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Guns of the Timberlands

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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 fiancée, 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.

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1955

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About the author

Louis L'Amour

997 books3,412 followers
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
Profile Image for Lee  (the Book Butcher).
377 reviews70 followers
September 4, 2021
Louis L'Amour is one of my favorite authors and I'm not afraid to say it! he is a efficient writer who never waste words or tells a boring tale. Guns of the Timberlands is a very good example of his works.

Clay Bell is a cattleman with a violent past but he is a strait and honest man. His cowboys are also a rough and tumble group. Clay owns a ranch in Arizona on the best patch of grazing ground in the territory. Protected by a beautiful stand of timberland. One day a Big man in many ways comes to Tinkersville from New York city to harvest the lumber. Jud Devitt is a bully with 40 tough lumberjacks under his employ. Jud wants that Timber but he will have to go through Clay Bell and his cowboys. Something he has done many times to others but Clay Bell may be a harder opponent than he expected. It's Cowboys v.s Lumberjacks and someone will get hurt!

There's a sort of naturalist feel to this given L'Amour vivid scenery setting and the need to protect the lumber. Of course i know that cattle is bad for the land if for no other reason that they need so much of it to graze on which is why grass fed beef is hard to find and expensive. There is a simple love story that is common in westerns of a strong willed daughter falling for the strong capable man. The side characters are good and are explained briefly while being depicted fully the efficient L'Amour is a master at that quick character development. The action is fast paced and non relenting.

At around 200 pages Guns of the timberlands is a quick entertaining read. for those who enjoy westerns or want to try this genre start with Louis L'Amour! You can't do much better than this title!
Profile Image for Scott.
2,209 reviews263 followers
May 31, 2022
"You remember the stories of the Vikings? How they went berserk in battle? [Clay Bell] is like that. He can be a cold, methodical, dangerous fighter up to a point . . . and then he goes completely hog wild and reckless. Like the other night when he charged that campfire. The man would charge into hell with a bucket of water!" -- Doc McLean, the town's general practitioner, describing the protagonist

With a build-up like that above quote, I expected a rock-'em / sock-'em Western adventure-drama featuring the standard L'Amour hero. Clay Bell certainly fits the mold - a true two-fisted / two-gun cowboy (as he actually herds cattle and runs the B-Bar ranch), he formerly was a U.S. Army cavalry officer during the Civil War, a hunter of buffalo, and prospector for gold during the mid-19th century rush. And the first half of this slim old paperback was pretty good, with Bell being threatened by a sneer-worthy East Coast businessman named Devitt who plans to force Bell from his very valuable acreage (Devitt wants to send in his lumberjacks to fell the copious amount of trees for the almighty dollar) by any legal, shady or even violent means necessary. However, the latter half did not really sustain the initial momentum, and Bell remained a fairly restrained character - since this book was originally published in 1955, I get that he's not going to be depicted as a brash or darkly anti-heroic type - even though he was often described as a tenacious or even off-kilter fighter. Still, L'Amour's dependable and descriptive prose recounting the 1870's Arizona frontier is as first-rate as ever.
Profile Image for Jason Koivu.
Author 7 books1,394 followers
July 23, 2018
A dispute over grazing rights on a timberland patch turns into a kind of gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Pretty standard bit of western writing here propping up your basic stubborn cowboy vs pigheaded businessman plot.
Profile Image for Phillip.
278 reviews6 followers
February 19, 2018
Nobody writes western fiction like Louis L’Amour. Nobody. Some authors are exceptional at describing gunfights. L’Amour is competent, but not the best. For that, I recommend Ralph Cotton. Some are great in literary merit, like Charles Portis’ “True Grit.” Others, like Zane Grey, are exceptionally descriptive writers who bring the landscape to life. And...others are precise in describing saloon brawls and fist fights. While I believe L’Amour excels in the latter category—you’ll never enjoy reading about a fist fight between two cowboys more than you will in a L’Amour novel (e.g. Kilkenny)—he doesn’t have any one particular weakness. He is effective in every facet of the western novel. At times, he is very literary, as I find myself highlighting numerous passages where he comments on human nature and the meaning of life. He is also quite effective at noting the smallest of nature’s sounds, like the dripping of water off pine leaves, or the rustle of the grass as the horses’ hooves wade silently through them. His gun fights aren’t necessarily verbose and detailed, yet they fulfill that need for revenge and justice, and there’s just enough blood to satisfy both. I know I’m belaboring the point here, but the bottom line is that Louis L’Amour was the greatest writer of western fiction ever to walk this earth, and Guns of the Timberlands deserves its place amongst his very best novels.

