Greetings from Wisdom, Montana

She first went to Montana to cover a ski story; later, New York reporter Rudner returned for a protracted stay to write a book about the mountains. Here she records her experiences and her transformation from ``superior Easterner'' to relaxed, if not gregarious, Westerner. Rudner had an irrational fear of bears, yet she backpacked and camped in the mountains. There are marvelous pieces of local color: Polar John's Bar, the annual College National Finals Rodeo parade in Bozeman. When she completed her mountain book, Rudner was faced with a decision about where to live; she visited Austria and Paris, then came home to Montana where she found pleasure in its rawness and exuberance. Readers who enjoyed Gretel Ehrlich's The Solace of Open Spaces will find this book to their liking. (Oct.)