LOUIS L'AMOUR

'Louis L'Amour' (March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American author of primarily Western fiction.
He was born 'Louis Dearborn L'Amour' of French-Canadian background March 22, 1908 in Jamestown, North Dakota.
L'Amour's books remain enormously popular, and most have gone through multiple printings.

Contents

Biography

Novels

Sackett novels

Talon and Chantry novels

Kilkenny novels

Collections of short stories

Non-fiction books

Poetry

Compilations with other authors

Film adaptations

Notes

See also

External links

Biography

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was not only one of the West's best-selling storytellers; in many ways he typified the consummate Western man, proud of his accomplishments and shy in his remembrances.^[1]
L'Amour had a great work ethic, instilled in him as a child by his parents in Jamestown, North Dakota. His father, a veterinarian and farm machinery salesman, was also involved in local politics. Young Louis played cowboys and Indians in the family barn, which served as his father's veterinary hospital, and did more than his share of reading -- particularly G. A. Henty, the legendary British author of historical boy's novels during the late nineteenth century. L'Amour said, "[Henty's works] enabled me to go into school with a great deal of knowledge that even my teachers didn't have about wars and politics."^[2]
L'Amour said that luck had nothing to do with his successes, not long before his death in June 1988. "Nor have I had any connections or breaks that I did not create for myself."^[2] His self-education resulted in academic boredom, so he left school and Jamestown at fifteen after completing the tenth grade. By hitchhiking and riding the rails, he traveled to Oklahoma City to visit an older brother who was the governor's secretary, but he soon moved on. He then found work in West Texas skinning cattle that had died from a prolonged drought. His boss was a seventy-nine-year-old wrangler who had been raised by Apaches, who taught young Louis about tracking and using herbs. His next job was baling hay in New Mexico's Pecos Valley, across the road from Billy the Kid's grave. There he met Judge Cole in Ruidoso and became acquainted with some thirty former gunfighters, rangers, and outlaws in the area. ^[2]
L'Amour continued as an itinerant worker, traveling the world as a merchant seaman until the start of World War II. During the 1930s he began to sell stories to pulp magazines. After serving in WWII, he continued to write stories for magazines. In the 1950s, he began to sell novels. He eventually wrote more than one hundred novels, selling more than 225 million copies that were translated into dozens of languages.
During the 1960s, L'Amour intended to build a working town typical of those of the nineteenth-century Western frontier, with buildings with false fronts situated in rows on either side of an unpaved main street and flanked by wide boardwalks before which, at various intervals, were watering troughs and hitching posts. The town, to be named Shalako after the protagonist of one of L'Amour's novels, was to have featured shops and other businesses that were typical of such towns: a barber shop, a hotel, a dry goods store, one or more saloons, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, etc. It would have offered itself as a filming location for Hollywood motion pictures concerning the Wild West. However, funding for the project fell through, and Shalako was never built. ^[5]At one point during his life Louis was a lion tamer.
Many criticize the Western genre, but L'Amour considered himself "just a storyteller, a guy with a seat by the campfire,"^[6] and at least once related that after he died, he only wanted to be remembered as a good storyteller.
When interviewed not long before his death, he was asked which among his legion of books had he liked best. His reply was, "I like them all. There's bits and pieces of books that I think are good. I never rework a book. I'd rather use what I've learned on the next one, and make it a little bit better. The worst of it is that I'm no longer a kid and I'm just now getting to be a good writer. Just now."^[6]
In 1982 he won the Congressional (National) Gold Medal, and in 1984 the Medal of Freedom. L'Amour is also a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award.
L'Amour died on June 10, 1988 and was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. His autobiography detailing his years as an itinerant worker in the west, ''Education of a Wandering Man'', was published posthumously in 1989.

