Guns of the Timberlands

By Louis L'Amour

Book Overview

Clay Bell spent the last six years fighting Indians, rustlers, and the wilderness itself to make the B-Bar ranch the prize of the Deep Creek Range. But Jud Devitt, a ruthless speculator from the East, now threatens everything Clay has worked for. Devitt, holding a contract with the Mexican Central to deliver railroad ties, wants to harvest timber off the land where Clay grazes his cattle. Backing Devitt are shady politicians, a dishonest banker, and fifty of the toughest lumberjacks in the county. But as Colleen Riley, Devitt's fiancee, realizes the brutal game he's playing, her disapproval of his actions, and Clay Bell's obvious integrity and charm, pull her toward a destiny that will tip the scales in their bloody battle over timber and cattle.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553247654
• ISBN13: 9780553247657
• Release Date: June 1984
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.3" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Ax Men Gone Wild

Guns of the Timberland is one of the best of the best by Louis L'Amour; and the movie starring Alan Ladd is not bad as well. Sadly, I haven't seen this movie in well over 15 or 20 years. But when the clear cutting of the timber off of the mountain creates mudslides which threaten the town some one has to stop it--Clay Bell. Jud Devitt, rich and ruthless, believing might makes right, takes over whatever he can. And he wants Bell's timber, as well. A good, early novel by L'Amour that has all the components of a traditional western.

Typical Louis L'Amour action western

L'Amour's novel of cattleman vs lumberjacks is action-packed and will keep your attention (if you like the genre)all the way through. I love Louis L'Amour (and have since childhood)and this is one of my favorites. I bought the Kindle version because it's easier to carry a bunch of them around in one Kindle rather than dozens of paperback books. But whatever you buy, book or kindle, you'll probably like this if you like L'Amour's books.

One of his best!

This book is in my top 5 of L'amour's works. The build-up to the climax is suitably gripping enough that I decided to finish the book in a single sitting. The romance here sounds similar to the way it happens in a lot of his other books but it still somehow seems refreshing in this one. And as one reviewer points out below, L'amour doesn't ramble. The supporting characters are developed convincingly to the point that I actually started caring about a couple of them. I thought the title of the book was somewhat poignant.

Great biography

Two sports, golf and baseball are not time bound, i.e. they are not governed by a clock such as hockey, football, soccer and basketball. Rather baseball has 9 innings and golf has 18 holes; an entirely different way of measuring when the game starts and ends. Therefore, with a different pace than other sports, baseball and golf produces the best sports writing. This biography of one of the top 3 or 4 golfers of all time is such a book. I read this shortly after Hogan died and revisited the book recently. Good golf writing tends to get into the mind of a golfer and this biography attempts to understand the enigmatic Hogan, a driven man with less ability than most of his contemporaries, who willed his way to greatness through sheer effort and practice. Hogan did not have a reputation of having a generous, open personality and this book explores the issue, examining the trauma of Hogan's dad's violent death when Ben was young. There are great pictures including one of Ben at the end of his career when he realized he no longer had it and left the course in a golf cart in mid round. Sam Snead was always open and was quite a showman and was seen on TV all the time. In a sense, we got to know Sam through his interviews after television matches (the fore runner to "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf"). Not so with Ben, we never really got to know him. Accordingly, this book helps introduce us to a very private man.

Motivating and inspiring!

If you like golf you'll love this book. If you enjoy reading about the singularly focused personal pursuit of excellence, you'll also love this book. I was motivated to not only work on my golf game but to focus on excellence in other areas of my life. Despite early frustrations with the game and his professional career he didn't quit. Despite a monumental physical setback during the early days of his growing success he didn't quit - he became better. The most revealing aspect of Hogan's character was the rigourous, continual pursuit of excellence he sought even after achieving professional success beyond his dreams - he never quit trying to achieve success as defined by himself instead of those around him. What a lesson!

This is what the old west was all about!

This is a classic underdog tale. Old fashioned good guy wears white and bad guys wear black kind of stuff. If you want a fast-paced, adventure-filled afternoon, then I suggest you pick this one up. Also, If you ever envisioned yourself beating up the bad guy and getting the girl, then you won't be making a mistake with Guns Of The Timberlands. It's one of the few books Lamour doesn't ramble on and repeat himself a hundred times over about something. This one is a keeper and a book that you'll find yourself reading time and time again. So, strap on your six-shooter and mount your cayuse! Because once you get engrossed in this one, in won't be long until your riding off into the sunset with your sweetheart.