Louis L'Amour novels.

[Dobber]

Has anyone here ever read any of Louis L'Amour's stories. Most of his work is on the American West and is historically and geograpically correct. He has however written about earlier times as well as later. One of my favorites by him is "The Walking Drum", a historically correct piece of fiction set in the 12th century.

This is an excerpt from the book:

"It has seemed to me that each year one should pause to take stock of himself, to ask where am I going? What am I becoming? What do I wish to do and become?

Most people whom I encounter were without purpose, people who had given themselves no goal. The first goal need not be the final one, for a sailing ship sails first by one wind, then another. The point is that it is always going somewhere, proceeding toward a final destination...

Up to a point a man's life is shaped by environment, heredity and movement and changes in the world about him; then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow. The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds."

[Henrik]

Nice piece i must say - eventhough i'm not a bookworm myself.

[Dobber]

Yes, I think so. Mr. L'Amour was a very brilliant man and well traveled, every place he writes about is there. He has walked on the very ground of which he writes, he uses no fictious settings for his story. If he speaks of a stream, he has drank from it.

The following is a promo for "The Walking Drum" taken from The Vested Owl website:

In this gripping novel Louis L'Amour tackles the 12th Century at a time when much of the world was dominated by the Arabs and Muslims. He does it through the eyes of a great adventurer who shows tremendous respect for Arab culture. This book is an undiscovered gem written by the great American author Louis L'Amour, a man who was awarded a gold medal of honor from Congress for his historically based work on the American west.

At the center of The Walking Drum is Kerbouchard, one of L'Amour's greatest heroes. Warrior, lover, scholar, Kerbouchard is a daring seeker of knowledge and fortune bound on a journey of enormous challenge, danger and revenge. From castle to slave gallery, from sword-racked battlefields to a princess's secret chamber, and ultimately, to the impregnable fortress of the Valley of Assassins. He travels throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia on his journey and overcomes numerous obstacles along the way.

This is just the kind of book that we all need to read, it is refreshing, exciting, historically accurate and sheds a positive light on the Arab contributions to modern civilization. Imagine if John Grisham wrote a book that portrayed the Arab world as far more advanced than Europe in the 12th Century -- well that is what Louis L'Amour did and he did it quite well. The great library of Cordoba, the advances in medicine, science, philosophy, astronomy, the classics and more.

Give it to your children as an entertaining way to learn 12th Century history. It makes a great gift for the holidays. And it provides a counterbalance to the negative stereotypes of Arab and Muslim culture portrayed in our media today.