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From the Listening Hills: Stories
Classic tales that capture the heroic and indomitable spirit of our great land
The twelve stories in this collection run the spectrum of human emotions as they transport us from the fading majesty of the Old West to a small-town football field to the lonely canyons of one man’s mind. These classic tales of adventure, mystery, mysticism, and suspense epitomize the uniquely American yearning for connection and roots, justice and love, as only L’Amour can. Here is a diverse group of heroes and traitors, outlaws and lawmen—the innocent, the guilty, and those who operate in the shadowy territory outside the reach of justice.
The wastelands of Death Valley form the backdrop for the tale of a desperate man who leads his pursuers into a desert trap—where heat and thirst are his only weapons. A rodeo rider framed for a crime he didn’t commit takes a wild ride on a legendary bronco that may help him catch the real killers. An American pilot flies Russian and British agents into the labyrinthine forests of Asiatic Russia—only to discover that one of them is a traitor. A hit man discovers the fatal limits of friendship; and a quest for revenge becomes a frantic race to find a cache of gold hidden in the drifting sands of the Southwest. And in a powerful and moving parable, an Indian boy must lead his family across a drought-ravaged land with nothing to guide him but his faith.
The gripping title story counts down the final hours of a wounded man struggling to fend off his enemies and certain death. Before time runs out, he must finish the most important task of his a letter to his unborn son that will vindicate the family name. Filled with a special brand of passion and drama, From the Listening Hills is an exemplary collection that showcases the enduring talents of one of America’s most beloved authors.
The twelve stories in this collection run the spectrum of human emotions as they transport us from the fading majesty of the Old West to a small-town football field to the lonely canyons of one man’s mind. These classic tales of adventure, mystery, mysticism, and suspense epitomize the uniquely American yearning for connection and roots, justice and love, as only L’Amour can. Here is a diverse group of heroes and traitors, outlaws and lawmen—the innocent, the guilty, and those who operate in the shadowy territory outside the reach of justice.
The wastelands of Death Valley form the backdrop for the tale of a desperate man who leads his pursuers into a desert trap—where heat and thirst are his only weapons. A rodeo rider framed for a crime he didn’t commit takes a wild ride on a legendary bronco that may help him catch the real killers. An American pilot flies Russian and British agents into the labyrinthine forests of Asiatic Russia—only to discover that one of them is a traitor. A hit man discovers the fatal limits of friendship; and a quest for revenge becomes a frantic race to find a cache of gold hidden in the drifting sands of the Southwest. And in a powerful and moving parable, an Indian boy must lead his family across a drought-ravaged land with nothing to guide him but his faith.
The gripping title story counts down the final hours of a wounded man struggling to fend off his enemies and certain death. Before time runs out, he must finish the most important task of his a letter to his unborn son that will vindicate the family name. Filled with a special brand of passion and drama, From the Listening Hills is an exemplary collection that showcases the enduring talents of one of America’s most beloved authors.
198 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
92 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
996 books3,487 followersLouis 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".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 9, 2017
Short stories. Usually I don't care for the short stories. Most of these were not too bad, however.
August 22, 2021
3.5 star An eclectic collection of short stories never before published.
March 8, 2009
My dad loves all his books and I read over a hundred while staving off the night terrors when growing up.
It is a strange fact about the old west, Indians, and the genocidal take over of the land now called the United States that fiction writing about them is often taken for truth (see Ward Churchill's Fantasies of the Master Race). The back of almost every L'amour novel lauds his knowledge of "how it really was" and the fact that he could've been one of the tough, honorable, lonely fighting men he wrote about. This is complete crap. L'amour was a seller of fantasy, of lies, and of ideals that white men like to think they possess.
He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogic--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing.
Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard.
When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed.
