Radigan

by Louis L'Amour

When beautiful Angelina Foley presents Tom Radigan with a Spanish grant and claims ownership of his land, he realizes he’s up against a cunning and deadly opportunist. Foley wants him off Vache Creek immediately, and with three thousand head of cattle, an outfit of hardcase gunfighters, and winter coming on, she is unwilling to take no for an answer.But Radigan has worked four hard years building up his ranch. Fighting for it–and, if he has to, killing for it–is something he is more than willing to do. If Angelina Foley and her men think he is the kind of man to give up without a fight, they are dead wrong.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Classics, Historical, Novels

Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

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

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There are times in life when fancy words and pretty actions don't count for much, when it's blood and dust and death and a cold wind blowing and a gun in the hand and you know suddenly you're just an animal with guts and blood that wants to live, love and mate, and die in your own good time." -- the omniscient narrator, on page 184

Radigan is one of those taut and trusty (dusty?) Western novels - or 'frontier stories,' as the author used to call them - from the first decade of Louis L'Amour's writing career. As such, it seems very much a product of its time period - it was first published in 1959 - in that it has a fairly standard plot, and would seem right at home on the TV screen (back in '59, seven of the top ten-rated U.S. shows were Westerns) or at the movies (when Westerns were a common box office draw) during that era.

However, that's not so say it was a bad book. Like a number of L'Amour's books the protagonist is named right there in the title. In just a few early paragraphs the reader gets a pretty good idea of the type of character Tom Radigan is - "[He] was a tall, quiet man who rarely smiled except around the eyes, and who talked little but listened well . . . being the man he was, he had survived. He did not take chances, but had helped to bury men who did." (pages 3 and 5) - along with the details that he was a Civil War veteran and a former Texas Ranger. Now living a reserved life at his remote 'R-Bar' cattle ranch in 1870's New Mexico, Radigan suddenly finds he has to defend / protect his vast property from a determined young woman who questionably claims that she is the rightful legal owner of the land. (Cunning female antagonist Angelina Foley was the one notably fresh aspect of the story, given the time period and genre.) So it boils down to a cat-and-mouse game of Radigan versus a band of hired gunslingers who predictably have all the personality and/or requisite marksmen skills of a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers. Radigan was good but not great, and occasionally felt a little uneven.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. One man facing overwhelming odds. Radigan owns a ranch when an outfit tries to push him off his land. The beautiful duplicitous Angelina Foley tries to force him off his land with her gunmen.

Winter is coming and the bad guys are ill prepared with tensions running high. I liked the little guy against the bad guy and throw in Gretchen the adopted daughter of Child, lead hand for Radigan and you have romance. Gunfights, ambushes and the usual fist fight and its classic Louis.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis L’Amour was sometimes described as America’s favorite storyteller and I’m apt to believe it, as every time I pick up one of his westerns, I become absorbed in what are relatively short novels. He didn’t write in excess of what he needed to say, and this book follows that pattern. There are few grey areas here as the good guys must fight those dastardly bad guys in the Old West of Northern New Mexico.

Radigan is the man of the story, a hard worker who has carved out a productive ranch through grit and experience. Through sheer will power, he has found that precious commodity, water, and also winter grazing for his cattle. For his ranch is besieged by snow and freezing cold each winter, which requires him to move his livestock to safer grounds each year. He should have it made, as he also has a loyal ranch hand and the goodwill of the local town. But then the bad guys appear (from Texas of course), coveting his land and stock. Their solution is to try and kill him so they can just move in. Led by a steel-willed matron who is escaping her own hell back home, the baddies expect easy pickings. But they didn’t figure on matching wits with Radigan.

There are times in life when the fancy words and pretty actions don’t count for much, when it’s blood and dust and death and a cold wind blowing and a gun in the hand and you know suddenly you’re just an animal with guts and blood that wants to live, love and mate, and die in your own good time.

Once again, this is another L’Amour western I enjoyed, eager to see how the opposing sides would meet and who would win. And, as usual, the author’s description of the environment is great, putting the reader in New Mexico when matters were settled by showdowns in dusty towns. Another thumbs-up for Louis L’Amour.

Book Season = Winter (sudden freezes)

[Yibbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot – fairly standard.
Good guy, minding his own business, is set upon by an outrageous number of the worst and fastest gunmen out there.
The heroine, unbelievably beautiful, first irks the hero and then becomes indispensable as the smartest most loyal woman around.
Fighting by fist, gun, club, fist again, and end with a shootout.
Surprise, the hero loves the heroine.
I usually like these books, for just that reason. The good guy will always win. He’s always perfect. The bad guy will always lose. The hero marries the heroine, and they live happily ever after.
Unfortunately, this book had more swearing than his other book’s I’ve read, and the heroine’s form was focused on way too much. I would recommend several of his other books instead.

