Three Good Books by Louis L’Amour That Aren’t Westerns

By David Stilwill on Mar 11, 2008 in Author Feature, Featured, First Person Narrative, Non-Fiction, Survival

Raconteur: One who tell stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.

Author of over 100 novels, storyteller Louis L’Amour is certainly best known for his westerns and that certainly is the genre with which his name will always be remembered. He did venture at times though from his standard, leaving behind his most recognizable settings. Here are three favorites that are not westerns, though some of L’Amour’s archetypes are still easily recognizable.

We often sang as we marched, and there was always the sound of the marching drum, a sound I shall hear all my life, so deeply is it embedded in the fibers of my being.”^{pg. 265}
This book follows the adventures of Kerbouchard - traveler, warrior, scholar, slave - through the lands of 12th century Europe and the Middle East as he searches for his father. The course of his journey leads him through the dark and light aspects of mystical foreign lands and he crosses the paths of commoners and king, always learning from those around him. An exciting book, a great adventure and a recommended read for those who like to read of history and distant lands through the eyes of character living in those times.

Through the dark forests and frozen wastelands of Siberia, American Indian test pilot Joe Mack is running for his life. Shot down and illegally captured by a ruthless Soviet Colonel, he escapes and must rely on the wit and skill of his upbringing and the instincts of his ancestry while eluding military search parties and a cold-blooded Siberian tracker.
Set sometime in the 1980’s, this story is a good manhunt adventure. Sometimes the cliches are a bit glaring and the stereotypes obvious, but it is pure L’Amour - with battles, cruel natural settings and even an enigmatic love interest as extra incentive for the hero to survive and emerge triumphant against his many challenges.

Perhaps a read for hardcore Louis L’Amour fans or bibliophiles only, this memoir is an enjoyable book none the less. It is like reading a card catalog interspersed with the many experiences of L’Amour through the course of his life. From the time of his leaving school at age fifteen to travel the world, Louis worked and lived as a hobo, sailor, prizefighter, miner, longshoreman, army officer, cattle skinner and many others. These many careers, combined with a life long love of reading and self-education were to provide the basis of which was to become Louis L’Amour - the author.
This book was being edited by Louis at the time of his death in 1988 and there is criticism of it being rambling and superficial. I think for lack of any other auto-biography that it is a good insight of the man and in the least a good book to find some good recommended reading. There are lots of titles listed within its pages.

It is often said that one has but one life to live, but that is nonsense. For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived…”
-Louis L’Amour