Bendigo Shafter (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Where the wagons stopped we built our homes, making the cabins tight against the winter's coming..." (more)
Key Phrases: young stuff, Ruth Macken, John Sampson, Drake Morrell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Another installment in L'Amour's voluminous history of the Sacketts, the Shafters, and others in their emigration from the British Isles to the Carolinas and West of the Mississippi. The tone this time is Homeric in its cadences, almost too self-consciously so: "There is a pleasure in working with the hands and muscles, a pleasure in the use of good tools, and I gloried in the grip of my hands upon the are and the smell of honest sweat and fresh pine wood." This is the way the novel goes, forever opening and elaborating in these rolling, dignified phrases. Young Bendigo Shafter is one of a handful of settlers who begin a nameless town in the far hills of Wyoming. He's alone in the world, except for his older married brother Cain (who wants to set up a blacksmith shop), but recently widowed Ruth Macken takes Ben's education in hand and starts him off on books from her library. Winter catches the settlers, but not before Ben has built widow Macken's cabin for her and has come to love the building of this hamlet. A large train of passing Mormons, who are starving, is put up by the settlers, although they haven't enough food even for themselves. Later, the Mormons repay. Meanwhile, Ben rescues a strange girl stranded in a cave, who turns out to be an actress and his life's love. Eventually, he follows her East and gets her to come back West with him. Feuds, Indians, harsh weather, a cattle drive from Oregon - all become rich homespun for L'Amour's paragraphs and finely woven storytelling. After last year's Fair Blows the Wind, L'Amour is further west - and much closer to his hickory-smoked home ground. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Bengigo Shafter, a giant of a man, lets his love and courage guide him as he leads seven men and thirteen women and children across the rugged terrain of the untamed West. Reissue.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055326446X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553264463
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #215,403 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should young men carry 1 book with them for life, it is this, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

While no author of the western spins a yarn with as much accuracy as L'Amour, I consider this piece the finest ever penned about the frontier and the men who shaped this country thereby shaping themselves. The growth of Bendigo Shafter parallels that of America and as he learns, we see how the country learned. As he hurts, sweats, loses, gains, wishes, etc. so does this great land. Bendigo is a sentimental character with respect and appreciation for every moment of significance in his life. The God that watches over our country would see the pioneering spirit as the trusting, abiding, loving one of his own and L'Amour allows Shafter to show that heart. My sons will read this book many times as will theirs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite LL, February 5, 2004

By	Samuel B. White "Tuttle" (Lawton, OK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am such a Louis L'Amour fan that both of my sons are named after characters from his novels. My youngest is named Ethan, from Ethan Sackett in this novel.
This is my second-favorite LL book ("Mustang Man"--from which I got my older son's name of Nolan--is #1). The writing is some of Louis L'Amour's best, the story is enthralling, everything you expect from L'Amour. What makes this better than even the rest of his stuff is that it tells more than one story. So often, I get to the end of a book and want to know what happened next to the main character. In "Bendigo Shafter" we find out what happened over several years to several people. This helps them all seem more human and, by the end, we feel like we're parting from good friends.
As an author myself (order my book from Amazon! "First Time: The Legend of Garison Fitch"), my story telling style has been heavily enfluenced by L'Amour and especially this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, entertaining read!, August 9, 2000

By	Bruce A. Smith "Book Lover" (Croghan, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Until this past month, I hadn't picked up a Louis L'amour book in over fifteen years. While in high school, I read many of the Sackett books and some of the "stand-alones" but slowly drifted away from L'Amour's writing style. For some odd reason, while browsing through Amazon awhile back, I came across Bendigo Shafter and remembered that it was one of those books I always meant to read, but never did. Anyhow (to spare you the remainder of my life story), I purchased a copy and WOW am I glad! To be completely honest,out of the hundreds of books I've read - from Fantasy to Thriller - I don't remember many that have kept me this interested, entertained, and captured. I have truly savored each chapter of this book and felt disappointment each time I had to set it down. It's hard to express exactly how this book makes you feel, but you just seem to get a warm, comfortable feeling as you read it - much like you might get if you were sitting on your grandfather's lap, in front of a fire as he tells you stories of days long ago. Do yourself a HUGE favor and read this book. It is simply wonderful.