Now, this isn’t one of L’Amour’s more famous novels. I cannot recall how I came upon it, but it’s never mentioned amongst the likes of Hondo, Flint, the Sackett series and many others. However, it has all of the elements that make his novels so satisfying and enjoyable to read. Yes, I agree with some critics who argue that his novels are at times formulaic and predictable. So what? People who read westerns do not read them to watch the girl run off with the bad guy, and the good guy get shot in the gut and left for dead. Seriously? So we know the good guy always wins. That’s what makes the journey so enjoyable! We get to live, listen to, observe, feel, participate in the battles his heroes endure and engage in. We get to measure ourselves against their valor and bravery. We even at times observe the cowardice in his villains and wonder if perhaps we too share those vices. At the end of a L’Amour western, the good guy wins, but those who read these novels are better humans in every way after completing that journey as well.

Here, (sorry for taking so long to get to the plot) Clay Bell is a former soldier, rancher, and numerous other professions from his past, who raises cattle in the Timberlands and carefully protects his cattle, his employees, his livelihood, his life, and the land around him from all enemies, both foreign and domestic (in this case, enemies from the east, and those in his own town of Tinkersville). In arrives the bad guy, Jed Devitt, a large, rough, rude, ambitious, ruthless businessman who plans to cut down the centuries-old trees on Bell’s 50,000 acres. Devitt isn’t a fool. He knows how to play the game and rig the system in his favor, and he does exactly that. Bell seemingly is outmanned, outmaneuvered, and outgunned throughout most of the encounter, yet Clay Bell possesses something that bullies like Devitt will never possess—the love and respect of those with whom he associates. As the days pass and Bell appears defeated, help comes from unlikely and unforeseen forces. The final showdown with Devitt and his goons is set, and...well...we know the rest.

I thoroughly, absolutely, in every way loved and devoured this novel. I read it mostly the past two days—two days I desperately needed both the escape and the wisdom of mankind that Louis L’Amour never fails to provide me. I don’t mean to be over dramatic when I say that L’Amour was a genuine blessing to humanity. If and when I ever finish all of his numerous novels, I will read them again, and Guns of the Timberlands will undoubtedly be one of the first I revisit. If you enjoy just a good, simple good versus evil western with all the necessary components, this is for you. Enjoy.
Profile Image for Alyx.
282 reviews12 followers
March 7, 2017
I won't lead anyone to think this is a book of depth. My version had only 185 pages after all. However, L'Amour has a way of pushing out novels like these that while they may not take up weeks of your time, you find yourself transported of the couple days or so it takes for you to read the book.

Often after I complete a L'Amour, Baldacci or Connelly book, I often wonder if they have a formula on their computer somewhere, in which, they input the main character's name, his/her antagonist, romantic interest and the vague idea of the plot, and whala out pops a completed book.

All kidding aside, I appreciated Guns of the Timberland. Some will hate on it, because the good guy wins and gets the girl, but I refuse to hate on this type of story line without more merit than just being cliche.

Like all L'Amour books, he does an ample job at character development and setting the scene. However with only 185 pages, he could not pour as much detail into the novel as I would have liked. Then again, I appreciated the pace of the plot. Some books are day to day, then all of a sudden the book jumps a year or more! This book spans only a couple of weeks at most. I could definitely see it being made into a John Wayne classic.
Profile Image for Michael.
Author 8 books9 followers
November 19, 2019
Clay Bell is a man. A man who runs a cattle operation on Deep Creek Valley. Jud Devitt is also a man. A man who wants to clear the timber from Deep Creek Valley and sell it off for railroad ties. There can't be two ways about it, so one of them must back down. Clay is peaceful and honest, though when pushed by bad men his own nature turns violent, and while he’s not proud of it he’s a man doing what men must do and if that is a pleasure it is the pleasure of good men doing bad things to prevent worse men from doing worse things. A man understands this. Because Devitt’s a scoundrel and a snake who leaves no unscrupulous deed undone to get at that goddamn timber even if it leaves chaos in his wake.

