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Quick answer: If you loved Mountain Man, read Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, then Thomas Berger's Little Big Man, then Charles Portis's True Grit, and Stephen E. Ambrose's Undaunted Courage and Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires. All are frontier survival stories.
Vardis Fisher's 1965 novel Mountain Man follows a trapper in the Rockies. These picks share its wilderness.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lonesome Dove | Larry McMurtry | Adult | readers who love epics |
| Little Big Man | Thomas Berger | Adult | tall-tale Westerns |
| True Grit | Charles Portis | Adult | great narrators |
| Undaunted Courage | Stephen E. Ambrose | Adult | exploration history |
| Prairie Fires | Caroline Fraser | Adult | readers who want the real story |
| Into the Wild | Jon Krakauer | Adult | readers who want adventure and reflection |
| Hatchet | Gary Paulsen | 10-14 | survival fans |
| My Side of the Mountain | Jean Craighead George | 9-13 | nature lovers |
| The Call of the Wild | Jack London | 12+ | older kids |
| White Fang | Jack London | 12+ | older kids |
| Julie of the Wolves | Jean Craighead George | 10-13 | nature lovers |
| Old Yeller | Fred Gipson | 10-14 | readers who like frontier stories |
| Cold Mountain | Charles Frazier | Adult | literary historical fiction |
| The Orchardist | Amanda Coplin | Adult | slow Pacific Northwest fiction |
| Blood Meridian | Cormac McCarthy | Adult | older readers |
1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Two retired Texas Rangers drive cattle north to Montana in a sweeping, humane western. Pulitzer Prize winner.
Best for: readers who love epics.
2. Little Big Man by Thomas Berger
A man claims to be the last survivor of Custer's Last Stand. Funny and brutal.
Best for: tall-tale Westerns.
3. True Grit by Charles Portis
A fourteen-year-old girl hires a U.S. marshal to hunt her father's killer. Dry, witty and beloved.
Best for: great narrators.
4. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
The story of Lewis and Clark and the first journey across the continent. Detailed and gripping.
Best for: exploration history.
5. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this biography of Wilder places her life in the context of land, politics and her daughter Rose. Eye-opening and detailed.
Best for: readers who want the real story.
6. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The story of Chris McCandless, who left his life behind to live in the Alaskan wilderness. Thoughtful and tragic.
Best for: readers who want adventure and reflection.
7. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Brian survives alone in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Fast and intense.
Best for: survival fans.
8. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Sam runs away to live in a hollow tree in the Catskills. A classic of self-reliance.
Best for: nature lovers.
9. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Buck, a sled dog, is taken to the Yukon and returns to the wild. A short, intense classic.
Best for: older kids.
10. White Fang by Jack London
A wolf-dog's life from the wild to civilization. A companion to The Call of the Wild.
Best for: older kids.
11. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Miyax, an Inuit girl, survives on the Alaskan tundra with help from a wolf pack. A Newbery winner.
Best for: nature lovers.
12. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
A Texas boy bonds with a stray dog in 1860s frontier life. Moving and sad.
Best for: readers who like frontier stories.
13. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks home to his love. Slow, lyrical and rooted in landscape.
Best for: literary historical fiction.
14. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
A solitary orchardist in Washington shelters two runaway girls. Quiet and lyrical.
Best for: slow Pacific Northwest fiction.
15. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
A teen joins a group of scalp hunters on the border. Violent and poetic.
Best for: older readers.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Mountain Man: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Mountain Man. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For frontier life, read Lonesome Dove. For exploration, try Undaunted Courage. For survival, pick Hatchet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Mountain Man?
Vardis Fisher, in 1965.
Is there a film?
It inspired the 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson.
What is it about?
A trapper's life in the mountains.
Which book here is best for older readers?
Try Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, which suits readers looking for older readers.
Which book here is best for slow Pacific Northwest fiction?
Try The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin, which suits readers looking for slow Pacific Northwest fiction.
Which book here is best for literary historical fiction?
Try Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, which suits readers looking for literary historical fiction.
Which book here is best for readers who like frontier stories?
Try Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, which suits readers looking for readers who like frontier stories.
Which book here is best for nature lovers?
Try Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, which suits readers looking for nature lovers.
Which book here is best for older kids?
Try White Fang by Jack London, which suits readers looking for older kids.