The Revenant

May 6, 2002
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. Agent, Tina Bennett, Janklow & Nesbitt.(July)Forecast:Punke's novel is already slated to become a Warner Bros. movie, which could mean big sales down the line.

December 1, 2014

The American West of the 1820s is a harsh and unforgiving place, something that experienced trapper and frontiersman Hugh Glass knows all too well. After narrowly surviving an attack by a grizzly bear, Glass is robbed and abandoned by the two men in his company who were charged with watching over him. Left defenseless with life-threatening injuries, Glass channels his need for revenge into a will to live. He survives on his rage, along with his knowledge of edible plants, ingenuity, and a good sense of geography in a largely unmapped land. He encounters trappers, troops, trading-post owners, explorers, and Native Americans, both friendly and antagonistic. Punke, the author of several nonfiction titles (Fire and Brimstone; Last Stand), delivers a gripping and hard-edged tale of survival, revenge, and, ultimately, redemption in his debut novel, first published in 2002 by Carroll & Graf. This volume is a new movie tie-in version. Loosely based on true events, Glass's harrowing journey will keep readers engaged throughout. VERDICT A must-read for fans of Westerns and frontier fiction and recommended for anyone interested in stories that test the limit of how much the human body and spirit can endure. [See Prepub Alert, 9/8/14; a film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy will be released in December 2015.--Ed.].--Sarah Cohn, Manhattan Coll. Lib., Bronx, NY

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