Tales of the Mountain Men: Seventeen Stories of Survival, Exploration, and Outdoor Craft

By: Lamar Underwood

Book Overview

Long the dominant icon embodying the spirit of America's frontier past, the image of the cowboy no longer stands alone as the ultimate symbol of independence and self-reliance. The great canvas of the western landscape-in art, books, film-is today shared by the figures called "Mountain Men." They were the trappers of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the years following Lewis and Clark's Expedition of 1804-1806. With their bold journeys peaking, during...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159228423X
• ISBN13: 9781592284238
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great insight into a lost world

Tales of the Mountain Men is a collection of writings about the first white men to intrude on the world of the Native Americans in the mountainous west. The writings are from diverse sources and are in greatly varied styles. To Mr. Underwood's credit, he did not clean up the writings, so some are written in a vernacular that is difficult for 21st century eyes to understand. But that simply makes the writing more genuine. The culture that is portrayed is one that preceded the cowboy culture and was overwhelmingly male. The hardships and dangers that were taken for granted by the mountain men are unbelievable, but they are very real too. The portrayal of Native Americans is very negative and cruel. I gave this book 4 stars because I found its organization difficult. The excerpts are in many cases too short and, in spite of introductory paragraphs, difficult to place. But the writings are fascinating and opened my eyes to a new society that is discussed in a realistic and unromanticized way. If you are interested in either history of the west or early 19th century culture, this book is highly recommended.