Novels

(including series novels eg the Sackett novels)

★ ''Westward the Tide (1950)''

★ ''Riders of High Rock, the (1951)''

★ ''Rustlers of West Fork, the (1951)''

★ ''Trail to Seven Pines, the (1951)''

★ ''Trouble Shooter (1952)''

★ ''Hondo (1953)''

★ ''Showdown at Yellow Butte (1953)''

★ ''Crossfire Trail (1954)''

★ ''Heller with a Gun (1954)''

★ ''Kilkenny (1954)''

★ ''Utah Blaine (1954)''

★ ''Guns of the Timberlands (1955)''

★ ''To Tame a Land (1955)''

★ ''Burning Hills, the (1956)''

★ ''Silver Canyon (1956)''

★ ''Last Stand at Papago Wells (1957)''

★ ''Sitka (1957)''

★ ''Tall Stranger, the (1957)''

★ ''Radigan (1958)''

★ ''First Fast Draw, the (1959)''

★ ''Taggart (1959)''

★ ''Daybreakers, the (1960)''

★ ''Flint (1960)''

★ ''Sackett (1961)''

★ ''High Lonesome (1962)''

★ ''Killoe (1962)''

★ ''Lando (1962)''

★ ''Shalako (1962)''

★ ''Catlow (1963)''

★ ''Dark Canyon (1963)''

★ ''Fallon (1963)''

★ ''How the West Was Won (1963)''

★ ''Hanging Woman Creek (1964)''

★ ''Mojave Crossing (1964)''

★ ''High Graders, the (1965)''

★ ''Key-Lock Man, the (1965)''

★ ''Kiowa Trail (1965)''

★ ''Sackett Brand, the (1965)''

★ ''Broken Gun, the (1966)''

★ ''Kid Rodelo (1966)''

★ ''Kilrone (1966)''

★ ''Mustang Man (1966)''

★ ''Matagorda (1967)''

★ ''Sky-Liners, the (1967)''

★ ''Chancy (1968)''

★ ''Conagher (1968)''

★ ''Down the Long Hills (1968)''

★ ''Empty Land, the (1969)''

★ ''Lonely Men, the (1969)''

★ ''Galloway (1970)''

★ ''Man Called Noon, the (1970)''

★ ''Reilly's Luck (1970)''

★ ''Brionne (1971)''

★ ''Ferguson Rifle, the (1971)''

★ ''North to the Rails (1971)''

★ ''Tucker (1971)''

★ ''Under the Sweetwater Rim (1971)''

★ ''Callaghen (1972)''

★ ''Ride the Dark Trail (1972)''

★ ''Man from Skibbereen, the (1973)''

★ ''Quick and the Dead, the (1973)''

★ ''Treasure Mountain (1973)''

★ ''Californios, the (1974)''

★ ''Sackett's Land (1974)''

★ ''Man From the Broken Hills, the (1975)''

★ ''Over on the Dry Side (1975)''

★ ''Rivers West (1975)''

★ ''Rider of Lost Creek, the (1976)''

★ ''To the Far Blue Mountains (1976)''

★ ''Where the Long Grass Blows (1976)''

★ ''Borden Chantry (1977)''

★ ''Bendigo Shafter (1978)''

★ ''Fair Blows the Wind (1978)''

★ ''Mountain Valley War, the (1978)''

★ ''Iron Marshal, the (1979)''

★ ''Proving Trail, the (1979)''

★ ''Lonely on the Mountain (1980)''

★ ''Warrior's Path, the (1980)''

★ ''Comstock Lode (1981)''

★ ''Milo Talon (1981)''

★ ''Cherokee Trail, the (1982)''

★ ''Shadow Riders, the (1982)''

★ ''Lonesome Gods, the (1983)''

★ ''Ride the River (1983)''

★ ''Son of a Wanted Man (1984)''

★ ''Walking Drum, the (1984)''

★ ''Jubal Sackett (1985)''

★ ''Passin' Through (1985)''

★ ''Last of the Breed (1986)''

★ ''West of Pilot Range (1986)''

★ ''Trail to the West, a (1986)''

★ ''Haunted Mesa, the (1987)''

Sackett novels

''In fictional story order (not the order written).'' [1]

★ ''Sackett’s Land'' - Barnabas Sackett

★ ''To the Far Blue Mountains'' - Barnabas Sackett

★ ''The Warrior’s Path'' - Kin Ring Sackett

★ ''Jubal Sackett'' - Jubal Sackett

★ ''Ride the River'' - Echo Sackett

★ ''The Daybreakers'' - Orrin and Tyrel Sackett, Cap Rountree, Tom Sunday

★ ''Lando'' - Orlando Sackett, the Tinker

★ ''Sackett'' - William Tell Sackett, Cap Rountree

★ ''Mojave Crossing'' - William Tell Sackett

★ ''The Sackett Brand'' - William Tell Sackett, and the whole passel of Sacketts!

