Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

1962 - How the West Was Won by Louis L'Amour 384 pgs

They came by river and by wagon train, braving the endless distances of the Great Plains and the icy passes of the Sierra Nevada. They were men like Linus Rawlings, a restless survivor of Indian country who’d headed east to see the ocean but left his heart—and his home—in the West. They were women like Lilith Prescott, a smart, spirited beauty who fled her family and fell for a gambling man in the midst of a frontier gold boom.

How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film starring a huge known cast: Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, John Wayne and Richard Widmark.

How the West Was Won TV Series 1976–1979 staring James Arness (Gunsmoke) and Bruce Boxleitner (When Calls the Heart)

Any one up for reading one of the world's most popular western writers?

I'm in as opposed to out.

I'm in!

Welcome to the read James and Rosemarie!
Hope you enjoy.

I'm in but my January is getting very full. I will likely be way behind.

I’m in! Will probably be a February read.

No worries Annette and Kathy that is why it is a quartrely read!!
Welcome to the read!

I’m in, this is one I’ve never read.

That is exciting to hear Tracey! Welcome

Just finished My Antonia so I’m starting this one today. Looking forward to what other people think about it.

I have not read this one either Tracey.

It will be interesting. He is not my normal western author that I like to read but who knows!

I really enjoyed this one and this author is new to me. I enjoyed the main characters and their lives. I am now reading the first of a series by this author called Sackett's Land and hope this is as good. Thank you for recommending this one.

I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive. I’ve read many Louis L'Amour westerns and I love them.
Tracey, the first in the Sackett series is very different from his westerns. It takes place in the “old world”. The series (as I understand) then moves to the U.S. and the classic Western. I’ve only read the first in the long series and keep meaning to get on with it. I always love hearing someone discovering his westerns and liking them! Happy reading.

I'm halfway through the book and am also enjoying it. I like the variety of characters we meet in the book.

Hi Chad, are there any of his westerns you would recommend I could try next. Thanks.

Tracey wrote: "Hi Chad, are there any of his westerns you would recommend I could try next. Thanks."

Hey, Tracey. I would recommend Kiowa Trail and Flint to get a good idea of what he was doing as far as westerns go. The only westerns by him that I don’t enjoy are the ones that get very deep into boxing.
Louis L'Amour was a prizefighter before he was a writer and at times (not often) he brings that to the forefront. He occasionally describes fist fights in great detail and those scenes always bore me.

Hi Chad. Thanks.

I've just finished the book-I'm glad I read it. Seeing the progress of the family as they headed west was interesting. I could visualize the exciting bits, since this book was based on the movie.
In the afterword by his son, we learn that Louis did his best to make the film as historically accurate as possible, sometimes struggling to get his point across.

I started this one and it’s just as comfortable as any L’Amour. At the beginning as a young woman is boarding a canal boat with her family to head west she makes the simple observation that in Albany, whenever something went wrong she could just walk home. The realization that she would never be able to do that again weighs heavy on her. She has no idea what she will encounter in the wild west but she and her family will simply have to deal with it right then and there.

Chad keep these updates coming....

I’m about halfway through now. This isn’t a short one but it’s quick. I haven’t seen the film so the way the story is unfolding is all new to me. We are getting splashes of shoot em up excitement and then of very family friendly puppy love. Without giving any spoilers, the family is shaken up a bit and a few members end up traveling a bit further West than others but we keep track of everyone. I really like bits of the dialogue in this L’Amour and wonder a bit if it’s mainly his or if it is mainly taken from the screenplay.

He wrote the screenplay as well and overall found it a very trying experience.

Rosemarie wrote: "He wrote the screenplay as well and overall found it a very trying experience."

Thanks, Rosemarie. I didn’t know that he also wrote the screenplay.
Yes, I had always heard that he struggled with writing this one and was constantly at odds with the studio about details. I’ve always heard that it wasn’t one his best due to this but I quite like it.
I think I’ll finally read Hondo after this. Another novel that he adapted from a film.

I’m nearly done with this one. It’s definitely cinematic. I’ve never seen the movie but I can imagine how sprawling it would be. This is a big story with reoccurring characters and their offspring bumping in and out of the storyline.

This epic western story reminded me how much I like reading about the western movement in the U.S.

Kathy wrote: "This epic western story reminded me how much I like reading about the western movement in the U.S."

Kathy it is a very interesting time and how different people and families made the travel westward and their endurance to try to prevail.

It took a lot of courage to make the journey.