Kayleen (jegka) reviewed A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific on + 162 more book reviews
Very thorough historical account of the early development of the western territories, the understanding of the lay of the land, and the men who contributed to that effort. From Lewis and Clark to Kit Carson and a hundred other early explorers and trappers, Utley accounts for action and motivation. The book's organization follows roughly the progression of exploration, conquest and settlement of the territories of the west but is rather convoluted. The lives of many of these men spanned the entire time period covered (roughly 1803-1857), and it is therefore difficult to follow the events of the exploration linearly without having to move from person to person, within each time period, only to do it again during the next time period.
