Unfortunately, I didn't stick with A Life Wild and Perilous for very long. The title was great, hinting at adventure, but alas, the book itself was tedious and somewhat confusing. I found myself looking ahead for the "good" parts, scanning large sections and re-reading confusing parts until I finally gave up. I'll have to read a different book on this subject, I guess, because I couldn't finish this one.
To be fair, there was a lot of interesting information about the early years of our republic, when mountain men were out trapping animals for their fur while exploring western territories that eventually became part of the United States. But the information was presented in a straight-forward way--"just the facts, ma'am"--that left me longing for a story about these men. I guess I've gotten used to the highly narrative historical accounts that many writers have provided in recent years.
Another aspect of A Life Wild and Perilous that I found frustrating was the way it was organized--in chronological order, apparently. While that would seem to be a good choice for a historical account, it ended up being confusing because at the same time the book seemed to want to emphasize individual mountain men. (The title, after all, indicates that people's lives will be examined.)
Because some of the men were important early in the era (1800-1820), some important in the latter years, and others important throughout, the author has to keep circling back to explorers such as Jedediah Smith (who lasted nearly the whole time) as the book progresses through time. I wanted to focus on the individuals, but it was almost impossible because Utley kept jumping back and forth between well known explorers like Smith and a handful of other lesser lights whose lives I couldn't really imagine because they were discussed for such a brief period of time. I think the book would have benefited greatly from telling one mountain man's story at a time, or focusing on the explorations and de-emphasizing the mountain men.
I did learn some things from the book, though. The repeated descriptions of the various people's encounters with indigenous folks (some friendly, some not) brought home the fact that American Indians west of the Mississippi did not submit quietly to their fate. I knew there were some uprisings, but I didn't realize there were so many, many attempts on the part of all tribes (even those who cooperated at first with the Europeans) to make the new interlopers' lives miserable, either by stealing from them, cheating them, lying to them, harassing them, burning their encampments, kidnapping, scalping, or murdering them. This went on, in fact, until the numbers of European invaders were too great to successfully resist.
Another thing I learned from this book (related to the above), is that finding South Pass in Wyoming made a very big difference in settling the west. Being able to cross the Rockies with wagons was a big deal; South Pass made it possible. After that, there was no stopping settlers longing to go west. (Of course, there was still the Sierra, but that's another story.) Mountain men helped a great deal in finding pathways for future pioneers to follow, much to the chagrin of the native inhabitants.
A third thing I learned is that Jedediah Smith wasn't exactly the way he was portrayed to be in the movie starring Robert Redford. He wasn't a loner roaming the mountains simply because they were there; though exploring was his first love, he made his living working for different fur companies as a trapper. He was economically invested in exploring the wilderness, as were the rest of the mountain men. It makes sense that they would be, of course, but it kind of tarnishes their reputation as romantic old west heroes, I think.
Robert Utley is a learned man and a well-known historian, and his book contained interesting material. I just wish he would have presented it in a more entertaining way. I recommend this book to those of you who want to learn about mountain men and are not put off by a straightforward chronicle.
After abandoning A Life Wild and Perilous, I picked up a mystery I've had on the shelf for a while, Worth Dying For. It's by Lee Child, who is apparently quite popular in the thriller genre. There isn't a great deal of mystery to it (except for the whereabouts of a long-ago missing child), but it's a good example of the hard-boiled detective type of novel--lots of demonstrations of amazing strength and keen intelligence, lots of violence and gripping evil-vs-good action.
Child's continuing character, Jack Reacher, is on the way to somewhere else when he gets involved with some people in a town held captive by a family of bullies. He can put things right, of course, and sets about doing so, all the while uncovering a bigger secret. The plot is intricate and the action is non-stop, so what's not to like? I may have to read some more by this author. It's always fun to discover a new mystery writer.
After this I plan to read Seabiscuit. I've had it on my shelf for a while, so I thought it was about time. But I might also read Mammoth next; after visiting Big Bone Lick State Park, I got interested in learning more about the ice age creatures. I'll see what I feel like when the time comes.
Until then . . .
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