Big Country, Volume 1: Stories of Louis L'Amour

by Louis L'Amour

Louis LAmour said the West was no place for the frightened or the mean. It was a big country needing big men and women to live in it. The first volume of his Big Country collection includes "Ride, You Tonto Raiders" and "War Party." Unabridged.

Genres: Westerns, Audiobook, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Historical

2 pages, Audio Cassette

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".

Reviews

[Pop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book download on Hoopla from my library. It includes a novella (You Tonto Raiders) and a short story (War Party). Neither nothing special, just typical Louis L'Amour. I liked the novella best, a good old western shoot-um-up with white and black hats. I didn't care much for the short story but it had its redeeming point at the end. It had been a while since I had read any of L'Amour and wanted a quick fix.

[Ben Denison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short stories that were both typical yet fun westerns.

The first one, gunfighter Matthew Sabor, kills a guy in shoot out defending himself, but ends up taking
Money and protection the widow from local land barons trying to steal her land. Fairly typical western plot, but it was good.

Second story was about a wagon train. A man is killed and his widow and son become the scorn of the train as the women get jealous and then men envious of the widow’s independence and wisdom. Good plot. Wish it went on for a bigger/longer novel.

Overall worth the read if you like westerns.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

Volumes 1, 2, 3 are available from my public library
Because of availability, I listened to and enjoyed Vols 2 & 3
This volume, one, was so bad that had I started with it, that would have been the end.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful - the stories, the narration, and the voice!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Downloaded audio book from my library, good reader, but one is a novel & the other a fairly short story, so that was a bit jarring. Typical L'Amour. If you've read one, you've read most of them. A candy read; fun, but nothing noteworthy.

[Tiffany France · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis Lamour. His branding is burned into my mind from scattered paperbacks at yard sales. This was a free audible book and even though westerns are not my genre, I thought why not? This volume was two short stories. The first was a hallmark movie meets western. A cheeseburger story full of exactly what needed to be there. Our protagonist kills another man in a shootout. Just before he dies the man asks the protagonist to deliver $5000 to his widow. The protagonist does so, and long story short, a romance is in the works. But how does he reveal the secret that he was the one that killed the woman’s husband??? That’s the premise. The second story was a son’s love story to his mother, an Apache speaking little spark that holds down her own on a wagon train despite the side eyes and snubs from other travelers. That was a good one. All in all, not a bad little read. 3.5 for easy light reading but rather predictable plots.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “Ride, You Tonto Raider,” Matt Sabre is forced to shoot a man who drew on him first. The dying man, knowing he was wrong to draw on Matt and knowing he can trust him, begs Matt to take $5000 to his wife. The wife is in serious trouble with bad men trying to steal her ranch. Matt does the honorable thing and stays to help defend her and save her ranch. In “War Party,” a boy on the brink of manhood, a frontier woman, and a cowboy come together is this exciting tale homesteaders and gunslingers. The characters are strong and determined to survive in the Wild West. Both these short stories are well written and illustrate with exciting prose the dangers and hardships the settlers in the west experienced.

[Kellie Winegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never go wrong with a Louis L’amour book and this one didn’t fail me. I thought I had read all his books but I was surprised.
This book has two great story’s to it the first has a man who has just killed a man in a gun fight but before the man died he asks him to take some money to his wife. As usual in his books the gun fighter shows honor and takes the money to the wife and helps her out with her range war. He is the strong man that she needed.
The second story is of a strong woman on a wagon train whose husband has just died and she shows her son and everyone around her that she can be strong and make tough choices at the same time.
Love love loved this book!!!

[Randy Tramp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short stories, Ride, You Tonto Raiders and War Party.

1st Matt Sabre, young gunfighter, shoots a man. To his surprise, the man in dying words gives him $5,000 and begs him to take the money to his wife.

2nd A boy nearing manhood, and his mother travel in a wagon train.

Both stories take me into the Wild West. The first one showed honor character, as portrayed in L'Amour's books.

As short stories, the characters aren't completely sketched. That said, the 1st story needed a little more to it to be believable. Yet, I did enjoy the story. The second one: Great.

