The Tall Stranger [Paperback]

Louis L'Amour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1986

Wagon trains heading west were forced to defend themselves against Indians, cope with injuries and illness, and struggle to find food. The group of easterners Rock Bannon was scouting for faced another problem. They were being deceived. When he warned them to remain on the Humboldt Trail, Sharon Crockett and the others refused to listen. Mort Harper, a stranger riding a beautiful black mare, had dazzled them with his charm and good looks. The southern route was the best way to go, Harper told them. But best for whom? Bannon wondered. That route led straight to the Salt Lake Desert. The conditions would be brutal. And if Harper wasn’t steering them toward those deadly alkali flats, where were they headed? And what would happen once they got there?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Rock Bannon rode a steel-dust stallion that was as stubborn and leather-tough as she was. Scouting for a wagon train full of high hopes, Rock saved the Eastern-bred settlers from a brutal Indian attack. But they paid him back with scorn when he advised against following a fast-talker neamed Morton Harper. Rock Bannon followed no man, so he left the settlers to their promised milk and honey--until they realized their mistake and had no one else to turn to. That's when Rock showed them what a real man was made of and, with a smoking rifle, fought to put down Harper's outlaw crew and to make peace in the virgin land that he called his home.

From the Inside Flap

Rock Bannon rode a steel-dust stallion that was as stubborn and leather-tough as he was. Scouting for a wagon train full of high hopes, Rock saved the Eastern-bred settlers from a brutal Indian attack. But they paid him back with scorn when he advised against following a fast-talker named Morton Harper. Rock Bannon followed no man, so he left the settlers to their promised milk and honey--until they realized their mistake and had no one else to turn to. That's when Rock showed them what a real man was made of, and, with a smoking rifle, fought to put down Harper's outlaw crew and to make peace in the virgin land that he called his home.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055328102X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553281026
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.5 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,716 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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early L'Amour, February 18, 2005

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tall Stranger (Paperback)

This book was first released in 1957, while Louis L'Amour, though a selling author, was yet somewhat a writer in training. It is interesting to read some of these earlier works, they help to not only see his later growth in writing, but to get a glimpse of the younger writer working out those things important to him. Some of which would continue as content in his later writings.

This particular western has as its main subject the Oregon Trail, and it is peopled with the types of men and women heading west to build or rebuild their lives. The action centers in the western U.S. circa 1860, midtime or late in the western exodus. Bishop's valley, the main area of their settling, is found close to the Teton range in western Wyoming. Much of this area was then part of the Nebraska Territory. The Oregon Trail left Council Bluffs, Iowa, running parallel to the North Platte River, through this Nebraska Territory crossing the Green River branching off to eventually reach Oregon.

Along the way through treachery, Indian attack, fist fights, and gunfights, new lives will be built, while others will be broken.

All in all, this is an enjoyable read. While very smooth in most places, some ragged parts do exist. Remember, Louis is still putting his skills in order. One item I noticed, was at the ending, one of the main characters, Hardy Bishop has been seriously wounded, yet, unless I missed it, no final report is ever given as to his condition. We must therefore assume he fully recovered.

But for the few hours it takes to read this western, readers will be rewarded with enjoyment. Early L'Amour, still good reading.

Semper Fi.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hero, the Villian, the Girl, lots of action, September 18, 2004

By 

Henry Cate III (CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tall Stranger (Paperback)

This is one of the shorter Louis L'Amours. It is only a 126 pages. But in these few pages there is a lot of action. There are around a dozen fights, guns fights and fist fights.

This a fairly typical Louis L'Amour. The hero, Rock, is stronger, faster, and smarter than the bad guys. He is a good man.

The basic plot is the villian tricks some settlers into being foot soldiers for a war to try and take a valley from the man who settled the valley. Rock figured out the plan, but most of the settlers won't listen to Rock. He isn't a smooth talker, like the villian.

This is a fun book.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book., November 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tall Stranger (Paperback)

Not one of L'amours best books, but still good