Customer Reviews

The Man from Battle Flat: A Western Trio (Center Point Premier Western (Large Print))

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has a trio of past, early writings by Louis L'Amour. Mr. L'Amour who died in June, 1988, at age 80, had written many stories years ago for the pulp western magazines prior to being able to make a living with by his novels. Until his contract with Bantam Books in the late 1950s many of his stories were like these 3 that are included within this book.

The stories consist of a couple of short fiction ones, Mistakes Can Kill You and The Man From Battle Flat. Also included is a larger story, The Rider of the Ruby Hills, that later became the Bantam Books western novel, Where The Long Grass Grows.

Mistakes Can Kill You originally saw print in Exciting Western magazine, November, 1950, under the byline 'Jim Mayo'. The Man From Battle Flat was first printed in Rio Kid Western magazine, January, 1952, under the byline 'Jim Mayo'. Jim Mayo was a fictional character Louis had used in his writings it's interesting he would use this name rather than his own name. The final story in this collection is The Rider of the Ruby Hills, appearing first in West, September, 1949, again under the 'Jim Mayo' byline.

Whether you read Louis L'Amour in these early, rough draft stories, or later after he polished them up for Bantam Books, the stories are well worth the read if for no other reason than to see the growth of a writer. They all make for pretty good reading for anyone enjoying a western in general and a Louis L'Amour western in particular.

Seasoned readers will recall that The Rider of the Ruby Hills was issued by Bantam Books in both mass market paperback and as a hardcover in the Louis L'Amour collection in September, 1986. The book also included 3 other stories: Showdown Trail, A Man Called Trent, and The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon. All of these writings had different titles when later republished in book form. The new titles were Where The Long Grass Grows, The Tall Stranger, The Mountain Valley War, and Son of a Wanted Man.

The Rider of the Ruby Hills according to Louis was once made into a film entitled The Treasure of the Ruby Hills (1955), starring Zachary Scott, Carole Matthews, Lee Van Clef and Raymond Hatton plus others.

Read on Pards.