A Life Wild and Perilous
Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific

Taken purely as a secondary historical resource, A Life Wild and Perilous is a book that deserves attention. A well-studied historian can find, here, a vast and mostly complete picture of the early development of the western territories, the understanding of the lay of the land, and the men who cont......more

I’ve seen Utley on different PBS history shows over the years, and found him articulate and interesting (unlike a great many highly educated people who wind up on TV, but clearly never managed to learn English along the way to their advanced degrees). This book is also articulate and interesting, an......more

A very detailed and informative account of the exploration of the American West. Not as well-written as "Across the Wide Missouri," but with much greater scope. Until I read this book, I'd never heard more than passing mention of the remarkable Jedidiah Smith, who emerges as truly important figure i......more

If you want a passable, white-American perspective on the men who trekked across America in search of the Pacific Ocean, beaver pelts and riches, and bragging rights this might be alright. As other reviewers have commented, I found it hard to follow and I disliked that it didn't get as in-depth into......more

This book is dense with facts as they're popularly understood and bursting with sub-narratives that are interesting for their content, but Utley could not possibly shower more praise on the mountain men generation of early, transient pioneers, a category of historical figure he mistakenly seems to t......more