Louis L’Amour Books in Order: All 200+ Books

Louis L’Amour was one of the most prolific writers of his era, so putting all the Louis L’Amour books in order is no small task. During his lifetime, he published dozens of novels, short stories, and collections, and his bibliography continued to grow after his death in 1988 as unpublished work was edited and released by his estate.

Across a career that stretched for decades, L’Amour built his reputation as one of the defining voices in Western fiction. He proudly called himself an American storyteller, and that fits. His frontier novels made him famous, but his work also reached beyond the West into poetry and other genres, which makes a complete Louis L’Amour reading order more expansive than many readers expect.

Jump to:

• Louis L’Amour Books in Order by Series
• Louis L’Amour Standalone Books
• Louis L’Amour Collections
• Louis L’Amour Novellas and Short Stories
• Louis L’Amour Non-Fiction and Companion Books
• Book-to-Screen Adaptations
• About Louis L’Amour

Louis L’Amour Books in Order by Series

Following Louis L’Amour’s death, his estate has been overseen by his son, Beau L’Amour. Through the Louis L’Amour Lost Treasures project, Beau has helped bring previously unpublished material into print, including both finished and unfinished manuscripts, while also reintroducing some of L’Amour’s earliest work.

Some of those later editions also include newly uncovered material from the family archives, such as outlines, plot notes, and alternate drafts. Even so, the books below are listed by original publication date so this reading order stays focused on when each title first entered L’Amour’s bibliography.

Hopalong Cassidy Books

The first full-length novels Louis L’Amour published appeared under the pseudonym Tex Burns. The Hopalong Cassidy books are classic cowboy adventures, and they offer an early look at the voice and storytelling style that would later make L’Amour one of the biggest names in Western fiction.

1. The Rustlers of West Fork (1951)
2. The Trail to Seven Pines (1951)
3. Riders of High Rock (1951)
4. Trouble Shooter (1952)

Kilkenny Series

The Kilkenny books follow Lance Kilkenny, a reluctant gunslinger with a dangerous reputation and a stronger conscience than most people expect. This is also one of the earliest corners of Louis L’Amour’s bibliography, since Kilkenny was the first novel published under his own name rather than a pseudonym.

Kilkenny Books in Publication Order

Publication order is the best way to read the Kilkenny series for the first time because it follows the order readers originally encountered the character. It also preserves the way L’Amour introduced Kilkenny over time, including the later short fiction and novella that expand his story.

1. Kilkenny (1954)
2. The Rider of Lost Creek (1976)
3. The Mountain Valley War / A Man Called Trent (1978)
4. West of Dodge (1996) (Short Story)
5. A Gun for Kilkenny (1997) (Short Story)
6. Monument Rock (1998) (Novella)

Kilkenny Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order is better suited to rereads than first-time reading because it reshuffles the way L’Amour originally introduced Kilkenny. It can be a fun way to trace the character’s life in sequence, but publication order still gives the stronger first experience.

1. The Mountain Valley War / A Man Called Trent
2. The Rider of Lost Creek
3. A Gun for Kilkenny (Short Story)
4. Kilkenny
5. Monument Rock
6. West of Dodge (Short Story)

Sacketts Series

The Sacketts books follow multiple generations of the Sackett family across different eras of American frontier life. It’s one of Louis L’Amour’s most expansive series, and because the books jump around the family timeline, there are two main ways to read them.

Sacketts Books in Publication Order

Publication order is the best way to read the Sacketts series for the first time because it follows the order readers originally discovered the family. Even though the timeline jumps around, this approach gives the strongest introduction to the series and avoids some of the spoilers that can come from reading the story chronologically first.

1. The Daybreakers (1960)
2. Sackett (1961)
3. Lando (1962)
4. Mojave Crossing (1964)
5. The Sackett Brand (1965)
6. Mustang Man (1966)
7. The Sky-Liners (1967)
8. The Lonely Men (1969)
9. Galloway (1970)
10. Ride the Dark Trail (1972)
11. Treasure Mountain (1972)
12. War Party (1973)
13. Sackett’s Land (1974)
14. To the Far Blue Mountains (1976)
15. Lonely on the Mountain (1976)
16. Ride the River (1983)
17. The Warrior’s Path (1984)
18. Jubal Sackett (1985)
19. End of the Drive (1997)

Sacketts Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order is better suited to rereads or to readers who want to follow the Sackett family line in historical sequence. It can be a satisfying way to trace the family across generations, but publication order usually gives the better first experience.