It is a strange fact about the old west, Indians, and the genocidal take over of the land now called the United States that fiction writing about them is often taken for truth (see Ward Churchill's Fantasies of the Master Race). The back of almost every L'amour novel lauds his knowledge of "how it really was" and the fact that he could've been one of the tough, honorable, lonely fighting men he wrote about. This is complete crap. L'amour was a seller of fantasy, of lies, and of ideals that white men like to think they possess.
He uses Indians simultaneously as "noble warriors" and "bloodthirsty savages" and justifies the take over of their land with the old "their time was passing..." illogic--as if there wasn't an agent behind their passing.
Reading one of his novels, one gets the feeling he never did any research required of historical novels. Details are always vague. Little reference is made to historical events, ways of doing things, or period details that would lend credence to his imaginings. His stories could just as easily been set on Mars for all the research that shows through his writing. But Americans are already disposed to believing all this romantic Old West bullshit, so you don't have to try very hard.
When a writer taps into our national myths, they don't have to be accurate or true, because most of our national myths are lies already believed.
January 28, 2020
The bio that concludes this book contains a quote from the author (1908 - 1988) saying that he wants to be remembered "as a storyteller. A good storyteller." This collection of short stories proves that he is just that. It consists of mostly westerns, but also has a couple football and straight action stories. Simple words, simple sentences. It does away with all the hoity-toity posturing of literary fiction. No introspection, not metaphorical journeys, no tangents . . . just straightforward storytelling.
September 30, 2021
Even though L'Amour is known as an author of Westerns, there's actually more stories here that aren't Westerns than are. The rest are crime, war, and football stories.
Besides the title story and the first story, I didn't find any of these particularly memorable. This was also apparently the last of L'Amour's unpublished stories, at least according to the afterword. Based on the official website, there's probably more that have been found since.
This is more for completionists who are already fans of L'Amour than anything else.
Besides the title story and the first story, I didn't find any of these particularly memorable. This was also apparently the last of L'Amour's unpublished stories, at least according to the afterword. Based on the official website, there's probably more that have been found since.
This is more for completionists who are already fans of L'Amour than anything else.
January 9, 2021
A 2003 short story collection by Louis L'Amour. The collection is copyright 2003 although the author died in 1988 and no original publication dates for the individual stories are given. This collection includes: Anything for a Pal • Backfield Battering Ram • Down Paagumene Way • Flight to the North • From the Listening Hills • Moon of the Trees Broken By Snow • Moran of the Tigers • Murphy Plays His Hand • Sand Trap • A Night At Wagon Camp • Too Tough to Kill • Waltz Him Around Again Shadow.
These 12 stories, a mix of westerns, crime, sports and spy yarns drawn from L'Amour's prolific career as a genre writer for pulp magazines, are every bit as entertaining as those in the last few collections. Typically, the tales of revenge and honor are punctuated with gunfights, fistfights and sports action. In "Sand Trap," a man being framed for robbery and murder leads his tormentors into the inhospitable desert of Death Valley, where he has a few tricks in store for them. "Moran of the Tigers" follows pro football player Flash Moran, who tries to save his disintegrating team from vicious gamblers and inside-the-huddle treachery. WWII spy adventure stories were favorites of L'Amour's, and his hard-boiled soldier-of-fortune pilot, Turk Madden, appears in several of these stories. In "Flight to the North," Turk uncovers an Axis spy and a secret Japanese airbase hidden in the frozen wasteland of Siberia. Best among these yarns is the title story, a western about a wounded outlaw desperately trying to hold off his pursuers until he can finish writing a special letter to his young son.
These 12 stories, a mix of westerns, crime, sports and spy yarns drawn from L'Amour's prolific career as a genre writer for pulp magazines, are every bit as entertaining as those in the last few collections. Typically, the tales of revenge and honor are punctuated with gunfights, fistfights and sports action. In "Sand Trap," a man being framed for robbery and murder leads his tormentors into the inhospitable desert of Death Valley, where he has a few tricks in store for them. "Moran of the Tigers" follows pro football player Flash Moran, who tries to save his disintegrating team from vicious gamblers and inside-the-huddle treachery. WWII spy adventure stories were favorites of L'Amour's, and his hard-boiled soldier-of-fortune pilot, Turk Madden, appears in several of these stories. In "Flight to the North," Turk uncovers an Axis spy and a secret Japanese airbase hidden in the frozen wasteland of Siberia. Best among these yarns is the title story, a western about a wounded outlaw desperately trying to hold off his pursuers until he can finish writing a special letter to his young son.
