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

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.