copies
Tales from the Trail (2007) 4 copies
The Guns Talk Loud (1947) 4 copies
Trail to Pie Town (1886) 4 copies
L'envol De L'aigle (1988) 4 copies
Strange Pursuit (1984) 4 copies
Stay Out of My Nightmare (1983) 3 copies
Westerns (2008) 3 copies
Louis L'Amour Collection (2006) 3 copies
Fighter's Fiasco (2002) 3 copies
One Last Gun Notch (1942) 3 copies
Sackett Family (1992) 3 copies
Két szekér arany (1988) 3 copies
Lamour Sackett 4C Box Set (1999) 3 copies
Guns of the Timberland [1960 film] (2014) — Novel — 3 copies
Le Ranch De Clive Chantry (1976) 2 copies
Squatters on the Lonetree (1952) 2 copies
More Brains than Bullets (1983) 2 copies
West of Pilot Range (1995) 2 copies
Teksasin miehet tulevat (1983) 2 copies
Shalako. (1969) 2 copies
Collect from a Corpse (1983) 2 copies
Rock Bannon (1980) 2 copies
Trap of Gold (1951) 2 copies
JACKSON OF HORNTOWN (1947) 2 copies
In an Old Temple 2 copies, 1 review
Apache (1997) 2 copies
Louis lamour 2 copies
Der Goldschatz im Berg (1977) 2 copies
La lunga fuga (1990) 2 copies
One Night Stand 2 copies
A Strong Land Growing (1986) 2 copies
Buckskin Run : Stories (1981) 2 copies
Shandy Takes the Hook (1989) 2 copies
Die schnelle Hand (1959) 1 copy
Les Cow-boys du B-Bar (1983) 1 copy
Yksinäiset jumalat (1985) 1 copy
Le Train Du Kansas (1980) 1 copy
Paperback 1 copy
La Route du Colorado (1983) 1 copy
Le Repaire du vengeur (1983) 1 copy
La Vallée verte (1983) 1 copy
Cyclone sur Matagorda (1983) 1 copy
Dans le canon du Colt (1982) 1 copy
Hunted Mesa 1 copy
La Longue Chasse (1981) 1 copy
Guldfloden 1 copy
Hævnens vej 1 copy
La Cabane perdue (1983) 1 copy
Man Alleen 1 copy
Les despérados (1970) 1 copy
Lunga fuga 1 copy
Bad Place to Die (1989) 1 copy
Barney Takes a Hand (1986) 1 copy
Les implacables. (1971) 1 copy
℗I ℗due nemici (1986) 1 copy
Sackett # 4 1 copy
Sackett Et Son Mustang (1976) 1 copy
Lockendes Gold. (1981) 1 copy
Verso i Monti Azzurri (1987) 1 copy
Psanec (2009) 1 copy
That Packsaddle Affair (1990) 1 copy
No Rest for the Wicked (1990) 1 copy
The Drift (1990) 1 copy
The Ghost Maker (1990) 1 copy
Alkali Basin 1 copy
Mutation 1 copy
Rain 1 copy
Let It Snow 1 copy
Winter Winds 1 copy
Riding On (1951) 1 copy
Twilight 1 copy
Author's Tea 1 copy
The Admiral 1 copy
Glorious! 1 copy
Wings over Khabarovsk (1986) 1 copy
The Goose Flies South (1986) 1 copy
Tailwind to Tibet (1986) 1 copy
Pirates with Wings (1986) 1 copy
Mission to Siberut (1986) 1 copy
Tranquillity 1 copy
Duffy's Man 1 copy
Banked Fires 1 copy
Secret Pass 1 copy
Winter 1 copy
Nocturne 1 copy
Life 1 copy
In Victorio's Country (1995) 1 copy
That Slash Seven Kid (1995) 1 copy
Coast Patrol 1 copy
Gila Crossing (1995) 1 copy
No Man's Mesa (1995) 1 copy
North Cape 1 copy
Decadence 1 copy
The Pioneer 1 copy
Picture 1 copy
Old Jerry 1 copy
Question 1 copy
In Protest 1 copy
McVey 1 copy
Hildebrand 1 copy
Steppe 1 copy
Yacodhapura 1 copy
Big Man 1 copy
Punainen hevonen (1983) 1 copy
Tie Coloradoon (1983) 1 copy
The Last Frontier 1 copy, 1 review
Wilderness Trek (1965) 1 copy
Fuego en las Mantanas (1981) 1 copy
THOH (1983) 1 copy
Noi Sackett 1 copy
Calloway 1 copy
Fünf Partner (1965) 1 copy
Na mušce (2011) 1 copy
Vol. 1 - Westerns (1997) 1 copy
Fortune de feu (1986) — Author — 1 copy
all works 1 copy
Samotář (1995) 1 copy
Poklad 1 copy
Osamělý jezdec (2005) 1 copy
Caprock Rancher (1997) 1 copy
Desperate Men (1997) 1 copy
Rustler Roundup (1997) 1 copy
Time of Terror (2000) 1 copy
The Unexpected Corpse (2000) 1 copy
A Man Named Utah 1 copy, 1 review

