End of the Drive

The great talent of Louis L'Amour expressed in this collection of stories storytelling by the camp fire, as he himself depicted him. Please read and have fun !

A little while ago I compared another western writer unfavorably with Louis L'Amour, and found myself thinking, "I haven't read L'Amour since my teens. Is he really better than that hack, or do I just remember him as being that good?" So I picked up End of the Drive, and I found that L'Amour is actually better than I remembered! This book of previously unpublished short stories puts its best foot forward. The opening four tales, "Caprock Rancher, "Elisha Comes to Red Horse," "Desperate Men," and "The Courting of Griselda" are as good as any in the genre, and could easily stand next to more "literary" short stories in your English class. "Elisha Comes to Red Horse," in particular, is reminiscent of Mark Twain's "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" and is every bit as funny. "Desperate Men," in turn, is just as gritty and beautifully written a story of men against environment as Crane's "The Open Boat." L'Amour's heroes are strong, but have nothing of the superhuman about them. They are made from the same flesh and bone as the villains, and the villains invariably succeed in dealing setbacks to the heroes, making the heroes' eventual triumph all the sweeter. L'Amour could be accused of writing purple prose, but if so, it is such a deep, rich shade of purple that anyone ought to love it. Furthermore, L'Amour is a true stylist who adapts his voice to the story that he wants to tell. If the folksy, bantering tone of "The Courting of Griselda" were not encountered in the same book as the sublime, desolate prose of "Desperate Men," it would be hard to guess that the same man wrote them both. The remainder of the book has a hard act to follow, and is a bit of a letdown. The novella in particular, "Rustler's Roundup," lacks suspense, and its intricate plot is plagued with contradictions. Those stories, like "The Skull and the Arrow," that show only man against environment without also including conflict between humans, are much less dramatic than the other pieces. Still, there are several original and masterful passages in the second half of End of the Drive. For example, at one moment in "Rustler's Roundup" where a rancher is murdered, the scene does not end with the man's death or his killers' next move, but instead lingers on the confusion and loneliness of the dead man's horse. Only one other problem mars the overall beauty of End of the Drive: although he tries, L'Amour cannot write female characters to save his life. None of the book's few women is appealing or interesting, although there are tons of richly drawn, magnetic men. Then again, historically speaking, women were rare among all the inhabitants of the early West except the Indians, so L'Amour's weakness is less harmful in his chosen setting than it would be almost anywhere else. L'Amour's books are among the best in western fiction, and End of the Drive is L'Amour in top form. This book should not be missed by western fans, and it would serve as a fine introduction for re

The short stories in this book were marvelous. And it does not make any difference if you know the meaning of ELISHA or ELIJHA. Who really cares? Lets keep a controversial philosophy out of good westerns, thank you.

A most splendid collection of short stories from America's premier storyteller. Reading these newly discovered stories made me realize how sad it is that we will never again be rewarded with his true brand of genius. The novel at the end "Rustler Roundup" was superb. I truly hope his spirit and love of the Old West will forever live on

The short stories are beautifully written, intelligent and to the point. The novella, however, drags and loses focus. Shorter is better.