Author Details
Author Details
L'Amour, Louis
"Louis L'Amour was an American resarcher and writer, and prolific author of adventure stories and history based novels, mostly about the American west. Of all the many fine 20th Century American authors, Louis L'Amour is my favorite, for a very basic reason - he's my kind of people, he wrote about people, places and lives that are near and dear to my heart.
Born Louis Dearborn LaMoore on March 22, 1908, Jamestown, North Dakota. Youngest of seven children in the family of Dr. Louis Charles LaMoore and Emily Dearborn LaMoore. Dr. LaMoore was a veterinarian specializing on large animals. Dr. LaMoore also sold farm machinery, supervised harvesting crews and served as a North Dakota state livestock inspector, examining cattle on trains passing through Jamestown.
While growing up in the Jamestown area, young Louis met cowboys riding Northern Pacific cattle trains to and from eastern markets. The cowboy tales whetted L'Amour's appetite for adventure and learning the history of the American west. In boyhood and early manhood, Louis L'Amour came into contact with cowboys, gunfighters, boxers, gamblers, and other characters that provided him with ideas and material for his stories.
Any biography of Louis L'Amour brings a personal touch for me. I enjoy L'Amour's books for many reasons, one being is that he's my kind of people. Two of my grandfathers were Montana pioneers and raised cattle near the route of the Northern Pacific railroad. My own father was born in LaMoure County, North Dakota. Like Dr. LaMoore, my father worked with cattle and harvesting crews; and my father also sold farm machinery in North Dakota. Like the characters in Louis L'Amour's stories, my father sometimes gambled for a living and knew a thing or two about boxing. I have wondered if my father worked in threshing crews bossed by the elder LaMoore, and I've wondered if the elder LaMoore or Louis met or worked with any of my family somewhere out on the North Dakota prairies many years ago."