Associated Works

The Big Book of Adventure Stories (2011) — Contributor — 121 copies, 3 reviews
The Quick and the Dead [1987 TV movie] (2003) — Original book — 111 copies
The Arbor House Treasury of Great Western Stories (1982) — Contributor — 104 copies, 1 review
The Sacketts [1979 film] (2006) — Original book — 56 copies
Great Tales of the West (1982) — Contributor — 32 copies, 1 review
Ghost Towns (2010) — Contributor — 31 copies, 1 review
Shalako [1968 film] (1968) — Original book — 20 copies
The Best of the American West II (1999) — Contributor — 16 copies, 1 review
The Western Hall of Fame Anthology (1997) — Contributor — 12 copies
Catlow [1971 film] — Original book — 3 copies

Tagged

action (173) Action/Adventure Stories (427) adventure (532) American literature (120) American West (316) anthology (124) audiobook (223) calibre (133) collection (119) cowboy (113) cowboys (172) Drama/Family Stories (407) ebook (110) fiction (6,075) goodreads import (132) hardcover (126) historical (213) historical fiction (706) horses (144) L'Amour (948) Louis L'Amour (1,191) mmpb (469) mystery (108) novel (564) Old West (257) own (114) owned (267) paperback (409) PB (241) read (224) Sacketts (808) series (107) short stories (655) The Louis L'Amour Collection (314) to-read (1,452) western (14,555) Western Fiction (711) Western Paperback (120) Western stories (540) Westerns (1,349)

Common Knowledge

Other names
LaMoore, Louis Dearborn (birth name)
Burns, Tex
Mayo, Jim
Birthdate
1908-03-22
Date of death
1988-06-10
Burial location
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California, USA
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Jamestown, North Dakota, USA
Place of death
Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of death
cancer (lung)
Places of residence
Los Angeles, California, USA
Education
self-educated
Occupations
novelist
gold miner
merchant seaman
professional boxer
Relationships
L'Amour, Angelique (daughter)
L'Amour, Beau (son)
Organizations
WPA Writers Project
Awards and honors
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1984)
Congressional Gold Medal (1982)
Theodore Roosevelt Roughrider Award (1972)
Saddleman Award (1981)
National Book Award (1979)
Short biography
Louis Dearborn L'Amour (March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short-story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels; however, he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, non-fiction, as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films.

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1908. He left home at the age of fifteen and enjoyed a wide variety of jobs. In 1983 Mr. L'Amour became the first novelist to ever to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in honor of his life's work. In 1984 he was also awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan.

Louis L'Amour died on June 10, 1988.

Members

Discussions

Louis L'Amour 2022 Shared Read Challenge in 75 Books Challenge for 2022 (January 2023)
Louis L'Amour in Westerns (March 2012)

Reviews

(see copy 2)
I did not read this copy.
 
Flagged
librisissimo | 6 other reviews | Dec 9, 2024 |
Not one of L'Amour's best. Very repetitive, stupid rehahsing of already-covered pondering by the hero. He is a male version of the typical female stereotype in "romance" books.
But he is a Good Man in God's Country, and that's enough for a quick read.

One more aggravating thing is that the action depends a lot on the geographica features of the country, and locations of varous towns and ranches, but the included map is very hard to read and doesn't have all the places referenced.
 
Flagged
librisissimo | 6 other reviews | Dec 9, 2024 |
Nolan Sackett meets Penelope Hume in a cantina. She is heir to her grandfather’s gold; she just has to find his cache. And Nolan is going to help her. Thus starts another adventure of searching for gold, evading the bad guys, and claiming the girl and the gold. It’s an exciting story, well told as all of Louis L’Amour’s novels are.
 
Flagged
Maydacat | 10 other reviews | Nov 28, 2024 |
Flagan and Galloway Sackett meet an old Irish trader who convinces them to escort his granddaughter to her father who is out west. Though they balk at first, they agree to do his bidding. They must elude a notorious suitor who wants to marry Judith for her inheritance. At first, she is enamored with him, but then realizes he is just after her money. Now the brothers must escape Flagan and his band of men and protect Judith. They need to find her father before it’s too late for them all. It’s another well told and exciting tale, made even more beguiling with a love interest for Flagan.… (more)
 
Flagged
Maydacat | 5 other reviews | Nov 24, 2024 |

Lists

Awards

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Statistics

Works
757
Also by
11
Members
87,974
Popularity
#119
Rating
3.8
Reviews
1,149
ISBNs
3,317
Languages
24
Favorited
103

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