Jubal Sackett - A Short Review

Another L’Amour novel from the Sackett series, Jubal Sackett was, I think, the best one I’ve read to date. Once again, Jubal is a strong role model for masculine life: self-reliant, able, decisive, loving peace but not afraid to fight. This novel was different from the others I’ve read because it prominently featured his love interest, an Indian princess.

I have long desired to live in a way that is free from modernity. I love to idea of cutting down trees, turning them into a cabin, living off the land, etc. For those who know me, this is pretty different from who I am, but I think that is a big part of the attraction for me. I’m not OK with me, sometimes. That is not, I believe, in an unhealthy way but in the sense that I know I could be more and do more with myself. A world in which there was unclaimed land and one could benefit himself simply by working hard is a world I think I would love, whatever its hardships.

Another interesting aspect of this book was the way L’Amour weaves into it some of the mysteries of history. For example, he includes a run-in with a mastodon and defending its inclusion by giving examples of far more recent witnesses to them among Native Americans than is widely believed. Another example would be the characters speaking of finding Roman coins owned by Indians. Of course, that shouldn’t be, but, again, L’Amour gives examples of these being found in Tennessee in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. I tend to like these references because they speak to me of the validity of a young earth and the family of man, descended from Adam and then Noah.