January 18, 2019
I've heard of this author and knew him to be a very famous western writer. I love westerns, so I picked this up. Little did I know this would actually be a collection of short stories. Which is fine because some of them were still enjoyable, and I learned what kind of writing this guy did, but I'll have to do more research next time so I pick up a novel.
The only criticism I have is that he seemed to name a lot of female characters "Ruth". This probably isn't a problem if you're reading the stories on their own, but in this collection it got confusing and I mixed the stories up. But on the other side of that, all the female characters seemed smart and intelligent and fully capable on their own. All of the characters were written very respectfully, I thought. Or more than I expected from the time period, anyway.
I think my favorite story in this was "Sand Trap". I liked the desert setting and how the guy used it as a weapon against the people trying to kill him. I also enjoyed "All for a Pal" and the subtlety of "The Moon of the Trees Broken by Snow". I honestly skipped over the football ones because I don't have any interest in the sport. But the writing was still good and I can see myself enjoying a full-length novel of his, even if it's not a western. His gangster story was really well-written, and I think that'd be fun to read.
Overall it was good. I'll have to find one of his novels now!
The only criticism I have is that he seemed to name a lot of female characters "Ruth". This probably isn't a problem if you're reading the stories on their own, but in this collection it got confusing and I mixed the stories up. But on the other side of that, all the female characters seemed smart and intelligent and fully capable on their own. All of the characters were written very respectfully, I thought. Or more than I expected from the time period, anyway.
I think my favorite story in this was "Sand Trap". I liked the desert setting and how the guy used it as a weapon against the people trying to kill him. I also enjoyed "All for a Pal" and the subtlety of "The Moon of the Trees Broken by Snow". I honestly skipped over the football ones because I don't have any interest in the sport. But the writing was still good and I can see myself enjoying a full-length novel of his, even if it's not a western. His gangster story was really well-written, and I think that'd be fun to read.
Overall it was good. I'll have to find one of his novels now!
August 1, 2019
Very different style writing than I usually read. Louis L'Amour was a prolific writer of the old west and many other venues. He's a man's man and this collection of short stories glorifies the male hero in fist fights, gun fights, narrow escapes, sports victories, and general bravado. His heroes are wily and cunning, always one step ahead intellectually of their foes, noticing the details of people and places that can be turned to their victorious advantage.
July 10, 2017
I was hoping for a gritty bunch of stories but some of them didn't captivate me. I particularly didn't care for the WW II tale of the Japanese spy. The highlight was the tale about the Tremayne clan. It was so sad that I stopped reading the book for a while. Had to make an effort to pick up the book again. That was my favourite. The rest were forgettable.
May 20, 2023
I have read most of these short stories in the six volumes of the collected short stories. I am not much for crime stories or fight stories. I have read them because I wanted to read all of Mr. L'Amour's stories. The closer I get to the last book the harder it is to finish. Knowing that there never be any more stories by this author. I am not sure there will ever be another like him.
January 14, 2019
Boone Tremayne is being hunted for what he claims is self-defense. In a cave, bullets in him, cold and hungry, he writes to his son.
I can't get enough of L'Amour. He has a way of putting you in the rough country. This time in a cave with bullets flying everywhere. Great short story.
I can't get enough of L'Amour. He has a way of putting you in the rough country. This time in a cave with bullets flying everywhere. Great short story.
June 15, 2017
Vintage Louis L'Amour. Very well done.
July 17, 2019
Overall a decent read; His writings do seem to become predictable, but the stories are a nice diversion.
