Earn Journal Of A Mountain Man: Mountain Man Classics, Book One (Epic Adventures 1) Rendered By Win Blevins Offered In Physical Book

I bailed on this one As another reviewer said, this is not a book to curl up with and read cover to cover and since it was a Amazon borrow or Amazon lending or whatever it's called, I decided to return it.
It would be better to buy a cheap second hand copy and read it whenever the mood strikes, Blevins is great at mixing fact with fiction, He does a lot of research and continues to entertain us,

“James Clyman was one of untamed and wild Americas most joyful explorers, ” Win Blevins

A member of Jedediah Smith's first mountain man brigade, Clyman was there when the South Pass was discovered, opening the intermountain West to fur trappers.
Crossing the country during the great migration of, Clyman encountered the Donner party and gave them sound advice, which they tragically ignored,

A few other adventures: He sewed Jim Bridger's ear back on after a grizzly bear attack explored the Green Valley and the Salt Lake Basin alone and weary, he walkedmiles to Fort Atkinson.
Still one of the West's most remarkable tales of survival, He also kept Bill Sublette from freezing to death en route,

Clyman crossed twice to the Pacific and ended up settling in the Napa Valley, raising his family, writing down his adventures, and spreading the legendary stories of the mountain men

In his own heartfelt and exciting way, James Clyman gives us his experiences in the heyday of the American fur trade, and during the peak

of exploration and immigration to Oregon and California.

Clyman was a keen and meticulous observer, and his epic adventures are the stuff of legends, A mustread for everyone who loves the West,

Journal of a Mountain Man

Today this journal would compare to raw video! It's Clyman's journals with helpful notes and insights that tell of his life in the's western frontier.
This book is not politically correct but it isn't prejudiced either, he just tells it like it was, If you're interested in the period when settlers were streaming across the nation and what was happening then this book is a treasure, I have read several of W, Blevins books. This one is unique because it uses Clymans' own words to paint a picture of the Wild Western Frontier before the Civil War, Clyman was a Mountain Man or trapper and trader with the plains Indian Tribes who hunted buffalo for a living,
This book is at times difficult reading but very close to reality about the trials and tribulations of the persons who crossed the plains or Great Desert of the U S A.
Water was often hard to find, food was a commonity not always available to the trappers or the Indians especially during the long cold winters,
A great resource book, I chose to read this book for two reasons:Ive long been a fan of Win Blevins andI have always wanted to learn more about what it was like to be a Mountain Man during the rugged frontier days of the American West.
James Clyman is probably not a typical Mountain Man as evidenced by his keeping journals of his travels and experiences but his careful record is invaluable to understanding this era.


This is not really a book that you sit down and read from cover to cover while curled up by the fire, Most of it is far too tedious for that, I actually read it over a period of several months, The book is mostly a collection of long detailed accounts of what exactly transpired each day during Clymans travels including weather reports, results of the hunting trip or fishing results that day and who he loaned money to.
The meat of the journals, of course, is the observations on the people and places he encounters which is of great value to scholars if not so much to the casual reader.
Win Blevins adds additional explanatory material at the end of each section and provides context with other historical events occurring at or near the same time, It was interesting to see how James Clymans trail intersected with other historical events/people with which I am familiar such as John C, Fremonts expeditions and the Donner party Clyman advised them against taking that path through the mountains,

Recommended for hardcore western history US enthusiasts but not so much for those looking for an enjoyable read, Im sure Mr. Clyman never intended his journals to be read by the masses, In fact, part of the fun is seeing just how much his command of the written word improved over the years, The first entries were hardly understandable due to spelling and grammar issues, But he seemed to rapidly improve as he practiced and gained more education between trips to the West, Winfred Blevins.