★ ''The Skyliners'' - Flagan and Galloway Sackett

★ ''The Lonely Men'' - William Tell Sackett

★ ''Mustang Man'' - Nolan Sackett

★ ''Galloway'' - Galloway and Flagan Sackett

★ ''Treasure Mountain'' - William Tell Sackett

★ ''Ride the Dark Trail'' - Logan Sackett

★ ''Lonely on the Mountain'' - William Tell, Orrin and Tyrel Sackett
There are also two Sackett-related short stories:

★ "The Courting of Griselda" (available in ''End of the Drive'')

★ "Booty for a Badman" (available in ''War Party'')
Sacketts are also involved in the plot of 4 other novels:

★ ''Bendigo Schafter'' (Ethan Sackett)

★ ''Dark Canyon'' (William Tell Sackett)

★ ''Borden Chantry'' (Joe Sackett, killed in ambush that B Chantry solves murder)

★ ''Passin' Through'' (we are led to believe that this might be William Tell)

Talon and Chantry novels

★ ''Borden Chantry''

★ ''Fair Blows the Wind''

★ ''The Ferguson Rifle''

★ ''The Man from the Broken Hills''

★ ''Milo Talon''

★ ''North to the Rails''

★ ''Over on the Dry Side''

★ ''Rivers West''

Kilkenny novels

Interestingly, the last story (in fictional story order) was published more than 20 years before the other installments.

★ ''The Rider of Lost Creek (1976)''

★ ''The Mountain Valley War (1978)''

★ ''Kilkenny (1954)''
==Hopalong Cassidy novels==
Originally published pseudonymously as "Tex Brisco".

★ ''The Riders of High Rock''

★ ''The Rustlers of West Fork''

★ ''The Trail to Seven Pines''

★ ''Trouble Shooter''

Collections of short stories

★ ''War Party (1975)''

★ ''Strong Shall Live, the (1980)''

★ ''Yondering (1980)''

★ ''Buckskin Run (1981)''

★ ''Bowdrie (1983)''

★ ''Hills of Homicide, the (1983)''

★ ''Law of the Desert Born (1983)''

★ ''Bowdrie's Law (1984)''

★ ''Night Over the Solomons (1986)''

★ ''Rider of the Ruby Hills, the (1986)''

★ ''Riding for the Brand (1986)''

★ ''Trail to Crazy Man, the (1986)''

★ ''Dutchman's Flat (1986)''

★ ''Lonigan (1988)''

★ ''Long Ride Home (1989)''

★ ''Outlaws of Mesquite, the (1990)''

★ ''West from Singapore (1991)''

★ ''Valley of the Sun (1995)''

★ ''West of Dodge (1996)''

★ ''End of the Drive (1997)''

★ ''Monument Rock (1998)''

★ ''Beyond the Great Snow Mountains (1999)''

★ ''Off the Mangrove Coast (2000)''

★ ''May There Be a Road (2001)''

★ ''With These Hands (2002)''

★ ''From the Listening Hills (2003)''

★ ''Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: The Frontier Stories - Volume 1''

★ ''Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: The Frontier Stories - Volume 2''

★ ''Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: The Frontier Stories - Volume 3''

★ ''Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: The Frontier Stories - Volume 4''

Non-fiction books

★ ''Education Of A Wandering Man''

★ ''Frontier''

★ ''The Louis L'Amour Companion''

★ ''The Sackett Companion''

★ ''A Trail Of Memories: The Quotations Of Louis L'Amour'' (compiled by Angelique L'Amour)

Poetry

★ ''Smoke From This Altar''

Compilations with other authors

★ ''The Golden West''

★ ''Stagecoach''

Film adaptations

- Heller in Pink Tights, 1960. Starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren. Directed by George Cukor. Adapted from ''Heller With a Gun''.

- The Quick and the Dead, 1987. Starring Sam Elliott and Kate Capshaw. Directed by Robert Day.

- Conagher, 1991. Starring Sam Elliott and Katherine Ross. Directed by Reynoaldo Villalobos.

