Casting about for a lighter read than some I was plowing through, I by chance I came upon Mountain Man by Vardis Fisher. It was published in '65 and was the inspiration for Jeremiah Johnson by Sidney Pollack and Robert Redford in the early '70's.

As is usually the case, the movie was but a shadow of the book. As much as I enjoyed JJ, the book far, far surpasses it. As it is often put, it was a page-turner that I hated to finish.