Mountain Man

John Colter, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and the Call of the American West

By: David Weston Marshall

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

"If you seek vicarious adventure, these pages await the armchair explorer." (Providence Journal)

In 1804, John Colter set out with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the first US expedition to traverse the North American continent. During the 28-month ordeal, Colter served as a hunter and scout, and honed his survival skills on the western frontier. But when the journey was over, Colter stayed behind. He spent two more years trekking alone through dangerous and unfamiliar territory, charting some of the West's most treasured landmarks.

Historian David W. Marshall crafts this captivating history from Colter's primary sources, and has retraced Colter's steps - experiencing firsthand how he survived in the wilderness.

©2017 David Weston Marshall (P)2021 Tantor

Amazing detail and great execution

I loved this book! The detail on the frontiersmen was absolutely spot on. Going to listen again.

historical with great narrative

it is factual and shares what is confirmed about John colter and inferred. learned a lot!

Mountain man

Excellent story and well researched , a favorite I am going to buy it for my personal library

The world in which I want to live

I am an avid mountain man, long hunter, fur trapper junkie and I don't want rehab. This books was an incredible source of information, the narrator is excellent, the chapters are exquisite and each lends to a better understanding

Not what I thought but still interesting

More than half of the book was more of a encyclopedic account of the tools and needs of mountainmen and infians in general. The guns, knives, shelter types, horses, etc. were described in detail. The rest of the book was an account of Colters travels and adventures. I had hoped the entire book had been about Colters travels, but still, it was an interesting read. Narration was good.

Great book on a great man.

These men grabbed life in full strength and color. The youth of today need to read these books or we are doomed. Our young people are weak and need to learn from the greats.

A must read for anyone interested in the untamed West

Very well researched, this is a must read for anyone interested in the untamed West. With very adequate descriptions of life on the frontier and the many men who opened the West to others. John Coulter was chief among them and became a hero to the many other mountain men hero’s who followed, including a young Jim Bridger, who ultimately traveled the west probably more than any other mountain men of that time.

This book connects the dots from the Lewis and Clark expedition through to the early years of Western exploration that directly followed.

Good diverse information

The narrative is good and informative about various historical events of the time while staying focused on the main topic

John Colter adventures!

I loved everything about this book. I listened to it while working in 2 days. The author takes the time to expand on the what and why of the times which is very interesting but, the detailed accounts of the adventures of John Colter were absolutely riveting! I would rewind and listen to the stories 2-3 times. What a tale!

Colter left little in written records

I thought this a very good basic book on mountain men but unfortunately left you wanting to know more about Colter.
The author did excellent to state out at various points in this book that there wasn't much in the way of records to get a more fact based story of Colter beyond using what was known (and written) of mountain men.