- Crossfire Trail, 2001. Starring Tom Selleck, Virginia Madsen, and Wilford Brimley. Directed by Simon Winger. TV Movie by TNT.
# The Diamond of Jeru (2001) (TV) (short story)
... aka Louis L'Amour's The Diamond of Jeru (USA: complete title)
# Crossfire Trail (2001) (TV) (book)
... aka Louis L'Amour's 'Crossfire Trail' (USA)
# Shaughnessy (1996) (TV) (novel "The Iron Marshal")
... aka Louis L'Amour's Shaughnessy (Australia)
... aka Louis L'Amour's Shaughnessy the Iron Marshal (USA: DVD box title)
# Conagher (1991) (TV) (novel)
... aka Louis L'Amour's Conagher
# The Quick and the Dead (1987) (TV) (novel)
# Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills (1986) (TV) (novel)
... aka Down the Long Hills
# "Five Mile Creek" (2 episodes, 1984)
- Walk Like a Man (1984) TV Episode (inspiration "The Cherokee Trail")
- When the Kookaburra Cries (1984) TV Episode (inspiration "The Cherokee Trail")
# The Shadow Riders (1982) (TV) (novel)
... aka Louis L'Amour's The Shadow Riders
# The Cherokee Trail (1981) (TV) (story)
... aka Louis L'Amour's The Cherokee Trail (USA)
# "Disneyland" (1 episode, 1981)
... aka Disney's Wonderful World (USA: new title)
... aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title)
... aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
- The Cherokee Trail (1981) TV Episode (story)
# The Sacketts (1979) (TV) (novels "The Daybreakers" and "Sackett")
... aka The Daybreakers (USA: cut version)
# Hombre llamado Noon, Un (1973) (novel)
... aka The Man Called Noon (Philippines: English title) (UK) (USA)
... aka Lo chiamavano Mezzogiorno (Italy)
# Cancel My Reservation (1972) (novel "The Broken Gun")
# Catlow (1971) (novel "Catlow")
# Shalako (1968) (novel)
... aka Man nennt mich Shalako (West Germany)
# "Hondo" (17 episodes, 1967)
- Hondo and the Rebel Hat (1967) TV Episode (character)
- Hondo and the Apache Trail (1967) TV Episode (character)
- Hondo and the Gladiators (1967) TV Episode (character)
- Hondo and the Hanging Town (1967) TV Episode (character)
- Hondo and the Death Drive (1967) TV Episode (character)
(12 more)
# Hondo and the Apaches (1967) (TV) (story "The Gift of Cochise")
# Kid Rodelo (1966) (novel)
# Taggart (1964) (novel)
# Guns of the Timberland (1960) (novel)
# Heller in Pink Tights (1960) (novel "Heller With A Gun")
# Apache Territory (1958) (novel "Last Stand at Papago Wells")
# The Tall Stranger (1957) (novel "Showdown Trail")
... aka The Rifle (USA)
... aka Walk Tall (USA: alternative title)
# "Maverick" (1 episode, 1957)
- Stage West (1957) TV Episode (story)
# "Sugarfoot" (1 episode, 1957)
... aka Tenderfoot (UK)
- The Strange Land (1957) TV Episode (story)
# Utah Blaine (1957) (novel)
# The Burning Hills (1956) (novel)
# "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1 episode, 1956)
... aka Herald Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
... aka Schlitz Playhouse (USA: new title)
... aka The Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
- Flowers for Jenny (1956) TV Episode (story)
# Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado (1956) (novel "Kilkenny")
# "City Detective" (1 episode, 1955)
- Man Down, Woman Screaming (1955) TV Episode (story)
# Stranger on Horseback (1955) (story)
# "Climax!" (1 episode, 1955)
... aka Climax Mystery Theater (USA)
- The Mojave Kid (1955) TV Episode (story)
# Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955) (story)
# Four Guns to the Border (1954) (story)
... aka Shadow Valley (USA)
# Hondo (1953) (story "The Gift of Cochise")
# East of Sumatra (1953) (story)

Notes

1.
"Looking back: an interview with Louis Lamour," by Jean Henry-Mead.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. citation needed.
6. citation needed
7. citation needed

See also

★ Sackett Family

★ Hopalong Cassidy

External links

★ Obituary, NY Times, June 13, 1988 ''Louis L'Amour, Writer, Is Dead; Famed Chronicler of West Was 80''

★ Louis L'Amour at the Internet Book List

★

★

★ Louis L'Amour official website

★ 1984 audio interview with Louis L'Amour by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio

★ Louis L'Amour: a fan's tribute to America's favorite story teller

★ Wall Street Journal: "The Last of His Breed," by John J. Miller

★ ''Maverick Writers'' 1987 interview with Louis L'Aour at his home in Los Angeles

★ WorldCat Identities page for 'L'Amour, Louis 1908-'