[Daniel Volpe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, nothing special about this one. A pretty straightforward book with plenty of action. The narrative shifts and time jumps took me out of this story quite a few times

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radigan has spent four years establishing a ranch and no one no matter what kind of papers is going to drive him off the land. Strong female characters but then L'Amour's women walk beside their men not before or behind.

Lots of snow scenes. Best read with a warm blanket.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

After working hard for years to build up his ranch, Tom Radigan is in danger of losing it when a beautiful woman shows up with a Spanish land grant claiming that the property is hers. Radigan must fight for both his ranch and his life in the middle of a New Mexico winter.

[August Storkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radigan is a story about a cattle rancher, Tom Radigan who has a ranch in new mexico and raises about 500 cattle. He has one hand named John Child. After a failed attempt to murder him, Tom finds out that ranchers from Texas, the Foleys, have fake papers claiming they own all of his land. Tom goes through many hardships in order to protect what is his and ends up doing just that. I liked this book for many reasons but the top one has to be the main character, Tom Radigan. He is described in they story as a strong hardworking man willing to do anything to keep what he has earned. He really made the story what it is and he is by far, in my opinion, one of the best characters Louis L'Amour has come up with. Now the only thing I would say that I disliked about the story was that the setting didn't really seem to big. I am a fan of stories taking place over a large area, and this one did have a few town and a countryside to take place on, it just wasn't as good as some others I have read. I would still recommend the book to western fans and anyone really. I think Louis L'Amour always makes a great book.

[Nicole Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: this book will make you hungry for doughnuts!

This is simply a solid cowboy story. I'm not actually sure whether I've read any Louis L'Amour books before this, and I don't think I'll start a habit now, but I really had fun reading this one.

There isn't enough posturing or shooting for this to be jokey, and no gratuitous womanizing -- it's all very convincing and entertaining. Radigan is a self-possessed badass whose livelihood is in danger of being stolen old-West style. He does what he needs to do.

The references to Native Americans are really cringey reading in this day and age, but while the language is crude, the novel wasn't gratuitously dehumanizing or disrespectful on this topic (in my opinion).

This is a quick, enjoyable little paperback in which the environment is its own character. I quite enjoyed it!

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gradually working my way through the very large L'Amour collection I've amassed in recent years. Folks heard I liked him so they keep giving me books! This was moderately enjoyable, fairly standard L'Amour fare, although different from the usual formula in that the protagonist wasn't the lone drifter or the new guy in town but rather the established landowner trying to keep his land from being taken.

[Ashley Finfrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The things you learn from Louis Lamour books: survival things, history, random knowledge bits. This one had a lot of those things in it, which I adored! The story itself had a bit of a slow start and then got increasingly more exciting as it went on. I really liked Gretchen's character and the budding romance between her and Radigan. It was a very satisfying read!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Louis L'Amour and I liked this one. Not one of my favorites of his but still a fun read.

[Weathervane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid Louis desperately needed an editor. Apparently he once said that he didn't bother with second drafts. He should've.

Sloppy work, and the characters certainly were not anything special.

[Berry Muhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm getting a feel for L'Amour's style, and this one is subtly different from the previous two I've read. It's more involved, and the author spends more time in the head of his protagonist. It feels more personal than the others. Louis has a deeper relationship with this character.

Slightly more time is spent indoors and in town here. The terrain is still an important character, and you always have the sense that L'Amour knows from experience how his characters know how to survive in the wild, how to avoid its pitfalls and pit them against the enemy. But this is a cold time of year in a cold environment, and the characters are compelled to spend much of their time indoors.

There is more conversation here, too, partly for that reason and partly because we're dealing with more than a (mostly) lone protagonist and antagonist. These are teams of adversaries, and this is a war.

In the hands of almost anyone else, western drama would be simply an excuse for people to engage in gunplay. In L'Amour's hands, it's a full-featured commentary on what it is like to live in a place where law exists often only in the mind, and where self-reliance is a virtue that civilized people simply cannot understand in full. It's about the kinds of people that are drawn to a life in which every day is simply dangerous and hard. It's as much psychological thriller as action adventure.

