Last of the Breed

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK HAS NO BETTER
Review: THIS BOOK WAS GREAT. I ONLY WISH THAT ARE DEAR FRIEND LOUIS COULD OF GIVEN US THE SEQUEL IT WOULD OF SURPASSED THIS ONE. GREAT FOR NEW LOUIS L'LAMOUR READERS.

Rating:
Summary: Revenge
Review: If you have ever wanted revenge, this is the book for you. It's not about quick-comeback revenge either. L'amour creates a character who takes the long road to revenge. At times he almost fails, but in the process he drives his enemy completely out of his mind.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping heroic story
Review: This was only my second Louis L'amore. If there was ever a book by an author that promoted other books written by him, this was it. Epic understates this book. The hero encounters obstacles insurrmountable, yet he overcomes. There is little dialogue yet it is not needed. The author captivates thru moment by moment actions of the hero and his enemies. The last line of the book is worth the reading of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Last Of The Breed: Continuation of an Era!
Review: Last Of The Breed is one of L'Amour's best works, following in a long line of classics. It is an "Edge-Of-The-Seat" book that I've enjoyed reading over and over again. Situated in Russia, U.S. Air Force Major Joseph Makatozi ("Joe Mack") is flying one of many U.S. experimental aircraft with valuable data to the Russian authorities. This particular aircraft can stand extremely cold tempratures - ideal for Siberia. So, he is shot down, and this is a tale of his escape. I've read it over and over again, and it is always good to the last sentence.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Louis L'amour novel
Review: A very exciting, and informative, read. LL is a darn good writer.
I have read more than a dozen of his novels and short story collections, and westerns aren't my favorite genre.
Another very good book is The Haunted Mesa.

Rating:
Summary: A very descriptive novel with lots of action
Review: Loius L'Amour's book, "Last of the Breed" is one of his more longer novels, but it is also one of his better novels. The story follows U.S. air force test pilot Joe Mack as he gets forced down over Russia in the 1980's. He is sent to a prison camp to be interrogated, but he escapes before Colonel Zamatev, who is in charge of the prison, can interrogate him. The Soviets think they can easily capture the American, but they soon find out that is is a Souix indian knows how to live off the land.
The story follows Joe Mack as he travels thousands of miles from central Russia to the Bering Strait. Along the way, Joe must hunt game with the bow he made, and use the animal furs to make clothing to survive the cold. He must do all this while also watching his back for the soldiers who are following him trying to recapture him. Besides the soldiers, there is also a Yakut named Alekhin who is an expert tracker, and who follows him throughout the story.
As Joe covers mile after mile, he becomes more and more like his Souix ancestors. Joe comes to realize that he was born out of time, and that he belongs 200 years earlier with the rest of the Souix people.
"Last of the Breed" is so well written that you feel like you are actually wading though the snow in Siberia with Joe as you read the book. By reading the book you learn about how Indians survived in cold weather, how they hunted game, and how they survived. The whole story is not just about Joe. The book follows a man and his daughter that Joe meets who are trying to escape from Russia. The book paints a good picture of what life was like in Communist Russia.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Loius L'Amour books, or anyone who likes a good adventure novel. This book has plenty of suprises and a very intriging ending that will keep you thinking.

Rating:
Summary: Wretched!!
Review: If you collect a lot of John Wayne and cold war cliches and stir them together with a 3rd rate escape yarn whose hero has 2nd rate survival skills, at best, you could write a mess like this. He constantly "lucks into" great camp sites, helpful people, and warm weather. He makes russian soldiers look like the Keystone Cops while the hero is able to shoot down aircraft with one or two arrows,(Only the Goddess Diana can shoot like that); and nobody ever thinks of using dogs to track this guy; the first and cheapest available resource of all manhunters. Oh well, it is only cheap, low grade, anticommunist propaganda anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best but not the worst
Review: For readers of Louis Lamour novels, this book ranks right up there with any of his best. The hero, who is Native-American, finds his roots (as it were) as he escapes from a Soviet prison and makes his way, virtually unaided, across Siberia. He becomes, in attitude and thought, a full Sioux warrior during this trek, as those who pursue him find out. Yes, the ending is a bit dull compared with some other Lamour endings, but the central theme of the book, that of a person gaining strength while regaining contact with the more primitive parts of his soul, was well-served by the ending. I liked the book and will read it again, someday.

Rating:
Summary: The feel of a western in modern Siberia
Review: Louis L'Amour is best known for his westerns. Part of the reason his westerns were so popular is because of his extensive research. His descriptions of times and places in his stories were about real events and situations. As a young man he spent time working in the west, long after the exciting events he wrote about took place. But he was able to talk with old men and women who had lived through the settling of the West.

"Last of the Breed" has the same level of detail. This was written back in 1986, and so it is a bit dated. The Soviet Union is long gone. He did a lot of research. The description of what Siberia was like ten to fifteen years ago is well done. Louis L'Amour shows us what life was like under the communist government. This provides a rich background for the story.

The story is exciting. In the beginning we find Joe Mack has been captured by the Soviets. He quickly escapes, and is on the run for the next two years. We watch his struggles as he survives in a hostile environment. The environment alone is enough to try most people, but Joe Mack also has hundreds of people out looking for him, trying to recapture him.

It is a fun story. If you like adventure, this is a good book to read.



Rating:
Summary: A good yarn
Review: This is a good story, deserving neither the overly fulsome praise nor the sour dismissals found in some of the reviews here. I've read it a couple of times over the years, and for many years it was the only L'Amour book I'd read. It's a good survival adventure tale, very servicably written.
Here's a tip: for those who liked this story, check out Dersu Uzala, a Kurosawa movie set in Siberia; the protagonist is an old Siberian hunter and trapper, and you'll get a real flavor of the country and way of life described by L'Amour in Last of the Breed.