Rating: 
Summary: The Crow Killer Myth
Review: The author has put together an interesting fictional account
of the life of "Liver Eating Johnson." While the attempt is made
to portray Johnson as a mammoth trapper with uncanny fighting
prowress, the varied accounts of Johnson's trials and tribulationslack any credible evidence to back up the stories.
As another reviewer put it--nearly all of the feats attributable to Johnson are taken from 2nd or 3rd and even fourth-hand accounts. The Crow Killer saga is simply a myth.
When the dialect approach is taken by the author to convey
the backwoods talk of the mountain men it becomes almost laughable.
But all in all the story has the redeeming quality of at least entertaining the reader with the superman-comic-book
antics of a trapper with Karate skills. Even the sole purported
photo of the liver eater (notwithstanding his age at the time
it was taken) does not show the body frame of a giant of a man
who could knock off two indians simply by banging their heads
together.
The Liver Eater gets a One (1) for entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Much of it is inaccurate based on my past 5 yrs. research
Review: The Crow Killer is generally a semi-fictitious book about a man called John Johnston aka John Garrison. Indeed, Johnston did not war with the Crow, nor was he ever married to a Flathead squaw. He did war with the Sioux and Blackfeet, however. Much of the book is based upon unsubstantiated "heresay" from a guy name White Eye Anderson, a pioneer who purportedly knew Johnston. Anderson traveled with Wild Bill Hickock, but nothing tangible exists about him in actual print re: Liver Eating Johnston. In actuality, Johnston himself admitted that he never actually ate an Indian liver in later interviews. In my five years of research, I've never come across the name "Del Gue," Johnston's supposed friend. I've heard about Bear Claw Chris Lapp and some of the other trappers. There are just so many things in the Crow Killer that are erroneous. However, it is excellent reading if one wishes to gain a feel of how it was to be on guard against Indian attacks! If there are any readers out there who wish to respond to my post, please do so,
Rating: 
Summary: It takes awhile to get your breath...
Review: The incredible story of Johnson will hold your attention like no other book. To actually read the details of his life and his trials is almost beyond comprehension. It is a fantastic story and a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: An eye opening account of an unusual man in a violent time.
Review: The movie Jeramiah Johnson has always been one of my favorites. It turns out that the true account of the life of John Jonston (his real name), though no less fascinating, is not much like the movie at all. The movie portrays a lonley man haunted by relentless attacks from the Crow Indians. This is partly true, but if you have seen the movie and think you know a little of the history of the man, you will be amazed at how much you did not know after reading the book. This was a truly violent, ruthless man, living in a time and place where those traits were not uncommon. The book reads quickly and gives you a sense of awe for the man, and the manner which he and his companions lived. Though the book is mainly based on documented accounts of those who knew Johnston, I sometimes found parts of it hard to believe. One example is simply the sheer number of Indians this man kills throughout the book. That alone is nearly beyond belief, and I wonder if some of the accounts may have been exaggerated. That aside, the book was very enjoyable. A true taste of the harshness of the place and the people of that time. You'll never look at a liver the same after reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: Read It Now
Review: This book is a very good recollaection of Jerimiah Johnsons life. From when he first appeared in the mountains in his early 20's to his death. This book brings Johnson to life in much the same way Robert Redford did in the movie but unlike the movie this book focus's more on the man himself and not those around him. This book is filled with gory accounts of his fights and it also shows how fearless the Mountain Men were. If you are interested at all in the Mountain Men of the late1700's and 1800's then this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Crow Killer Myth
Review: This little volume of what professes to be pure history contains the exploits, along with a good many stories that probably aren't true, of the Mountain Man John Johnson. Some of these stories are almost definitely true--Johnson's battle with the twenty Crow warriors over fourteen years, for example. Still, some of these tales are more than likely fictitious, made-up accounts passed on among the last Mountain Men until Thorp stumbled upon them.
For sources, Thorp has few, and they are second or third-hand at best. Most of them were old men who were trying to remember stories or `things they'd heard' a half-century before. Even Thorp's principal source, "White-eye" Anderson, was getting most of his information third-hand. Thorp proclaims his source as impeccable, but even he can't help but include, in the course of the narrative, that White-eye had a famous capacity for "story-telling."
So why give this any stars at all? Well, it IS fun to read. A lot of these stories are just plain entertaining, and Johnson's war against the Crows is based in fact (in fact, this account is probably fairly accurate). No matter what, you can get a good look at the late Mountain Man era by reading about Johnson (and his companions') exploits. Of course, sneaking up on Indians and massacring them does get quite dull even after less than two hundred pages, so fortunately this book isn't longer.
All in all, this is an entertaining read. It isn't written very well, and the author's attempts at dialect are horrendous, but it is still a lot of fun. Just bear in mind that this little book, history though it proclaims to be, is probably as much Mountain Man myth as anything.
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of fun to read, but...
Review: This little volume of what professes to be pure history contains the exploits, along with a good many stories that probably aren't true, of the Mountain Man John Johnson. Some of these stories are almost definitely true--Johnson's battle with the twenty Crow warriors over fourteen years, for example. Still, some of these tales are more than likely fictitious, made-up accounts passed on among the last Mountain Men until Thorp stumbled upon them.
For sources, Thorp has few, and they are second or third-hand at best. Most of them were old men who were trying to remember stories or 'things they'd heard' a half-century before. Even Thorp's principal source, "White-eye" Anderson, was getting most of his information third-hand. Thorp proclaims his source as impeccable, but even he can't help but include, in the course of the narrative, that White-eye had a famous capacity for "story-telling."
So why give this any stars at all? Well, it IS fun to read. A lot of these stories are just plain entertaining, and Johnson's war against the Crows is based in fact (in fact, this account is probably fairly accurate). No matter what, you can get a good look at the late Mountain Man era by reading about Johnson (and his companions') exploits. Of course, sneaking up on Indians and massacring them does get quite dull even after less than two hundred pages, so fortunately this book isn't longer.
All in all, this is an entertaining read. It isn't written very well, and the author's attempts at dialect are horrendous, but it is still a lot of fun. Just bear in mind that this little book, history though it proclaims to be, is probably as much Mountain Man myth as anything.
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