1. Sackett’s Land
2. To the Far Blue Mountains
3. The Warrior’s Path
4. Jubal Sackett
5. Ride the River
6. The Daybreakers
7. End of the Drive
8. Lando
9. Sackett
10. War Party
11. Mojave Crossing
12. The Sackett Brand
13. The Sky-Liners
14. The Lonely Men
15. Mustang Man
16. Galloway
17. Treasure Mountain
18. Ride the Dark Trail
19. Lonely on the Mountain

Talon and Chantry Series

The Talon and Chantry books follow different members of two connected families across a range of frontier adventures. Like the Sacketts, this is a series where the internal timeline doesn’t match publication order, so there are two sensible ways to read it.

Talon and Chantry Books in Publication Order

Publication order is the best way to read the Talon and Chantry books for the first time because it follows the order readers originally encountered these families. It begins with Tom Chantry and then gradually expands the world to other members of the Chantry and Talon lines, while The Man from the Broken Hills also includes a connection to the Sacketts series.

1. North to the Rails (1971)
2. The Ferguson Rifle (1973)
3. Rivers West (1975)
4. The Man from the Broken Hills (1975)
5. Over on the Dry Side (1975)
6. Borden Chantry (1977)
7. Fair Blows the Wind (1978)
8. Milo Talon (1981)

Talon and Chantry Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order works better as a reread or for readers who want to follow the family timeline in sequence. Since most of these books stand on their own and focus on different characters, this order can help make the larger family history feel more connected.

1. Fair Blows the Wind
2. The Ferguson Rifle
3. Rivers West
4. Borden Chantry
5. North to the Rails
6. Over on the Dry Side
7. The Man from the Broken Hills
8. Milo Talon

Chick Bowdrie Books

The Chick Bowdrie books follow the adventures of a fearless Texas Ranger who has a habit of riding straight into trouble. Each book stands on its own, but publication order is still the best way to read the series since it follows the order those stories were originally collected and released.

1. Bowdrie (1983)
2. Bowdrie’s Law (1984)

Louis L’Amour Standalone Books

While Louis L’Amour wrote several series during his career, standalone novels make up the largest part of his bibliography. These are also the books that helped define his reputation with a wider audience, including Hondo, which John Wayne once called his favorite Western novel.

Most of the standalone Louis L’Amour books are Westerns, but this part of his bibliography reaches beyond that familiar ground. The Walking Drum moves into historical adventure, Last of the Breed shifts into a Cold War survival story, and The Haunted Mesa leans into science fiction.

Several of the books in this section were also published posthumously, which makes this part of L’Amour’s bibliography broader than many readers expect.

1. Westward the Tide (1950)
2. Showdown at Yellow Butte (1953) (as Jim Mayo)
3. Crossfire Trail (1954)
4. Hondo (1953)
5. Utah Blaine (1954) (as Jim Mayo)
6. Guns of the Timberlands (1955)
7. Heller with a Gun (1955)
8. To Tame a Land (1955)
9. The Burning Hills (1956)
10. Silver Canyon (1956)
11. Last Stand at Papago Wells (1957)
12. Sitka (1957)
13. The Tall Stranger (1957)
14. Radigan (1958)
15. The First Fast Draw (1959)
16. Taggart (1959)
17. Flint (1960)
18. High Lonesome (1962)
19. Killoe (1962)
20. Shalako (1962)
21. Catlow (1963)
22. Dark Canyon (1963)
23. Fallon (1963)
24. How the West Was Won (1963)
25. Hanging Woman Creek (1964)
26. Kiowa Trail (1964)
27. The High Graders (1965)
28. The Key-lock Man (1965)
29. The Broken Gun (1966)
30. Kid Rodelo (1966)
31. Kilrone (1966)
32. Matagorda (1967)
33. Brionne (1968)
34. Chancy (1968)
35. Down the Long Hills (1968)
36. Conagher (1969)
37. The Empty Land (1969)
38. The Man Called Noon (1970)
39. Reilly’s Luck (1970)
40. Under the Sweetwater Rim (1971)
41. Tucker (1972)
42. Callaghen (1972)
43. The Man from Skibbereen (1973)
44. The Quick and the Dead (1974)
45. The Californios (1974)
46. Where the Long Grass Blows (1976)
47. Bendigo Shafter (1978)
48. The Iron Marshal (1979)
49. The Proving Trail (1979)
50. Comstock Lode (1981)
51. The Cherokee Trail (1982)
52. The Shadow Riders (1982)
53. The Lonesome Gods (1983)
54. The Walking Drum (1984)
55. Son of a Wanted Man (1984)
56. Passin’ Through (1985)
57. Last of the Breed (1986)
58. The Haunted Mesa (1987)
59. Showdown Trail (1987)
60. Dead End Drift (1987) (Out of Print)
61. The Marshal of Sentinel (1995) (Out of Print)
62. The Sixth Shotgun (2003)
63. Home in the Valley (2005)
64. Showdown on the Hogback (2005)
65. Big Medicine (2008)
66. Dawn Riders (2010) (Out of Print)
67. Riders of the Tumbling K (2014)
68. Bannon (2017)
69. Three Bullets for the Cactus Kid (2018)
70. No Traveller Returns (2018) (With Beau L’Amour)
71. Skyring Water (2026) (With Beau L’Amour)

