Read North Dakota

Louis L'Amour

Biography

Louis L'Amour (1908-1988) was a prolific western writer who once said, "I write my books to be read aloud and I think of myself in that oral tradition." He wrote more than 400 short stories and 100 novels, as well as numerous television scripts and screenplays. His books have been translated into 10 languages. At the time of his death, there were more than 200 million copies of his books in print.

On March 22, 1908, Louis Dearborn L'Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota , the youngest of seven children. His parents were Louis Charles and Emily Dearborn L'Amour, both of whom schooled L'Amour in family and western lore, unknowingly laying the foundation for his literary career. His father held various types of jobs, including police chief, veterinarian, political leader and Sunday school teacher. His mother, herself a skilled storyteller, was trained as a teacher before her marriage, and so the environment was a great one for the children to learn and grow in intellectually.

In 1923, the L'Amour family moved to Oklahoma, and, at fifteen, L'Amour decided to leave school to pursue self-education by way of work and travel and constant reading. He held wide variety of jobs from this point, much of it hard, physical labor. He worked as a longshoreman, lumberjack, elephant handler, hay shocker, miner, boxer, and cattle skinner, all richly adding to his knowledge and well of experience which he would draw from later in his writing career.

His love of traveling took him up and down the West Coast, and soon he embarked on a sailing trip to the Orient and later traveled to Europe. L'Amour's writing was greatly influenced by these early years of freedom and wandering. He gained great knowledge as a result, and it is not surprising that his male protagonists would often have conflicting feelings towards settling down. His autobiography was titled The Education of a Wandering Man.

In the late 1930s L'Amour returned to Oklahoma to pursue a writing career. He published a book of poetry in 1939, but his career was interrupted by World War II. In 1942 he entered the army, serving as an officer in tank destroying and transportation units in France and Germany. Upon the end of the war he resumed his writing pursuits and published stories in pulp magazines of all types, from detective and adventure magazines to sports, with his greatest financial success in western magazines. In 1953 he published his first novel, Hondo, and thereafter L'Amour consistently produced three novels a year until his death in 1988. He gained steady popularity throughout his career, to the point where hundreds of millions of copies of his books were sold.

L'Amour was the only novelist in America to be accorded the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both of which were awarded to him by President Ronald Reagan. L'Amour, a nonsmoker, died in Los Angeles on June 10, 1988 , of lung cancer.

Jubal Sackett

Filled with action, adventure, mystery, and historical detail, the Sackett saga is an unforgettable achievement by one of America 's greatest storytellers. In Jubal Sackett, the second generation of this great American family pursues a destiny in the wilderness of a sprawling new land. Kindred spirits on a restless quest . . . Jubal Sackett's urge to explore drove him westward, and when a Natchez priest asks him to undertake a nearly impossible quest, Sackett ventures into the endless grassy plains the Indians call the Far Seeing Lands. He seeks a Natchez exploration party and its leader, Itchakomi. It is she who will rule her people when their aging chief dies, but first she must vanquish her rival, the arrogant warrior Kapata. Sackett's quest will bring him danger from an implacable enemy ... and show him a life--and a woman--worth dying for.

Other Books by Louis L'Amour in the Sackett Family Series

The Daybreakers, Bantam, 1960, rep.1984.

Sackett, Bantam, 1961, rep.1984.

Lando, Bantam, 1962, rep.1985.

Mojave Crossing, Bantam, 1964, rep.1985.

The Sackett Brand, Bantam, 1965, rep.1985.

Mustang Man, Bantam, 1966, rep.1986.

The Sky-Liners, Bantam, 1967, rep.Thorndike,1986.

The Lonely Men, Bantam, 1969, rep.1984.

Galloway, Bantam, 1970.

Ride the Dark Trail, Bantam, 1972, rep.1986.

Treasure Mountain, Bantam, 1972.