The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories Mass Market Paperback – April 29, 2014

This is the fourth book I've read by Louis L'Amour. All are great (see my reviews). INMO Louis L'Amour is the best Western author. As of 2003 he was the only author to receive both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Metal. He has 120 books in print. A true master author. Sadly he passed away from lung cancer.This book is fantastic.! 34 short stories and one longer story. 32 of the short stories were 5 stars. The longer story Rustler Round Up was about 100 pages/ 9 chapters and was 5 stars plus plus. One of the short stories was OK with 3 stars. The last story The Moon of the Trees I didn't care for that much 2 1/2 to 3 stars. No one likes everything. Whats incredible is that 95% of the book was wonderful. Such consistent great writing. Great character development, great nature scenes and description of the wild west. Lots and lots of action. No dull parts. Lots of gunfighting, fist fighting, cowboy ranching, gold prospecting, lust for gold and trying to get the pretty girl. L'Amour writes it all!If you like the wild west, cowboy action, lots of western action and great plots this is the book for you. I loved this book so much I bought the second volume and will start to read it now. If I like that maybe get the third volume etc.4 for 4 reading great books by Louis L'Amour. This is a great book to read a story or two while waiting on an oil change or waiting at the doctor or dentist office. The book reading flies and you feel you are in the wild west. Highly recommended 5 stars and great for our family library.

For many years I have loved reading western novels for recreation. Over the years I have also read several novels by the legendary Louis L’Amour. When I saw this fantastic book (The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour: The frontier stories Volume one) on Amazon for a fantastic price I immediately bought it.This wonderful 424 page text has 35 western short stories that were a pure joy to read. It does not matter which order you read these tales because each one is interesting and exciting. Personally, I always like to begin all my books from the first page or story to the end without skipping around.Some of the short stories in this collection include the following: The gift of Cochise, That man from the bitter sands, Desperate men, Dutchman’s flat, Trap of gold, The lonesome Gods, One night stand, Marshal of canyon gap, A husband for Janey, Booty for a badman, The one for the Mohave kid, War party, The strong shall live, Get out of town and many other wonderful western tales.If you are a fan of great western stories by the master of this genre, Louis L’Amour, you will love this collection of short stories.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: The Samurai Soul: An old warrior’s poetic tribute).

This is a nice collection of short western stories from one of the masters of the genre. I enjoy westerns, whether they be movies, TV shows or books. Simple stories about the frontier. Cowboys and Indians, outlaws and small town sheriffs, frontier justice and even some strong female characters that aren't floozies or secondary to the male characters. I have just one minor disappointment, and it's not meant to be a complaint but an observation. Some (most) of the stories in this volume would be better suited to a younger, more adolescent audience. The stories are very short and there is not much plot or character development. These are the stories you would have likely read in a western-themed pulp-style periodical from the early decades of the last century. I would have loved this book when I was maybe 12 or 13 and my dad would take me to the library and I would get to pick a couple of books to take home and immerse myself in. This is one I would have picked back then. However as a grown-up person I prefer a little more depth and story development than these short stories are able to offer. Again, that is not a condemnation or criticism of this fine collection of short stories from a great American writer, simply a personal observation and my own humble opinion.I'll say again that this is a fine book of short western stories. However if you are an adult and prefer more depth of plot and character development I would refer you to any of the many full length novels Zane Grey wrote over the decades. You will likely find the longer books much more satisfying.