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4.5
Myers is an excellent writer! He uses idioms, metaphors, and analogies, to make a good subject even more interesting. I chuckled several times at some of his lines, obviously meant to make some serious situations a bit more light-hearted. But he is very thorough. He sifts through every known bit of information written or said about Hugh Glass and brings out the most probable truth from the sometimes conflicting information. He takes you from his very obscure past of being a seaman, pirate, and living with the Pawnee for nearly 6 years, to his life as a frontiersman/trapper when he had his very famous encounter with Old Ephraim (the silvertip grizzly).This book is very enjoyable to read. He paints a picture of Glass as a man who didn't know the meaning of stop, or fail; one who, though ripped apart by a bear gaining infection from it, manages to crawl for 4 months over 300 miles through unfriendly Indian frozen wilderness back to safety with one thing on his mind; he wanted his rifle back.Unlike the movie "The Revenant" (starring Leonardo DiCaprio), in real life, there was no Pawnee wife, nor children to motivate him (like the movie presents). He wasn't really motivated by revenge either (again, like the movie) because he knew that the two men who abandoned him to his wounds (John Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger) thought he was dead/dying with no hope. Hugh knew if the roles were reversed, he may have had to do the same thing (leave a man to die because of the threat of Arikara Indians).So, though I loved the movie "The Revenant," it really got Hugh Glass wrong. His motivation to live and crawl back to the fort was about his rifle, not revenge (movie), nor a desire to live for his family (movie). Instead, every single retelling of Glass' story tells of his rifle being his prime motivation. This actually makes sense to a real mountain man. Their rifles/fusils(flintlocks) were their primary source of income and protection and their only companion in the wild. In fact, they often named their rifles.In the end, he regained his rifle, forgave the men who abandoned him, and ultimately ended up dead by Arikara Indians. But these Indians were later caught (possessing some of Glass's belongings), and scalped and burned at the stake.Also, there is only one writing from Hugh Glass' hand, and it is also presented in the book at the correct chronological moment.This is one of the best historical books I've ever read; and I've read 100s. Highly recommended!
