| The First Fast Draw | 
 enlarge | Author: Louis L'amour
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $4.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 66108
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0553252240
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780553252248
ASIN: 0553252240
Publication Date: February 1, 1985
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
You can't go home again....
East Texas wasn't much of a home for Cullen Baker. Few liked him, and some even tried to kill him. Yet after three hard years of wandering, he's come back to farm the land that's rightfully his.
Only Cullen's in for an unwelcome homecoming: his neighbors have long memories, the Reconstructionists have greedy hearts, and his worst enemy has teamed up with a vicious outlaw. But Cullen isn't about to back down. Instead, he's intent on perfecting a new way of gunfighting—the fast draw. And now, with enemies closing in on three sides and threatening the woman he loves, he'll have to be faster than lightning—and twice as deadly—just to survive.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Story-yes, history NOoo! September 30, 2007
I read this book many years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Recently working in Texas, I decided to do a little background on the "real" Cullen Baker. Turns out Mr. L'Amours research is not as careful as he and others would have us believe. I understand the concept of poetic liscense but this isn't even close. The Cullen Baker of history bears absolutely no resemblance to the man immortalized in L'Amours novel. It would appear that L'Amour only bothered to reference a few popular stories and none of the solid historical records available on Baker. Cullen Baker was a vicious, opportunistic thug who bore no allegiance to anything or anyone but himself. The concept of fair play didn't seem a part of his makeup. There is no reliable historical evidence that Baker was ever a quickdraw artist. Looking for a good story? Read the "First Fast Draw". Looking for reliable history of the man-avoid L'Amours fantasy book.
 A Revisionist Interpretation of Baker's life July 13, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Answers.com, Wikipedia,and Thomas Orr, Baker's sworn enemy, portray Cullen Baker as a Reconstruction period desperado, outlaw and thug who killed hundreds of people. And that well may have been true! But as we all know, history is written by the victors in any conflict.
Louis L'Mour's "The First Fast Draw" is a romanticized interpretation of Baker's life. Like the historically accurate books of the Revolutionary War period by Kenneth Roberts, L'Mour shows us Baker's life from his own perspective. Like all of L'Mour's books, the writing is superb, the characterization excellent and the story is compelling. L'Mour was known for his accuracy in describing the Western landscape, and for his careful research. Written in the first person, "The First Fast Draw" is an idealized portrait of a temperamental, physically gifted man who struggled with his inner demons and eventually conquered them.
After reading the First Fast Draw, you may experience, as I did, a longing for times past and the realization that the risk-averse, corrupt and hypocritical society that has evolved from Baker's time in 1869 is a far cry from the "land of the free and the home of the brave."
WONDERFUL READ - RECOMMEND HIGHLY January 5, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Actually, years ago, this was the first L'Amour I read. I have been hooked ever since. The post Civil War years are rather fastinating and L'Amour is able to capture, in fiction, the general feeling and plight of those who lived those times. As an added bonus, like all L'Amour books, the setting of this story is quite well handled. East Texas is still East Texas and the author's discription and feel for the country is wonderful. This is a very easy book to read and I certainly would recommend it to the younger reader interested in this particular genre. All in all, great fun!
a book of excellence February 21, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The book "The First Fast Draw" takes place after the Civil War. The genre is a western setting, in the south west part of the United States. The reading has a lot of action and it is really easy going, and not hard to read or comprehend at all. It is a great high school reading book, because it is short, easy to read, and has a good genre. I would give this book five stars and a pat on the back for its excellence.
Summary of The First Fast Draw March 10, 2001
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The plot of the book is when Collin Baker decides he needs to go back to east Texas, to regain and farm his fathers' land. The problem with him doing this is that when his family first moved to east Texas he became known as a troublemaker. He ended up beating up a bunch of boys that were older than he was, but he was doing it in self-defense, therefore he has many enemies in East Texas. Also the carpetbaggers and the Reconstructionists have other plans for his land. Collin Baker returns to his home, but the first night he is home he already runs into trouble. At first, Baker thinks he beat his enemies by himself but learns very fast that he needs friends and to learn to shoot very fast and quick. He quickly found Bob Lee, Bill Longley, and Matt Kirby, who were also having the same problems. Bob Lee is a character who is always ready to fight and looking for action. Bill Longley grew up with Collin, so they knew each other and were also one of Collins few friends. Matt Kirby is woods men that stayed in the swamps trapping. The four of them hide in the woods were nobody knows of. They train and Collin keeps on getting better and better with his gun. Finally its time for them to regain what is rightfully theirs. They kill of bunch of their enemies, but Collin gets caught in the process. He gets thrown in jail and is scheduled for a hanging the next day. While he is in jail he doesn't worry about his problems but worries about his friends trying to get him out and getting caught in the process. He friends come anyways and they all escape. They know now that they need to flee the area so they all head out west together and start over. I believe the main theme of the story is to know how good your friends are to you. Never let anything happen to your friend that you wouldn't want to happen to you. Know that your friends will be there for you when you need him the most. I really liked this book and the tone of it too. The author did a great job of giving great detail and describing everything. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone who likes the woods and guns.
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