John Adams, better known as Grizzly Adams, was one of the Old West's most famous frontiersmen. Of all the colorful '49ers who flocked to California during the gold rush, Adams was among the most adventuresome.

Disillusioned with the greed and corruption he found in the goldfields, Adams turned his back on society and found refuge and a new life in the vast Western wilderness. His years in the wild Sierra Nevada were filled with hair-raising escapes from wild animals and incredible exploits of courage and daring. He confronted jaguars in their lairs, tamed dangerous grizzlies, and trapped probably the largest grizzly taken in his day; a 1,200-pound animal he named Samson.

Grizzly Adams was a man of contradictions—a fearless hunter who made hundreds of kills yet usually preferred the company of bears to that of his human companions. His story recalls the grandeur of unspoiled nature as far as the eye could see, a time when Indians roamed the game-filled valleys of the West, and the unpredictable temper of a wild animal or whirling blizzard could decide the fate of a lone hunter.

Grizzly Adams became a legend in his own lifetime, and he and his California Menagerie were one of showman P.T. Barnum's leading attractions. Robert McClung's adventure-filled biography brings to life this unique individual and explores the real man who was Grizzly Adams.

From Dust Jacket