Jim Bridger

Trailblazer of the American West

De: Jerry Enzler

Narrado por: Danny Campbell

Even among iconic frontiersmen like John C. Fremont, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger stands out. A mountain man of the American West, straddling the fur trade era and the age of exploration, he lived the life legends are made of. Here, in a biography that finally gives this outsize character his due, Jerry Enzler takes this frontiersman's full measure for the first time—and tells a story that would do Jim Bridger proud.

Born in 1804 and orphaned at thirteen, Bridger made his first western foray in 1822, traveling up the Missouri River with Mike Fink and a hundred enterprising young men to trap beaver. At twenty he "discovered" the Great Salt Lake. In the following years, he led trapping brigades into Blackfeet territory; guided expeditions of Smithsonian scientists, topographical engineers, and army leaders; and, though he could neither read nor write, mapped the tribal boundaries for the Great Indian Treaty of 1851. Enzler charts Bridger's path from the fort he built on the Oregon Trail to the route he blazed for Montana gold miners to avert war with Red Cloud and his Lakota coalition.

Tapping sources uncovered in the six decades since the last documented Bridger biography, Enzler's book fully conveys the drama and details of the larger-than-life history of the "King of the Mountain Men."

©2021 Jerome Enzler (P)2023 Tantor

Bridger stands tall

The author treads the fine line between telling this iconic man’s story without falling down the slippery slope of embellishment for its own sake. There is much here to whet the appetite of those interested in the early days of the Western expansion. I learned a lot and was pleased to note that other unsung almost forgotten men such as Joseph Walker got a mention alongside Smith and Carson, The Young/Donner party catastrophe was matter of factly retold, stripped of hyperbole the story was made all the more understandable. The forces of nature in the wilderness must be understood if one is to survive.
Narration initially seemed disjointed but he grew on me.
Excellent, highly recommended.
John

Amazing American

Amazing story of a great man. “Uneducated” yet brilliant and knowledgeable well beyond “experts!” Too bad he didn’t have more influence on the fools in Washington DC who devalued his wisdom and decency to promote their own egos, greed and ignorance!

History of the West

Great story and oral presentation . Jim Bridger was a true hero of the early American West

A good listen

If you are a fan of our western mountain men, this book details the life of one of if not the best example we had.

Jim Bridger

Very informative and interesting. Learned a few more things about him than I had not known.

the final honest depiction of a true AMERICAN HERO

much of what I read I hadn't heard of before, Goddess Bless Jim Bridger

A must read for anyone who loves the West. 

Very well researched, thanks to Jerry Enzler, for writing this tremendous tribute to the greatest mountain man in American history, Jim Bridger

Eye opening explanation of how the west developed...

very little, it was lengthy, But I would have listed had it been 20 hours...

Listened twice so far!!!

This book is loaded with tons of early western history. full of stories of trappers, buffalo hunters and indians. It is a bird's eye account of the dangers, trials and tribulations of early expolrers, trappers, etc. It lays bare how we treated the indians which was not good. we broke almost all of our treaties, gave them land and took it back, killed almost all of the buffalo until we almost starved them to death, gave them diseases to which they had no immunity to, etc. etc. ad nauseum. the narration is excellent making it a page turner with each page loaded with info and experiences. I had barely heard of the name Jim bridger and upon reaqding this book found out all about him. He was modest and humble so his name somehow escaped the history books. this is a must read if you are interested in the early west at all.

Perfect Narrator

What an amazing life. I wish there was more about his personality and story telling. That was certainly the highlight. Bridger was an absolute beast. A relatively unknown American Legend.