In the Alpine wilds of the Rocky Mountains, men weren't judged by whether they could read or write, or by their color, or by their family background, or by how much money they had back home. They were judged by their skill at mountain craft, by their ability to survive. They were the mountain men (1806-1836), the fur trappers and traders who ventured into the unexplored West thirty years before the settlers dared to follow.
Give Your Heart to the Hawks is the story of men like John Colter, Hugh Glass, and Jed Smith--men who risked their lives to confront the unknown, who lived with and like the Indians, and who, quite by accident, created an American myth of the free, individualistic, self-reliant Western character. Give Your Heart to the Hawks is not a formal history of the mountain men, but a personal tribute to the freest men our country has known, and an inspiration for all who have ever felt sadness at the loss of heroes in our modern culture.
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