DESCRIPTION Evoking such classics as Jack London's To Build a Fire and A.B. Guthrie's The Big Sky, Michael Punke's debut novel chronicles a story of nearly-unimaginable human endurance. Based on the real life of fur trapper Hugh Glass, The Revenant recounts the toll of envy and betrayal, and the power of obsession and vengeance. Punke's novel opens in 1823, two decades after the trailblazing expedition of Lewis and Clark, when thirty-six-year-old Hugh Glass joins the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. on a venture into perilous, unexplored territory. A seasoned frontiersman, Glass is scouting ahead of the main troop when he is attacked and savagely mauled by a grizzly bear. His wounds are grievous -- scalp nearly torn off, back deeply lacerated, throat clawed open -- and he is unconscious when his fellow trappers find him. Though they wait for Glass's death, he is still drawing breath three days later. Facing hostile terriroty and the press of winter, the expedition's captain pays two volunteers -- John Fitzgerald, a ruthless mercenary, and young Jim Bridger, the future "King of the Mountain Men" -- to stay behind and bury Glass when his time comes. But the fidelity of these volunteers proves short-lived. When the Indians approach their camp, Fitzgerald and Bridger abandon Glass. Worse yet, they rob the wounded man of his rifle and knive, even his flint and steel -- the very things that might have given him a chance on his own. Deserted, defenseless, and furious, Glass vows his survival. And his revenge. Starting at a painful crawl, Glass begins an epic trek across 3000 miles of uncharted American wilderness, spanning what is today the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. Through his odyssey he truly becomes a revenant: a being who returns from the maw of death to balance the scales of justice. Relentlessly pursuing his quest, and deftly eluding the deadly forces that seem to overtake everyone who crosses his path, Glass's journey arrives at a surprising climax that will grip readers as they reflect on the nature of justice and revenge.   REVIEWS The Washington Post A superb rendering of Glass’ life and times. Punke has added considerably to our understanding of human endurance and of the men who pushed west in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark—a significant feat. From Publishers Weekly Based on a true incident of heroism in the history of the American West, this debut by a Washington, D.C., international trade attorney and former bureaucrat in the Clinton administration is an almost painfully gripping drama. A Philadelphia-born adventurer, frontiersman Hugh Glass goes to sea at age 16 and enjoys a charmed life, including several years under the flag of the pirate Jean Lafitte and almost a year as a prisoner of the Loup Pawnee Indians on the plains between the Platte and the Arkansas rivers. In 1822, at age 36, Glass escapes, finds his way to St. Louis and enters the employ of Capt. Andrew Henry, trapping along tributaries of the Missouri River. After surviving months of hardship and Indian attack, he falls victim to a grizzly bear. His throat nearly ripped out, scalp hanging loose and deep slashing wounds to his back, shoulder and thigh, Glass appears to be mortally wounded. Initially, Captain Henry refuses to abandon him and has him carried along the Grand River. Unfortunately, the terrain soon makes transporting Glass impossible. Even though his death seems certain, Henry details two men, a fugitive mercenary, John Fitzgerald, and young Jim Bridger (who lived to become a frontier hero) to stand watch and bury him. After several days, Fitzgerald sights hostile Indians. Taking Glass's rifle and tossing Bridger his knife, Fitzgerald flees with Bridget, leaving Glass. Enraged at being left alone and defenseless, Glass survives against all odds and embarks on a 3,000-mile-long vengeful pursuit of his ignominious betrayers. Told in simple expository language, this is a spellbinding tale of heroism and obsessive retribution. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Kirkus Reviews A good adventure yarn, with plenty of historical atmosphere and local color.