After Lewis and Clark: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific

by Robert M. Utley

Overview

In 1807, a year after Lewis and Clark returned from the shores of the Pacific, groups of trappers and hunters began to drift West to tap the rich stocks of beaver and to trade with the Native nations. Colorful and eccentric, bold and adventurous, mountain men such as John Colter, George Drouillard, Hugh Glass, Andrew Henry, and Kit Carson found individual freedom and financial reward in pursuit of pelts. Their knowledge of the country and its inhabitants served the first mapmakers, the army, and the streams of emigrants moving West in ever-greater numbers. The mountain men laid the foundations for their own displacement, as they led the nation on a westward course that ultimately spread the American lands from sea to sea.

Robert M. Utley, former chief historian for the National Park Service and a founder of the Western Historical Association, is the author of fifteen books on the Western frontier, including Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life and Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend, both available in Bison Books editions. After Lewis and Clark was originally published as A Life Wild and Perilous.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803295643
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	11/01/2004
Pages:	426
Sales rank:	267,000
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert M. Utley, former chief historian for the National Park Service and a founder of the Western Historical Association, is the author of fifteen books on the Western frontier, including Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life and Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend, both available in Bison Books editions. After Lewis and Clark was originally published as A Life Wild and Perilous.

Editorial Reviews

“[Utley’s] narrative of the trappers is entrancingly delivered. . . . A magnificent read.”—Booklist

Booklist

“An authentic story that is anecdotal and very readable.”—Richard H. Dillon, True West Magazine

True West Magazine - Richard H. Dillon

“Robert Utley does a remarkable job in chronicling this unequaled segment of American history. He brings, with his easy-to-read style, the hazy images most of us have of obscure but nonetheless fearless heroes from our past into crystal clear focus.”—Southwest Book Views

Southwest Book Views

“Utley’s volume makes excellent reading. It is fast paced, entertaining, and very well researched. . . . Added to his already impressive list of books, After Lewis and Clark solidifies Utley’s reputation as one of the foremost scholars and entertaining writers on the West.” —Joe Knetsch, Journal of America’s Military Past

Journal of America's Military Past - Joe Knetsch

“Reads like a well-spun novel.”—Wild West

Wild West

“The definitive study of the decisive role mountain men played in the exploration and expansion of the Western frontier. . . . Very readable and impressively detailed.”—New York Times Book Review

New York Times Book Review

“[Utley’s] narrative of the trappers is entrancingly delivered. . . . A magnificent read.”—Booklist

Booklist

“An authentic story that is anecdotal and very readable.”—Richard H. Dillon, True West Magazine

— Richard H. Dillon

True West Magazine

“Utley’s volume makes excellent reading. It is fast paced, entertaining, and very well researched. . . . Added to his already impressive list of books, After Lewis and Clark solidifies Utley’s reputation as one of the foremost scholars and entertaining writers on the West.” —Joe Knetsch, Journal of America’s Military Past

— Joe Knetsch

Journal of America's Military Past