The Lonesome Gods

I have heard a number of comments about how the ending was too abrupt, and left too many things unresolved, or poorly resolved. I felt the same way when I was done, so I decided to look into it. I came across a story, which may or may not have been true.

Apparently, Louis wrote this story the way he wanted it to be, and his publisher told him it was too long, that the company had a policy of not publishing anything beyond a specific length. Louis argued that the story would be incomplete at that length, etc. and back and forth for more than a year. Finally, Louis had an idea. He went to the exact length allowed, wrote two pages to end things, and turned it in, hoping to prove that the story couldn't be told that way, and that the longer version was infinitely better. Unfortunately, his subtle approach went beyond the publisher, who immediately approved the shorter version for publication.

Louis L'Amour didn't argue with him, but did find a new publisher for future works.

I also collected quotes from this work. Here is my list:

"Yes, son, we could [fight], but fightin's something you do when you've tried everything else." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

He who ceases to learn is already a half-dead man. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

Do not be like an oyster who rests on the sea bottom and waits for the good things to come by. Search for them, find them. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

One does not need education to be intelligent. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Do you believe it, Papa?" "I have never seen such a thing happen, Hannes. My reason tells me it could not happen, but my reason can only judge by what I know, and I do not know everything." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Knowledge isn't a lasting thing. Not unless it's writ down in a good many places. People die, and what they learned often dies with them. Whole races of folks that once lived are gone, and what they knew we'll not be able to guess at." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

Many a man has done well with no more of an education than what he can have by reading. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

Shakespeare was the only poet who wrote like he'd been raised on red meat. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Hannes, we know so little. Our world is far stranger than anyone has guessed. We know a little and scoff at much we do not understand, but the Indians are either a simpler people or one far more complex who merely seem simple." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"The one thing we know, Hannes, is that nothing remains the same. Things are forever changing, and one must understand the changes and change with them, or be lost by the way." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

To succeed as a human being is not always the same as succeeding in your life's work, although they can go hand in hand. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Some people only learn by reading, others by doing or seeing, some by hearing. Learn however you can, but learn!" - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"You can become bigger, stronger, better than your enemies. You can defeat them by outreaching them, by becoming a more important man, but also by becoming a better one." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"All life is based on decisions. Decide now on what you'd like to become and what you would like to do. The two are not necessarily the same, although sometimes they can be." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you an education. What you receive is the outlines in a child's coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

"Neither age nor size makes a man, Johannes. It is willingness to accept responsibility." - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

Knowledge is awareness, and to it there are many paths, not all of them paved with logic. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

...we who pass do not own this land, we but use it, we hold it briefly in trust for those yet to come. We must not reap without seeding, we must not take from the earth without replacing. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

He who sits at a desk and tries to understand by logic often loses touch with the realities. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

Much can be learned from books, but much remains about which no book has been written. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

There is no greater role for a man to play than to assist in the government of a people, nor anyone lower than he who misuses that power. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

...if men are to survive upon the earth there must be law, and there must be justice, and all men must stand together against all those who would strike against what men have so carefully built. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

We have hedged ourselves about with law, for we know that if man is to survive it must be through cooperative effort. - The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

All in all, a great book in my opinion!