The First Fast Draw: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Louis L'Amour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1985

You can't go home again....

East Texas wasn't much of a home for Cullen Baker. Few liked him, and some even tried to kill him. Yet after three hard years of wandering, he's come back to farm the land that's rightfully his.

Only Cullen's in for an unwelcome homecoming: his neighbors have long memories, the Reconstructionists have greedy hearts, and his worst enemy has teamed up with a vicious outlaw. But Cullen isn't about to back down. Instead, he's intent on perfecting a new way of gunfighting—the fast draw. And now, with enemies closing in on three sides and threatening the woman he loves, he'll have to be faster than lightning—and twice as deadly—just to survive.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

You can't go home again....

East Texas wasn't much of a home for Cullen Baker. Few liked him, and some even tried to kill him. Yet after three hard years of wandering, he's come back to farm the land that's rightfully his.

Only Cullen's in for an unwelcome homecoming: his neighbors have long memories, the Reconstructionists have greedy hearts, and his worst enemy has teamed up with a vicious outlaw. But Cullen isn't about to back down. Instead, he's intent on perfecting a new way of gunfighting--the fast draw. And now, with enemies closing in on three sides and threatening the woman he loves, he'll have to be faster than lightning--and twice as deadly--just to survive.

About the Author

LOUIS L’AMOUR is the only novelist in history to receive both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He has published ninety novels; twenty-eight short-story collections; two works of nonfiction; a memoir, Education of a Wandering Man; and a volume of poetry, Smoke from This Altar. There are more than 300 million copies of his books in print.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; New edition edition (February 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553252240
• ISBN-13: 978-0553252248
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 0.5 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"I think of myself in the oral tradition--as a troubadour, a village tale-teller, the man in the shadows of a campfire. That's the way I'd like to be remembered--as a storyteller. A good storyteller."

It is doubtful that any author could be as at home in the world re-created in his novels as Louis Dearborn L'Amour. Not only could he physically fill the boots of the rugged characters he wrote about, but he literally "walked the land my characters walk." His personal experiences as well as his lifelong devotion to historical research combined to give Mr. L'Amour the unique knowledge and understanding of people, events, and the challenge of the American frontier that became the hallmarks of his popularity.

Of French-Irish descent, Mr. L'Amour could trace his own in North America back to the early 1600s and follow their steady progression westward, "always on the frontier." As a boy growing up in Jamestown, North Dakota, he absorbed all he could about his family's frontier heritage, including the story of his great-grandfather who was scalped by Sioux warriors.

Spurred by an eager curiosity and desire to broaden his horizons, Mr. L'Amour left home at the age of fifteen and enjoyed a wide variety of jobs, including seaman, lumberjack, elephant handler, skinner of dead cattle, and miner, and was an officer in the transportation corps during World War II. During his "yondering" days he also circled the world on a freighter, sailed a dhow on the Red Sea, was shipwrecked in the West Indies and stranded in the Mojave Desert. He won fifty-one of fifty-nine fights as a professional boxer and worked as a journalist and lecturer. He was a voracious reader and collector of rare books. His personal library contained 17,000 volumes.

Mr. L'Amour "wanted to write almost from the time I could talk." After developing a widespread following for his many frontiers and adventure stories written for fiction magazines, Mr. L'Amour published his first full length novel, Hondo, in the United States in 1953. Every one of his more than 120 books is in print; there are more than 300 million copies of his books in print worldwide, making him one of the bestselling authors in modern literary history. His books have been translated into twenty languages, and more than forty-five of his novels and stories have been made into feature films and television movies.

The recipient of many great honor and awards, in 1983 Mr. L'Amour became the first novelist to ever to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in honor of his life's work. In 1984 he was also awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan.

Louis L'Amour died on June 10, 1988. His wife, Kathy, and their two children, Beau and Angelique, carry the L'Amour publishing tradition forward with new books written by the author during his lifetime to be published by Bantam.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book of excellence, February 21, 2003

By 

Mark schneider (St.Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Fast Draw: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

The book "The First Fast Draw" takes place after the Civil War. The genre is a western setting, in the south west part of the United States. The reading has a lot of action and it is really easy going, and not hard to read or comprehend at all. It is a great high school reading book, because it is short, easy to read, and has a good genre. I would give this book five stars and a pat on the back for its excellence.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging story about life during Reconstruction, October 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The First Fast Draw: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

An excellent book for those people interested in the historical "Old West". What makes this book enjoyable is the fact that there are so many historical references. It makes the reader interested in what really happened after the civil war. The storyline keeps the reader's attention. You are able to learn about the Reconstruction Period while being entertained.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL READ - RECOMMEND HIGHLY, January 4, 2006

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Fast Draw: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Actually, years ago, this was the first L'Amour I read. I have been hooked ever since. The post Civil War years are rather fastinating and L'Amour is able to capture, in fiction, the general feeling and plight of those who lived those times. As an added bonus, like all L'Amour books, the setting of this story is quite well handled. East Texas is still East Texas and the author's discription and feel for the country is wonderful. This is a very easy book to read and I certainly would recommend it to the younger reader interested in this particular genre. All in all, great fun!