Louis L'amour wrote this book about educating himself through books. He quit school because he felt that school was holding him back from the education he wanted. He was not allowed to study higher sciences, even though he felt well prepared by the texts he read from the library. After leaving school, he traveled around the world for a number of years. During that time, he read consistently. In the back of the book, he lists all the books he read each year for several of his traveling years. It is a long and varied list.
I enjoyed Louis L'amour's thoughts on education. He believed that the books he read and the experiences he had traveling gave him a better education than the one he would have received at an institution. I liked learning about where he found the books he read and about the multitude of job experiences he had. His reading was varied by necessity; he read everything he could get his hands on. He never stole the books, but admits that he occasionally considered it.
Speaking of his reading life, Louis L'amour said, "I know that often I longed for someone with whom I could talk of books, writers, and things of the mind, but that was not to be for a long time, except here and there when I chanced on some other lost literary soul. Loneliness is of many kinds, and the mere presence and companionship of people does not suffice."
I had never read anything by Louis L'amour before. I know this is going to shock some people, because it seems like I will read anything. Evidently I am prejudiced against westerns. I have definitely been judging those books by their covers. However, I was delighted with this book, and it led me to consider reading his books.
You will enjoy this book if you like to read about what others are reading. You will benefit from it if you are interested in learning from the great books. If you love the writing of Louis L'amour, you may enjoy getting to know him better through this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment