Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson (Midland Book)
by Raymond W. Thorp, Robert Bunker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Raymond W. Thorp, Robert BunkerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1983-08
ISBN: 0253203120
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Book Reviews of Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson (Midland Book)
Book Review: Interesting inspiration for the movie "Jeremiah Johnson," but the exaggeration basically ruins this story.
Summary: 2 Stars
First, setting aside the obvious loathing and utter lack of pity for his Indian foes shown by the protagonist in this story, this was a wild story, with a few areas that were interesting, with some even being likely factual.
However, that is where the rest of the story falls apart.
Many of the more easily offended will be put off to the point of throwing this book away after having read only the first few pages.
On the other hand, I could overlook even the nearly comic book cruelty depicted in this book, were there at least some sense of historical context and at least a semblance of reason to it.
Sadly, the overblown storytelling makes for an account so unbelievable that I now know what it would be like to read a full length novel penned by the writers at the now defunct "Weekly World News."
Again, I realize that the REAL John Johnston, the protaganist in the story, fought a lengthy and lonely war with the proud Crow Indians, but the narrative is so sensationalized and the events so gratuitously and outrageously cruel, that I gave up on getting a feel at all for how a genuine mountain man would have lived at that time.
Of course, probably most of what happened in the movie "Jeremiah Johnson," which was adapted in part from this book, was also untrue, yet even Hollywood was able to stay on the road of what is believable, totally unlike this book, which veers directly off that road, then dives over the cliff.
Amazon, for their part, were exemplary, getting this book to me within a week, and using USPS at that.
Amazon is not to blame for a story so poorly written, and the only reason I gave it two stars instead of one was because there was at least a little verifiable information.
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