L’Amour sets up a great plot here, a classic good vs. bad plot. Though it’s only 180 pages, there’s a bit of padding after the main setup as he takes time to build subplots that borrow from detective procedurals and legal thrillers (I did not expect lobbying Congress and a timely court order to be elements of a Western shoot-em-up, but there you go). These all culminate in the classic standoff/shootout followed by a blow-by-blow fistfight where we find out if good triumphs over evil. (No spoilers!)

L’Amour’s descriptions of character get a bit telly; he describes in detail people’s character and motivation instead of showing them through action but that’s okay, that’s how men wrote when men wrote books for men who wanted to read about men being men.

And oh yeah, there’s a woman in this book as well, and she’s a woman, and acts the way good women do when they’re around men who are good men. Technically there are two women in this book but the other, a ‘well upholstered blonde’ does not get any scene time, though she is, we assured, virtuous and upstanding, despite Devitt’s assumptions.

So, if you didn't get it by now, approach this book with the proper warning about the rampant man-ism contained herein.

On a scale of 1 to 10 boy-howdies I give this a buckaroo ranking of 6.
Profile Image for Elizabeth S.
1,863 reviews78 followers
September 7, 2015
I just love books like this where the good-guy has morals and ethics, yet also is quite capable of standing up and fighting when necessary. I like that the good-guy isn't just good, he also has gathered a wealth of experience and good people around him.
Profile Image for Alyssa DeLeon.
433 reviews
February 6, 2025
He gets the girl, he wins the fight, he saves the day. But there is something different about this L’Amour that makes it intriguing. The storyline is slightly unlike his others and, while some of the other books run together in my head, this one will stay resolute as its own. The fistfight at the end was wonderfully written and I liked the fact that a lot of the “bad” guys didn’t really want to be bad, or at least didn’t want to be involved. Another solid L’Amour.
Profile Image for Jacek.
12 reviews
September 11, 2025
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315 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2019
Standard but still satisfying western novel. The setting, natural and historical were well-done, and, while no surprises at the end, it still was good solid escapism.
Profile Image for Mary Catelli.
Author 57 books201 followers
April 29, 2025
Action and adventure in the Wild West.

A rancher runs cattle in a woodland. A man arrives to cut the timber for the railroad, using whatever legal chicanery or unscrupulous tricks he can.

It involves passes, an old stage-coach track, court orders, wheeling and dealing off-stage in Washington, a beating, gunmen, and more.
Profile Image for Rachel.
Author 25 books202 followers
June 16, 2018
Man, oh man, is this a well-crafted story. I am in awe. It's tautly plotted, with superb characterizations and enviable action scenes. I loved it.
Profile Image for Alan Tomkins.
353 reviews89 followers
July 7, 2022
Louis L'Amour at his best. It ends rather abruptly with a couple loose ends left hanging, but his novels almost always do. Otherwise, this is the quintessential western, exciting and fast paced, with loads of action and beautifully evocative descriptions of the West's natural beauty.
Profile Image for Julie.
301 reviews5 followers
July 23, 2012
Decided to try Louis L'Amour to change things up a bit. Though I'd never read one before, it seems that if the library has kept enough check outs going to keep his books for that many years, there must be something to it. And there was. The writing is descriptive, and while the characters are somewhat sterotypical, in some ways that was nice for a change. Enjoying a simple good vs. evil plot, without a lot of complex twists and turns to drag the story out was refreshing. Good read.
Profile Image for Fredrick Danysh.
6,844 reviews195 followers
December 3, 2020
After Clay Bell spent years in building a ranch despite adversaries and nature, the ruthless speculator Jud Devitt attempts to take it away from him so that he can cut down the virgin forests on the ranch A third party is playing off the two against each other. An enjoyable tale by a master storyteller.
Profile Image for Craig.
689 reviews44 followers
December 17, 2011
After reading two or three of L'Amour's books, he is pretty predictable. Nevertheless, he acquired much trivia from the Old West which he sprinkled throughout his novels to make them interesting. Somehow, the "good guy" alwyas getting the girl is fun and appealing and causes the reader to open yet another of L'Amour's numerous tales of the Wild West.
Profile Image for Laura.
277 reviews
June 18, 2013
A nice, typical Louis L'Amour story. I prefer reading the book over listening to it though. The voices just didn't sound right to me.
Profile Image for Kedron Skiles.
36 reviews
November 5, 2014
I really liked it. A man had built his life and ranch on his land. It doesn't go over well when someone tries to ride roughshod over him to get the trees that are on his land.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
627 reviews58 followers
February 11, 2021
Louis L’Amour knew, truly, how to write incredible and amazing westerns.