Louis L’Amour Collections

Louis L’Amour published a number of collections during his lifetime, and his estate expanded that part of his bibliography even further after his death. As a result, this section includes story collections released while he was alive, his poetry collection, and later archival volumes that helped bring more of his shorter work and unpublished material into print.

Some of these collections are now out of print, but links to used copies have been included below whenever possible.

1. Smoke from This Altar (1939) (Poems)
2. The Strong Shall Live (1980)
3. Yondering (1980)
4. Buckskin Run (1981)
5. The Hills of Homicide (1983)
6. Law of the Desert Born (1983)
7. Dutchman’s Flat (1986)
8. Night Over the Solomons (1986)
9. Riding for the Brand (1986)
10. The Rider of the Ruby Hills (1986)
11. The Trail to Crazy Man (1986)
12. Lonigan (1988)
13. Long Ride Home (1989)
14. Grub Line Rider (1990)
15. The Outlaws of the Mesquite (1990)
16. West from Singapore (1991)
17. Lit a Shuck for Texas (1992)
18. McQueen of the Tumbling K (1992)
19. Desert Death Song (1993)
20. L’Amour Round-Up (1993) (Out of Print)
21. Ranger Gets His Man (1993) (Out of Print)
22. Valley of the Sun (1995)
23. Beyond the Great Snow Mountains (1999)
24. Mistakes Can Kill You (2000)
25. Off the Mangrove Coast (2000)
26. May There Be a Road (2001)
27. Fighter’s Fiasco (2002)
28. With These Hands (2002)
29. Red Butte Showdown (2003)
30. From the Listening Hills (2003)
31. The Golden West (2003) (With Max Brand and Zane Grey)
32. West of the Tularosas (2004)
33. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 1 (2004)
34. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 2 (2004)
35. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 3 (2005)
36. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 4 (2006)
37. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 5 (2007)
38. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 6 (2008)
39. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour Vol. 7 (2009)
40. Glory Riders (2011)
41. Lone Man Out (2012) (Out of Print)
42. Stories of the Western Range (2012) (Out of Print)
43. The Strong Land (2012)
44. Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures (2018)
45. Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures: Volume 2 (2019)
46. Lost Trails (2022)
47. Ghost Towns (2022)

Louis L’Amour Novellas and Short Stories

In addition to the collections above, Louis L’Amour’s bibliography also includes a substantial number of novellas and short stories published as individual volumes. Many of these entries were released after his death as his estate continued uncovering and publishing previously unseen work.

Because of that, this section includes some of the later archival releases that expanded L’Amour’s bibliography beyond the novels and collections published during his lifetime.

