With these cold days ahead, what better time to visit your local library and check out reading material. After reading the Sackett series by Louis L'Amour, I wanted to read more about this famous writer of some 86 novels. The book I am now reading .is a non-fiction memoir of the writer's life entitled Education of a Wandering Man.
In this book, the author talks about many of the books he read along his lifelong journey of learning. I do remember seeing written material by this author in our home, and my father truly loved to read anything about the west L'Amour grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota and spoke often of his parents who instilled in him a love of the printed and spoken word. He left school at the age of 15, and the world became his classroom. He recounts working on a cattle ranch in Texas, baling hay in New Mexico, working as a roustabout with the circus and became a boxer with exhibitions in small towns. He hoboed across Texas on the Southern Pacific, and shipped out as a merchant seaman, visiting places in England, Singapore and the West Indies.
After reading all this information, it was easy to see how he came about writing about the west and the early settling of our country. Riding a freight train out of El Paso, he had his first contact with the Little Blue Books. Another hobo was reading one, and when he finished, the book was given to Louis. Among the books were Shakespeare's plays, short stories by Jack London and Kipling. The first one he purchased was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He writes that in days before the big combines, it was the hobo who "shocked" the grain, picking up the bundles and stacking them to be picked up by men on hayracks.
His intention was to write, so he made no effort to learn a trade. He was introduced to pulp adventure magazines. "They were never found in my home, as Mother did not approve of them." L'Amour's own stories were to appear later in these magazines. He said, "Sometimes my reading material was a gem. More often, they were the casual reading of a wandering man. Whatever the book, a reader reads. Every book opened a world I did not know. It was out there, an exciting place of which I knew little."
L'Amour passed away in June of 1988. He will be remembered as one of the most widely read authors of our time.
During my years at the Winona Montgomery County Library, there were many western readers. When large print books became more popular, it was a much-needed help for readers and many of this author’s books are available in large print. Check it out!
