Literature, to me, is much more than words in a book, poem, or magazine. Literature is a way for me to escape the real world and become who and where I am reading. My favorite author is Louis L'amour because he really takes me back to an uncivilized, dangerous wild west. L'amour not only tells you what is happening, he also tells you what the character smells, sees, and feels.
             Literature is, in most cases, much better than any movie because you never know what the character is thinking in a movie. The picture on the screen is what you see. It leaves no room for interpretation or imagination. Literature paints a picture in your imagination and lets you decide what the scene should look like. L'amour takes you to the streets of an untamed wild west where gunslingers and street fighters are the law. A place where your gun is your best friend and nothing else can be trusted. From the miles of trail on horse back to the town saloon where your back is never protected. Camp fires with coffee brewing and the smell of bacon to facing an adversary in the dirt street ready to draw. L'amour takes you wherever his characters are.
             Another factor in a literary work is the authors knowledge of the topic. Tom Clancy is another of my preferred authors. One of the main things I like about Clancy is has great knowledge of the topics he chooses to write about. A well known newspaper article stated that Hunt for Red October is " ...So convincing in its accuracy that the author was rumored to have been debriefed my the white house." His understanding of the material he writes also tells a little about the author. I imagine, that he was either in the military, like Hunt for Red October, or some type of law enforcement agent, like in Patriot Games and Debt of Honor. I take pleasure In reading about peculiar and exotic lands such as, Russia, Saipan, Veitnam and Israel. From CIA headquarters to a Russian ...