October 24, 2020
The plots seem to be predictable, anticlimactic, and lacked details. I also felt like the name Ruth and head injuries were overused.
May 10, 2021
Mixed bag of short stories published posthumously, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
May 8, 2024
I was surprised about the vatoety in these stories. I liked it very much.
October 4, 2024
I always find the short story books by L'Amour interesting, but not as compelling as his full stories. This book had Westerns, WW III, gangsters and sports stories. They were okay but the characters come and go so quickly, that it takes away some of the suspense usually found in the full novels. I'm sure another short story book will fall my way...and I would read it as well.
October 7, 2024
Goodreads says 12 stories, but I don’t remember 12 …
April 25, 2025
Good stories !
March 20, 2023
A dozen uneven short stories, culled by Louie's son now 35 years after Louie's death. And, as a fan of Louie's distinctive writing, we can be somewhat suspect as to the completeness of each of these stories, some never published. What tinkering was done to Louie's original hand to make them 'publishable' in 2023?
That said, delightful, again, to read a couple of his fictional accounts of pre-WW2 Far East encounters with both Nazi and Japanese troublemakers. I have not yet read where either Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas recognize Louie as the creator of the Indiana Jones character, but there are flashes of his persona everywhere in these 1940s writings, like pilot of a pontoon plane, leather jacket, pistol-carrying daring-do, deep knowledge of the Greek & Roman classics and an active reader, with friendly connections from Arabia to Vladivostok.
That said, delightful, again, to read a couple of his fictional accounts of pre-WW2 Far East encounters with both Nazi and Japanese troublemakers. I have not yet read where either Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas recognize Louie as the creator of the Indiana Jones character, but there are flashes of his persona everywhere in these 1940s writings, like pilot of a pontoon plane, leather jacket, pistol-carrying daring-do, deep knowledge of the Greek & Roman classics and an active reader, with friendly connections from Arabia to Vladivostok.
March 15, 2017
I read the short story Sand Trap
Symbolism
The stolen money is an important item in the story. The stolen money is one of the first objects that the readers sees. Monte Jackson wakes up covered in it. But most importantly, is what the stolen money symbolizes.
The stolen money symbolizes the trouble that Monte is “covered” in at the beginning of the story: “He lurched to his knees sending a flurry of twenty and one hundred dollar bills to the floor.” So, how does one escape this type of situation?
Ash’s gun is in the story from beginning to end. It may not seem to be there but it is. The gun represents murder, fraud, heartbreak, and violence. In the story Ash tries to use the gun against Monte Jackson.
Monte jackson’s rifle is only used in the second half of the story. The rifle is used by Monte to defend himself from Ash and Paula. The Rifle represents freedom and justice. The rifle in some cases but maybe not the story can represent violence.
Jacksons canteen is also only used in the end of the story. Jackson uses the canteen as torture. Monte lets Paula and Ash get a lot of thirst in the middle of the desert. He uses the canteen to get what he wants from the, confession letters. He says that he will give them water after the letters are written. The canteen represents torture, intelligence, and freedom as well.
Symbolism
The stolen money is an important item in the story. The stolen money is one of the first objects that the readers sees. Monte Jackson wakes up covered in it. But most importantly, is what the stolen money symbolizes.
The stolen money symbolizes the trouble that Monte is “covered” in at the beginning of the story: “He lurched to his knees sending a flurry of twenty and one hundred dollar bills to the floor.” So, how does one escape this type of situation?
Ash’s gun is in the story from beginning to end. It may not seem to be there but it is. The gun represents murder, fraud, heartbreak, and violence. In the story Ash tries to use the gun against Monte Jackson.
Monte jackson’s rifle is only used in the second half of the story. The rifle is used by Monte to defend himself from Ash and Paula. The Rifle represents freedom and justice. The rifle in some cases but maybe not the story can represent violence.