[Friscomama · Rating 3 out of 5]

The choice of three stars is personal to me, I could see it at any number of stars depending on how much you like the genre. I've been curious about L'Amour since I was told how many books he wrote and sold. I've recently been going through a lot of pulp fiction.

Good guys, bad guys, strong frontier women, easy reading. "Ride, You Tonto Raiders" was printed in August 1949 by New Western Magazine.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Question for anyone that has read this book. Did Louis L’Amore write a novel with similar plot points and characters to “Ride You Tonto Raiders” ? I seem to recall reading such a book a long time ago, but I have not been able to find it again. I know L’Amore often took material from his short stories and expanded them into full novels. If anyone out knows what book I’m talking about and would be so kind as to let me know, I would greatly appreciate it.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ride, You Tonto Raiders (prior review posted)
War Party – Young boy and his Ma traveled alone with the wagon train after his Pa was killed. The wagon master wanted them to turn back but Ma would have none of it. She was going on and nothing would stop her. Although this is a very short, short story, it shows the strength and determination of the early settlers. I liked it, I just wish it were longer.

[Kaitlin Jundt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a western and these short stories delivered! I've never read L'Amour before and figured I should try him out given he's somewhat of a North Dakotan "celebrity". The audiobook narrator had a nice, deep and calm voice that almost put me to sleep. It was the type of relaxation I needed. I really enjoyed the second story, War Party. I think I'll be listening to the other volumes to see if they are just as good.

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first L'Amour audiobook! The two stories in this volume weren't anything special, fairly typical L'Amour, but I did enjoy the audio adaptation. Having someone put their own vocal interpretations on the characters lent new vigor to the first story, which was otherwise a bit of a tired storyline. The second story was very short but more intriguing.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed both stories. Definitely enjoyed Ride, You Tonto Raiders most of the two. It had a feel of both Hondo mixed with a bit of Silverado. Really enjoyed Matt Sabre as a western hero as well. War Party, while short, was still well told with a compelling and strong female main character. I’d love to see both stories adapted to the screen.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed Louis L’Amour stories for their gorgeous description of Western landscapes and the straightforward outlook of his characters.
Listening to this audiobook collection, I was entirely swept up in the experience. Stefan Rudnicki is a magnificent narrator, matching his tone to the text brilliantly. Thoroughly enjoyable!

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These were rather standard stories from L’Amour. It was still fun listening to them. Who doesn’t like an under dog standing against a cabal of powerful villains? L’Amour can draw a reader into a setting as well as any master. I just love that about his books.
I would highly recommend if you are in the mood for a hearty adventure.

[Christabelle]

Fell in love with Louis L'Amour when I was first introduced to The Lonesome Gods. I finally decided to see what else was available through the library and came across this. I enjoyed it mostly because of the narrator, but it was a nice filler between books.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars for 'Ride, You Tonto Raiders' – a typical western novella, nothing all that special or particularly wrong.

4 stars for 'War Party' – a nice little short story set in a western scene, with a strong female lead (told from her son's POV).

[Andrea Lucero-watje · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first time ever reading a western and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these short stories. It helps that they used one of my favorite audiobook narrators. I will definitely be checking out more from L’Amour!

[Karen Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm new to Westerns, and I love this new genre. How refreshing to read (well, I listen to the audiobook) something that dates back to a clearcut division between good guys and bad guys, right and wrong, honor and evil. This is the 2nd Louis L'Amour, and I can hardly wait to start the next one.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good guys win.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like westerns you'll like Louis L'amour. Simple and charming stories.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories: one longer, one shorter, both typical Louis L'Amour stories with an underdog with honor. Perfect for an afternoon walk. I liked the narrator as well.

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved these short stories by one of my favorite authors.

[Richard Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two long Louis L'Amour stories of the Old West. Both are fun to listen to.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used to read this as a kid - forgot how great they are.

[Amara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, these are short books, almost short stories. I may need to look for more. Classic classic cowboy stuff.

[Caree Sessions · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Pretty typical Louis L’amour. It’s fun to pick one up every once in a while.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Reminiscent of a cheesy 1950s tv western. Everything is predictable, action requires suspension of belief. Thankfully it was short.