This was the third L’Amour book I picked up after I finished Conagher and The Man from Skibbereen, and I have a strong inkling that soon Louis L’Amour will wind up as one of my favorite authors of all time.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of this story, as I did with the previous two, and the audiobook only added to the pleasantness of it all.
Profile Image for Mary Elizabeth.
115 reviews27 followers
February 5, 2023
3.75 stars — My reading experience could be alternatively captioned, “I love my husband, I love my husband, I love my husband.” 😅 I really do.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
283 reviews22 followers
January 5, 2021
Not that I can’t also be enchanted by that excellent Western staple, the lone drifter making his way through the world and taking a stand, but the SQUAD DYNAMICS. The B-Bar guys are so cute, with their guns and their banter and their loyalty to each other. I don’t think you’re supposed to say that about tough and grizzled gunmen-turned-cowhands, but THEY ARE SO CUTE.
Profile Image for Carolyn Page.
1,629 reviews38 followers
June 23, 2022
I hadn't read a good old-fashioned rooty-tooty-point-and-shooty western in quite a while, and this one certainly fulfilled all the particulars. A range war, gunslingers, cowboys, ambushes, gunfights, barroom brawls with batwing doors, knock out John-Wayne-style fistfights, and of course, the girl!!

And all under 200 pages. I ate it up in one sitting. If you want a classic example of the paperback western, read this one. Louis L'Amour does it again. Lots of action, interesting characters...I'd not mind seeing a movie of this, made in the Hollywood golden-age style! Heck, I wanna MAKE a movie of this!
Profile Image for Amber Voskuil.
64 reviews
March 25, 2025
“You never really know a man until you see him lose”. (A quote from the book..) True enough though. These books always bring back good memories since my siblings and i read them so much growing up. Always a good story.
Profile Image for Dustin.
3 reviews
December 29, 2014
This was the first Western I have read and I think I am hooked. In this story, a cattle rancher depends on grazing his stock in and around a stand of timber on public lands in the desert of the Southwest. A rich businessman comes into town and announces he will harvest the timberland to aid in the expansion of a local railroad company. An all-or-nothing battle ensues for the lumber and the survival of the B-bar ranch. The story is fast moving, trimmed down to its essentials. Though efficient, there are secrets and twists that I did not see coming that I was pleasantly surprised by. Louis L'Amour uses amazing descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells that instantly pulled me into his Western world. It was a little difficult to understand the layout of the land especially in terms of how it was used in battle tactics. I found a Loius L'Amour web site that helped in this regard:
http://www.louislamour.com/Maps/map_t...

Profile Image for Ward G.
282 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2019
Usually it is an evil cattle baron running folks out.
This time a law abiding cattle rancher.
Has a logging outfit, looking to do this to him.
Luckily he is a smart man. With some tough hands, willing to fight by his side.

SPOILER alert ..
I was all set to give this one a 5 star.
Liked the characters and set up.
Then to my displeasure.
The evil main villain is dealt with in a way.
Yet his reason, and main plot point is never explained.

His plotting, the whole catalyst behind it all.
As he looks to pit the rancher and loggers against each other.

Main character Clay Bell discovers some of the answers.
Yet it is said not to be gold.
Then never completes what it is. That he has found.
Along with what the main villain. Hoped to gain.

That t me, loses several rating points.
Profile Image for Waven.
197 reviews
February 5, 2010
In this nice little western, lumberjacks ("timber beasts") in Arizona throw a new theme into an otherwise rather formulaic genre. The protagonist Clay Bell has settled in a nice mountain valley to ranch after being a cowboy, soldier, hunter, fighter, and prospector. A few years and his B-Bar Ranch is well on its way but still not on a paying basis when Jud Devitt arrives in town with plans to log the B-Bar's summer pasture on federal land in the mountains. Devitt, our maligned antagonist, is determined to get the lumber by hook or crook and only the B-Bar stands in his way. While there are no great surprises in store, it's a fun ride to the last page with dust and bullets flying.
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