Jacksons canteen is also only used in the end of the story. Jackson uses the canteen as torture. Monte lets Paula and Ash get a lot of thirst in the middle of the desert. He uses the canteen to get what he wants from the, confession letters. He says that he will give them water after the letters are written. The canteen represents torture, intelligence, and freedom as well.
February 19, 2011
*** "From the Listening Hills" is twelve short stories by Louis L'Amour, mostly clever courage under hard circumstances. I enjoyed all the classic western action, except the title tragedy of a whole family persecuted and decimated by a rumor-monger villain. Two memorable unique crime tales, both with deceptive females, are in another collection too. "Sand Trap" tells about an ex-soldier framed for murder by a honey trap dame and her lover. The lone hero cleverly and expertly uses the desert to try to elicit confessions from the citified perpetrators. "Anything for a Pal" sadly shows the wages of sin. A mob assassin shoots one last victim set to testify against a jailed associate, and dreams of resigning to live in peace with his only family, a protected innocent younger brother [spoiler: who turns out to be the informer mark pointed out by their lady of the night]. I skipped strictly boxing and football detailed recitals, out of my league. Quasi-nativity natives in a maybe religious moral left me flat. Stirring plots about wartime espionage boil the blood, but confuse in terminology. Did people really call amphibian planes - "ships"?
December 8, 2013
Another superb collection of short stories from my favorite classic western writer. People forget what a diverse writer L'Amour was. They just remember the westerns. There are some great crime stories in here, and some pretty good war stories. My favorite was probably "Sand Trap," in which a guy who is framed for murder turns the tables on the real murderer by using the forces of nature against her. Then there's "Anything for a Pal," about a hitman with some family issues. I loved "Murphy Plays His Hand," about a gold digger who strikes it rich only to have to fend for himself against a band of gold-hungry cutthroats. And then there's "Too Tough to Kill," in which a witness for the defense is left for dead by the murderer he was about to convict, the murderer who has also kidnapped his wife. L'Amour was a hell of a writer. I'm glad there's a huge backlog of his work. The only ones I didn't like were the football stories, but then again, I really don't care for sports.
September 6, 2013
This collection of short stories literally kicked butt. It's like going to the movies and watching a series of action scenes. There's football, westerns, spies, gangsters, basically a little something for everyone.
Louis L'Amour writes action better than anyone I've ever read. His descriptions are less descriptive, but somehow your imagination can see it even better. The author manages to cram enough backstory into the narrative so when the fight comes, you're cheering for the good guy. His characters have grit, maybe even righteousness. And they keep going until the battle is won.
Louis L'Amour writes action better than anyone I've ever read. His descriptions are less descriptive, but somehow your imagination can see it even better. The author manages to cram enough backstory into the narrative so when the fight comes, you're cheering for the good guy. His characters have grit, maybe even righteousness. And they keep going until the battle is won.
October 20, 2010
An interesting posthumous collection of short stories by Master Storyteller, Louis L'Amour. If you think that all he wrote was "cowboy stories" and westerns, you've not read his works. Too many people I know will scoff when they see me reading one of his books, but I learned a lot about writing a good story from L'Amour and Heinlein. Here, I've rediscovered the joy of a good short-story!
January 15, 2017
An unusual Louis L'Amour book. Thought it was a western but turned out to be a collection of short stories published by his family 15 or 16 years after his death. The ususual part was that many of the stories were not westerns and they included the best of the lot. Some were excellent and others tedious, but with this rating it is obvious that tedious won out.
January 18, 2017
I was surprised to read various stories from an author who I thought of as a western author. He wrote about war, sports and westerns in this anthology of 12 stories. It is an easy read and enjoyable.
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July 27, 2011I'm not sure I like some of the more moderns storis as much as the traditional westerns.
July 5, 2012
I love his short stories, some OK some awesome. Forever a fan of his shorts. Not a fan of his westerns but I do love him.
July 9, 2014
Nice collection of short stories by Louis L'Amour. Some WWII, westerns of course along with old time football. Enjoyed the read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews