Jim Bridger

Trailblazer of the American West

By: Jerry Enzler

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Even among iconic frontiersmen like John C. Fremont, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger stands out. A mountain man of the American West, straddling the fur trade era and the age of exploration, he lived the life legends are made of. Here, in a biography that finally gives this outsize character his due, Jerry Enzler takes this frontiersman's full measure for the first time—and tells a story that would do Jim Bridger proud.

Born in 1804 and orphaned at thirteen, Bridger made his first western foray in 1822, traveling up the Missouri River with Mike Fink and a hundred enterprising young men to trap beaver. At twenty he "discovered" the Great Salt Lake. In the following years, he led trapping brigades into Blackfeet territory; guided expeditions of Smithsonian scientists, topographical engineers, and army leaders; and, though he could neither read nor write, mapped the tribal boundaries for the Great Indian Treaty of 1851. Enzler charts Bridger's path from the fort he built on the Oregon Trail to the route he blazed for Montana gold miners to avert war with Red Cloud and his Lakota coalition.

Tapping sources uncovered in the six decades since the last documented Bridger biography, Enzler's book fully conveys the drama and details of the larger-than-life history of the "King of the Mountain Men."

©2021 Jerome Enzler (P)2023 Tantor

One of the best

Best audiobook I’ve heard since 1776 by McCullough. Transports you right back in time. Vivid descriptions and first hand accounts of the times. So interesting. Narrator was top notch too. A perfect fit for a great book.

JIM BRIDGER A CHARACTER WITH CHARACTER

I loved the humble man who was schooled in his life as a trapper and graduated valedictorian. He mastered the art of friendship with many of the indigenous tribes but even his enemies respected him.
He lived with a map of the west in his mind and attempted to create a world where all the cultures could respect each other’s boundaries.
Bridger’s storytelling created legends of the west that shaped the culture that he stood for. His tales of Yellowstone were inspired by truth yet his embellishments led the public to conclude the area was a mountain man’s fantasy.
Jim Bridger’s legacy developed the CODE OF THE WEST!
The narrator was excellent!

One man did so much

So much of our history, heroes, villains, characters, come to life. With nearly every turn of the page there’s something new to ponder. It’s one of those books you don’t want it to end.

Good read

Lays out the man and the difficulties of mountain men: Indians, bears. the weather and other mountain men.

Amazing American History

This book opened my interest of years of future reading about the American west. I highly recommend it to anyone.