This is probably the best story of the three I've read so far, but I miss a couple of what I have come to regard as Louis L'Amour trademarks: dry, almost sterile prose punctuated very rarely with startlingly poetic simile (didn't run across a comparison of a desert flower to something exotically unexpected), and his creative ways of describing a distant coyote's howl. In this volume, we only hear a wolf calling once.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I start a new Louis L’Amour book I think, this time he has to repeat his characters. And each time, so far, I have been pleasantly surprised.

Tom Radigan is not your typical western hero. While he’s at home on the range and in the wild and trusts to the long-built trail wisdom of the American Indian, he’s also no stranger to law books, titles, and chain-of-ownership. While those, for the most part, don’t play a role in the action of this book, they are always in the background, and Radigan knows how to tilt the odds so that the law is more likely to land on his side.

When he introduces us to Radigan, L’Amour is overly repetitive, telling us over and over that Radigan is not the kind of person to act impulsively.

He did not take chances, but had helped to bury men who did.

Once we’ve been introduced, however, the action starts and does not stop until this short book is over. No matter what planning, no matter what papers you’ve signed, no matter who you’ve pled your case to…

There are times in life when the fancy words and pretty actions don’t count for much, when it’s blood and dust and death and a cold wind blowing and a gun in the hand and you know suddenly you’re just an animal with guts and blood that wants to live, love and mate, and die in your own good time.

I was also introduced to a new word for doughnuts: “bear sign” was apparently used by cowboys throughout the west to mean fried sweet dough, probably because they tended not to be made neat and round while on the trail but rather quick and lumpy. Then again, I’ve never actually seen true bear sign, of either variety.

[Thomas Radigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My late father bought this novel because it had his name (and also mine) as the protagonist. He was a heavy science fiction reader and did not otherwise read Westerns, but this was very good in its own right.

It's the story about a man who lives with a ranch hand on his ranch in the Arizona mountains with a large cattle herd, and it begins when an assassin tries and fails to murder him. He goes to town and overhears a woman from Texas named Angelina Foley talk about moving into the ranch where Radigan was living. Radigan tells her that that wouldn't happen, "Because he missed." He also notes that Angelina and her family had brought hired thugs, as well as a spurious claim to his land, and manages to fight off the thugs while warning the Foleys that they, being from Texas, lacked the experience to raise their herd in the mountains and suggests they move elsewhere. It turns out that Angelina herself was not behind the plot to kill Radigan, among other developments.

The book is an action-adventure story, not a history lesson or morality play or deep philosophical discussion. It is well-paced, without unnecessary details and with credible characters. The best part, though the book is not a comedy, are the parts where Radigan arranges a "tea party" for Foley's hired thugs, as well as his later mockery of a bar owner who sells terrible whiskey-but most of all, where Radigan tells Angelina, "I'd hate to hit a woman." "You wouldn't dare!" she responds, where he replies, "You play in men's games, you play by men's rules."

[Quasimode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few L'Amour westerns that I missed back in the days when I was on the farm, waiting on combines to fill, waiting for trucks to empty, waiting on a car-spotter, etc. They're denigrated by predictable quarters as pulp fiction but the overwhelming draw of L'Amour (aside from the fact that he grew up just a few miles from where I did,) is the clarity of decency, of reason, of justice, of competency with which he imbues his heroes and heroines.

And they *are* heroes and heroines, not sordid - and I think lazy - "protagonists" wallowing in the muck of the "antihero" as a way to "add complexity to the character." It is an overwhelmingly refreshing thing to contemplate a character whose complexity is comprised of virtues instead of vice (or worse, a mix of the two.) The former is more difficult to do as a writer, but the result is that the consequent story does what stories are supposed to do: inspire as well as entertain.

"Radigan" is more of a straightforward plot than some of his others and there's a suspense point that's too predictable. But as with all of his books it's an excellent read about the inherent decency of American individualism - at a time when freedom was an indisputable right, when people were expected to carry their own weight and to respect the rights of others, and when one's word and reputation were the bedrock of civilization.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

1958 western by author Louis L'Amour. Angelina Foley and her men drive a mostly rustled herd from Texas to New Mexico and attempt to force Tom Radigan off his ranch with the aid of a worthless Spanish land grant. They are counting on overwhelming force to defeat Radigan and his one cowhand, but Radigan uses an age-old tactic to defeat them. He fades into the wilderness and conducts guerrilla warfare when the high desert winter they aren't used to helps put on the finishing touch. A typical self reliant L'Amour protagonist in an entertaining read.

When beautiful Angelina Foley presents Tom Radigan with a Spanish grant and claims ownership of his land, he realizes he’s up against a cunning and deadly opportunist. Foley wants him off Vache Creek immediately, and with three thousand head of cattle, an outfit of hardcase gunfighters, and winter coming on, she is unwilling to take no for an answer. But Radigan has worked four hard years building up his ranch. Fighting for it–and, if he has to, killing for it–is something he is more than willing to do. If Angelina Foley and her men think he is the kind of man to give up without a fight, they are dead wrong.

[Michael Willian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

L'Amour isn't going to blow anyone away with elegant prose. There were times I had to re-read a sentence multiple times to get the meaning due to missed punctuation (most often a comma). There were also times that the narrative randomly seems to jump to other characters suddenly, sometimes for no more than a paragraph or two, which was occasionally disorienting. His ending was abrupt and left more than a handful of loose ends but I get the sense this was done intentionally rather than accidentally (such as trying to meet a publishing deadline). I didn't hate the ending, but it left me wanting more in terms of validation for the stories characters.

And yet, L'Amour is undeniably a talented storyteller. His characters are at once generic and predictable, yet also believable. His story was compelling and interesting and I found I enjoyed it, despite the aforementioned flaws. It's like turning on an old black and white Western that you've seen once before but a long time ago and don't remember well, yet you know at once how it will end.

[Iskies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a good Louis L'Amour story. I own most of them and read them regularly. Radigan was one I had not read until recently. It started fantastically. Angelina Foley is one of L'Amour's best villains as far as I am concerned. The set up is great, and the characters are compelling. (Though this is L'Amour and not Victor Hugo). As is normal with a L'Amour novel, the land plays as important a role as any character, and it's done well. Many writers could learn from his style with setting, and Radigan is a fantastic example of this.

So why 3 stars? The end is horrible. It reads like he was under a deadline and just slapped down an ending in a couple chapters. Gretchen Child's character changes completely. And the great villain? No real resolution.

This could, and really should, have been as good as any of L'Amour's Hopalong Cassidy novels. It came in with a roar but died with a gut shot whimper.

Read it because the first part is just that good. Just be willing to imagine on your own what could have been when you turn the last page.

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

My best friend Hannah claims that many western novels are "romance books for men." This is perhaps the first or second western I have ever read, so I'm not sure if my friend's claim has support in its scope, however, there was some serious male-dominating characteristics of Radigan that I found unimpressive and eye-roll worthy.

Radigan has no flaws whatsoever. He's a man's Man. He is never stumped by problems because he always knows what to do; his plans always work out. He is skilled in the art of fist fighting and shooting. He has influence even over those who have authority, and he knows how to talk to a lady. Both female characters in this book loved Radigan, therefore in the end, he got to have his pick. All this made Radigan...

Super-ass boring.

He killed the book for me because he was so flat and idealized. Place a complex main character, flaws and all, in the middle of the action and the story is made.

[Ward G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radigan has settled, building his own spread.

When a large cattle outfit begins to arrive.
The leaders informing him. They have title to his land, and he must get out.

Some for criminal intent, looking to make a new Robbers Roost.

While Angelina, the owner of the cattle.
Caught in between. Forced to flee, from a feaud.
Trying to save what she has, and build on it.
She will do what she feels she must. To gain the land she feels is due her.

Nice set up, and plot.
One thing, kept it from the 5 stars.

Angelina or Gina as she tells folks to call her.
Really does not get the development, and space she needs.
She could be a ruthless foe or if reached proper. Maybe much more, for the better.

Yet among the plots of her hands, and the battles.
She is kind of left behind.
Her final fate. A simple paragraph. That removes her from story.
Yet really does not finish. Who she may become.

Still all in all. A well paced ride. Worth the reading.

[Katia D. Ulysse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis L'Amour published eighty-nine novels, twenty-seven short-story collections, a memoir, a volume of poetry, and countless other works. If interested, a reader may spend quite a bit of time reading his quirky take on life during the long-ago West. (Yes, I went there).

His style of storytelling is crisp, no-nonsense; he is in complete control of the narrative; his cast of characters are always fully realized. His stories are to me like being stuck in traffic and the guy in the next car is hellbent on sharing his playlist with every other driver. I'm frustrated that I can't get to my destination without having to listen to this person's soundtrack, yet I feel compelled to lower my window inch by inch by inch. I don't even know when I start dancing in my seat, forgetting that I'm waiting for the road to clear.

During these times of social distancing, hop on down to the West as it was before sliced bread (and political correctness).

[Kristi Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my grandparents. I love the authors way to concisely explain what is happening. I’ve read so many 600+ page books that could have easily been a 150 pager like this book.
Things I liked:
1. I really liked how the author got us into the mind of Radigan, seeing his thought process and all the different scenarios his brain runs through before he makes a decision. It was very intriguing!
2. I liked how prepared the MC was for any situation, special hide outs and food caches just for those intense moment.
3. Humorous dialogue

Things I didn’t like:
1. The ending seemed abrupt. I feel like I wanted at least one more chapter
2. Super picky here, but there was so much mentioning of coffee drinking. Didn’t think it necessary.
3. Not much else, it was a great story!

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many of Louis L'Amour books you have a good man who has been shaped and hardened by all of the things that he has faced. He comes to New Mexico and starts himself a ranch in some very unforgiving land. During 4 years he has learned about how to live and raise cattle off of the land. With the help of his half breed friend they have a nice place to live. Then along comes a large outfit from Texas lead by a beautiful but cold woman and a scoundrel of a man. There isn't much romance, however his partner has a young stepdaughter who has come of age and comes back to live with them. She becomes indispensable to Radigan and his partner. Like many of L'Amour books the terrain is just as important as the characters in shaping the story line. All in all I recommend this book to read.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book “Radigan” by Louis L’Amour is an awesome read for anybody that enjoys westerns and adventure. It starts out explaining how a rancher, Tom Radigan, builds up a small ranch in New Mexico. Being that New Mexico is mostly a desert, it is pretty difficult to raise 500 cattle. Then along comes a cattle outfit from texas claiming that they have rights to Tom’s land. Its an all out range war between the two outfits. I really enjoyed reading this book because there was a lot of twists and turns in the story. It was exciting at some points, and almost scary at others. One little quirk that I have noticed in many of the L’Amour books that i have read is that he likes to switch the point of view from which he is writing between characters. That is one thing that I don't like about this book, and many other Louis L’Amour books. Other than the switching of viewpoints, I really enjoyed this book. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars. I would also like to recommend it to anybody that likes a good adventure and does not mind a bit of shooting. It is, like most of Louis L’Amour’s books, a very well written book with a story that is sure to please any fan of the western genre.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to approach this book knowing it's going to be somewhat old fashioned in it's portrayal of how the West was won. Square jawed, white, upright, brave, hardy, handsome - that's just the hero's horse. The hero himself, Radigan, is all this times ten. It all seems so simple as you read it, while you know that it's L'Amour's skill as a writer and storyteller that makes it seem this way. The story isn't complex, the characters aren't all that deep, the setting seems utterly realistic and it all adds up somehow to more than its parts. But then that's what the best writers create and, in this context, Radigan can almost be termed as a work of art.

[Milan Buno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dal by som 4,5 hviezdičky, ale to sa nedá, tak plný počet:-)
Každopádne výborne napísaný western, v ktorom je ženská zloduchom. Krásne popísané prostredie, horské oblasti, ranč, drsné podmienky najmä v zime...výborne vykreslené postavy, či už Tom Radigan alebo John Child.
Klasické dobrodružstvo na Divokom západe, ktoré bavilo, užíval som si to a opäť raz moja slabosť: občas jednoducho potrebujem príbeh o klasickom hrdinstve obyčajných ľudí, v ťažkých životných podmienkach, kedy neváhali svoj ranč, stádo a pôdu chrániť aj za cenu života.
Príbeh o férovosti, kedy aj nepriateľ uzná prevahu toho druhého a podá mu ruku, ak si to vyžaduje situácia.

[Bill Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, a page turner that kept me wanting to see Radigan win his ranch back from those trying to take it. Fully developed characters, a wonderful knowledge of the lands located in the story, and the hint of a romance obtained after an opportunity for a different kind was rejected by Radigan.

Ultimately, it's a book about family, and having goals that are measured by courage.

I had a good time reading it.

Louis L'Amour has been gone over 30 years now, but his books keep selling and we all keep reading. He's kind of what reading is all about.

[Kelvin Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Radigan" (1958, 2017) by Louis L'Amour is a very entertaining western novel about Tom Radigan, a man who finds himself outnumbered heavily while fighting off a group of men—led by a woman—trying to steal his land. Angelina Foley and her gang are determined to possess Radigan’s land by any means necessary, including murder. This novel delivers on action and character development. The frequent switching of character perspective mid-scene is annoying, but forgivable. Jason Culp’s narration is well done.