1. The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon (1949)
2. South of Deadwood (1986)
3. A Trail to the West (1986)
4. Where Buzzards Fly (1986)
5. Man Riding West (1986)
6. West of the Pilot Range (1986) (Out of Print)
7. Case Closed – No Prisoners (1987)
8. Bowdrie Passes Through (1988)
9. The One for the Mojave Kid (1988)
10. Stay Out of My Nightmare (1989) (Out of Print)
11. Too Tough to Brand (1989)
12. Bill Carey Rides West (1990)
13. Down the Pogonip Trail (1990)
14. Merrano of the Dry Country (1990)
15. The Road to Casa Piedras (1990)
16. Booty for the Bad Man (1991)
17. Get Out of Town (1991)
18. Keep Travelin’ Rider (1991)
19. One for the Pot (1991)
20. Ride, You Tonto Raiders (1991)
21. The Town No Guns Could Tame (1991)
22. Bowdrie Follows a Cold Trail (1992)
23. A Job for a Ranger (1992)
24. A Mule for Santa Fe (1992)
25. The Black Rock Coffin Makers (1993)
26. Four Card Draw (1993)
27. Outlaws of Poplar Creek (1993)
28. The Turkeyfeather Riders (1993)
29. Down Sonora Way (1994)
30. His Brother’s Debt (1995)
31. Horse Heaven (1995)
32. Fork Your Own Broncs (1996)
33. The Guns Talk Loud (1996) (Out of Print)
34. More Brains than Bullets (1996)
35. Strawhouse Trail (1997)
36. Killer from the Pecos (1998)
37. Medicine Ground (1998)
38. Love and the Cactus Kid (1999)
39. Survival (1999) (Out of Print)
40. Unguarded Moment (1999)
41. Dead Man’s Trail (2000) (Out of Print)
42. No Man’s Man (2000)
43. Rain on the Mountain Fork (2001)
44. Strange Pursuit (2002)
45. That Triggernometry Tenderfoot (2002)
46. Bowdrie Rides a Coyote Trail (2004)
47. Ranger Rides to Town (2004)
48. There’s Always a Trail (2005)

Louis L’Amour Non-Fiction and Companion Books

Finally, this section covers Louis L’Amour’s nonfiction books along with a small number of companion books related to his work that were published after his death.

1. Frontier (1984) (Out of Print)
2. The Sackett Companion (1988)
3. A Trail of Memories (1988)
4. Education of a Wandering Man (1989)

Book-to-Screen Adaptations

Louis L’Amour’s work reached the screen many times across both film and television, which helps explain why his name stayed familiar well beyond the Western paperback aisle. His official filmography includes theatrical films, television movies, anthology episodes, and series adaptations stretching from the 1950s into 2001, so this part of his legacy is broader than a single list of famous movie titles might suggest.

The best-known early adaptation is Hondo. Released in 1953 and starring John Wayne, it was based on L’Amour’s short story The Gift of Cochise rather than directly on a novel, and it helped introduce his storytelling to a much wider screen audience. The film also briefly gave L’Amour a Best Motion Picture Story nomination before that nomination was withdrawn, which remains one of the more unusual footnotes in his adaptation history.

L’Amour’s screen presence continued through later television Westerns and miniseries. The Sacketts aired in 1979 and was based on The Daybreakers and Sackett, while The Shadow Riders followed in 1982 with Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Jeff Osterhage again at the center. That same stretch of his adaptation history also includes Five Mile Creek, a series based on The Cherokee Trail that ran from 1983 to 1987 and is often noted for featuring an early Nicole Kidman appearance.

Several later productions kept L’Amour on television for a new generation of viewers. Conagher starred Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross, and Crossfire Trail starred Tom Selleck, Mark Harmon, and Virginia Madsen. By 2001, The Diamond of Jeru showed that L’Amour’s work could still be adapted outside his most familiar frontier settings, drawing instead from one of his adventure stories set in Borneo.

About Louis L’Amour

Louis L’Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, and grew into one of the defining names in Western fiction. Although he became best known for his frontier novels, his work stretched beyond the West into memoir, poetry, historical adventure, and other genres, which is part of what makes his bibliography so large and varied.

Before writing full time, L’Amour worked a long list of jobs and traveled widely, experiences that later gave his fiction its hard-earned sense of authenticity. He started out writing for pulp magazines, then built a career that eventually made him one of the most widely read popular storytellers of his era.

L’Amour died in 1988, but his bibliography did not stop there. Posthumous releases, archival projects, and later collections have continued expanding the body of work readers now have to sort through, which is one reason a complete Louis L’Amour book list can be more complicated than it first appears.

Looking for similar books in order?

If you want similar authors and reading-order guides like this one, check out these pages:

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Walt Longmire Books in Order
• William Kent Krueger Books in Order
• C.J. Box Books in Order