1 comments about Kidnapped in the Amazon Jungle.

1. I read this book over a decade ago. I just can't believe no one has reviewed it. I just remember that it was really good. I'll try my best review it. It takes place in the Peruvian Amazon region during the rubber boom. Manuel is a young teen living in a dull town and anxious to join his uncle in the rubber tapping business. He goes against his mother's wishes. When sailing down the Amazon they are attacked by hostile Indians who resent the encroachment. Manuel is captured and very slowly integrated into the tribe. He assimilates their customs, including using hallucinogenic drugs for visions. He is eventually bestowed the honor of becoming the apprentice to the shaman, healer.

2 comments about Hermann Buhl: Climbing Without Compromise.

1. Hermann Buhl: Climbing Without Compromise does a great job of engaging the reader on several levels. Firstly, the photos are absolutely stunning. I've seen books with only photos, not as good as those included here, that retail for more than this book. The second way this book engages readers is through the well-told story of one of the most interesting characters in mountaineering history. Finally, and perhaps best of all, by using extensive source material from Hermann Buhl directly, this book actually comes across as a personal introduction to the legend, Hermann Buhl, himself.



2. Hermann Buhl was one of the greatest mountain climbers of the last century and this book consists primarily of excerpts from his climbing diaries, starting from his earliest climbs as a teenager in the Dolomites, continuing through his major triumphs, including, of course, the conquest of Nanga Parbat that made him world famous, and ending with his ill-fated attempt on Chogolisa. There are also several biographical essays, including contributions by his daughter and a long-time climbing friend, and many of the diary excerpts are accompanied by further editorial details about the circumstances of the climbs. The ugly politics that were involved in the Nanga Parbat climb and their effect on Buhl are also discussed in the commentaries.

   Although it is not as detailed an account of Buhl's climbing life as "Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage", this newer book has several advantages over Buhl's autobiography. The perspectives offered by the third-party commentators are very useful. There is a full description of Buhl's final climbs and untimely death. "Climbing Without Compromise" is nicely illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs that make a great contribution (although the story would be easier to follow in places with the addition of some maps). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, one gets to read Buhl's story in his own words. According to the editors Messner and Höfler, Kurt Maix, the editor of "Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage", re-wrote considerable portions of Buhl's text using far more flowery and poetic language than Buhl himself would have chosen. In any event, the two books, while overlapping to a degree, do complement each other as well. (And where there is repetition, the English-language reader will benefit from having access to two translations.)

5 comments about Tracks in the Sea : Matthew Fontaine Maury and the Mapping of the Oceans.

1. In the days before computers there was Matthew Fontaine Maury. Almost unknown today, Maury was a navigation and sailing genius, a Lieutenant in the US Navy, who was the father of modern navigation and ocean science. He was a land lubber.
   
   During the age of sail longitude was an uncertain calculation. As a result, it was often impossible for ships to know exactly where they were. After the invention on the chronometer, things improved, but chronometers being expensive, route planning was a hit or miss thing. As a result, for the most part, navigation was anecdotal. There were no highways in the seas, no scientifically determined sailing truisms or protocols, and hundreds of ships were lost each year.
   
   Until Maury, knowledge of prevailing winds and currents had advanced little from Columbus. But between 1842 and 1861, he and his staff mapped the ocean's great surface currents and wind systems. They showed ship captains how to shave weeks, even months from voyages. Tracks in the Sea is the biography of this remarkable, self taught, self made man whose remarkable career culminated as head of the U.S. Navel Observatory. In a world interconnected by maritime commerce, Maury's work was critically important, not just to Americans, by to all nations.
   
   This is an amazing story. To have compiled the thousands and thousands of ship's logs and sailing observations, drawing trends and systematic sailing instructions, by month, for all the oceans of the world, has to be one of man's most astounding scientific achievements. This is a most remarkable work about a most remarkable American.



2. This is simply a wonderfully written book about an almost forgotten man, Matthew Fontaine Muray.
   
   Maury lived in the golden days of sail, the 1800's. In those days, the ocean was a big, mysterious, and dangerous place. Sailors had decent charts of the continents, and by the middle of the century. they had decent chronometers to help them navigate (find the Longitude). But what they did not have was a set of charts showing where the winds blew when. Sure, they had some knowledge, gained by long experience, but no scientific knowledge.
   
   What Maury did was to make a life-long scientific study of the winds and currents around the world, with a view of shortening sailing times, thus reducing expenses and increasing safety. At first glance, this does not sound like much, but it took reading literally hundreds of thousands of logs to collect this information, then making charts showing the direction and strength of the wind and current in every month of the year.
   
   Did Maury's efforts work? Would you call shaving a month off a sailing trip from New England to Rio worthwhile? This was the typical result of skippers who followed Maury's charts.
   
   He also 'invented', to a large degree, the science of oceanography, and did a lot to standardize and strengthen the science of meteorology.
   
   Many think this information has been rendered useless by powered ships. Wrong. People who sail long distances always have a current copy of this type of chart onboard, and plan their itineraries around the winds and tides. Professional seamen, especially of very large ships, also continue to use this information, as the sea can overpower even enormous ships like supertankers.
   
   If you enjoy reading books like Dava Sobel's book Longitude, about John Harrison and his clocks, you will equally enjoy Tracks in the Sea. Highly recommended.



3. Mr. Hearn's splendid account of the life of the self-taught Matthew Maury is one that should be read by anyone with the remotest interest in sailing or the industrial revolution. He should also be of interest to those who want a concrete account of the benefits of "data-mining" in which miscellaneous, disparate sources of information are aggregated into something which is tremendously useful.

   Maury took crates of old ship logs, and extracted the data about weather and currents as a function of date and location, and produced ingenious maps of the sea that could be used to plot voyages that minimized the time of passage. In the age of the American clipper ships, the time saved could be quite substantial, even amounting to as much as factor of two over the haphazard routes used by the intuitive captains of the day.

   The reduction of the data and the production of the maps was carried out by only a handful of men at the U.S. Naval Observatory, but produced tremendous economic advantages to those who used them. They were quickly adopted by the merchant marine, and by cleverly requiring the recipients of the latest maps to turn over to him logs taken in a standard format, he was able to gather tons of new data for ever-improving successive maps. Maury also discovered the feasibility for the route of the first transatlantic cable, and fought to establish the first weather bureau in the US.

   He also brought about the convening of a Brussels Marine meteorology Conference in 1853 that was attended by nine countries and resulted in the adoption of a uniform method of gathering and disseminating the information among the world. Not bad for a simple Lieutenant! His quarrels with the jealous Joseph Henry (of electromagnetic induction fame) and others of his ilk are instructive to those interested in stories of how pettiness and obstructionism of powerful men can be overcome by men of true ability.

   This story is well researched and ably told by Mr. Hearn, and is another exciting adventure of the heroes who made the industrial revolution.




4. Maury's life, rising from the humble origins of a farming family in Virginia and then Tennessee, to a career as an internationally renowned scientist, is quite interesting, and generally well told by author Chester Hearn. Most scientists would feel their careers were a success if they made a few contributions to their area of science. Maury's genius invented two whole sciences: oceanography and marine astronomy. He significantly improved navigation by finding "tracks in the sea," the patterns which numerous currents and winds follow all over the globe. Perhaps because he sided with the Confederacy in the Civil War, he became a relatively obscure figure. Since he had an enduring influence on the human race's knowledge of the oceans, he deserves to be better known. This book will help, and is well worth reading.



5. This is a great book for anyone with an interest in or passion for sailing, navigation, mapping and charting or who holds an interest in the challenges of early explorers.

5 comments about Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire.

1. This is an excellent biography of an American that few people know about. Fremont was truly a vivid member of history from the days of the early republic through the age of manifest destiny. This book covers not only Fremont's triumphs but his downfalls. While a young and impetuous (sometimes dishonest) man, Fremont was successful in helping to expand this countries knowledge of its own topography and boundaries. Through a vivid use of journals and maps Fremont led expeditions that cataloged the trails for westward expansion.
   His service in the army corp. of engineers helped with the capture of California through bravado more so than force. After his brief governorship of California, Fremont was found guilty at a court marital for his actions against General Kearny and the Polk administration. Fremont's retirement would lead him to business ventures and a run for the presidency as the Republican Party's first candidate. These distinctions would continue as he was a commander of the western union forces during the Civil War. His greatest act here would be to promote a little known Grant to general and command the armies of Tennessee. Overall this is an excellent biography and does a great job of providing a balanced look at a little known person in American history. Highly recommended for those who want to understand how the groundwork for manifest destiny was laid.



2. This is a massively important book, one that invokes not only America, but also the frontier and the life of a man who, hitherto a minor player in history, has been brought to the forefront to show how he embodied an age. The author puts himself astride the arguments of American history, showing how John Charles Fremont was once the epitome of the American who helped brave the wilderness, and how recent revisionist historians cast him as an imperialist and a leader in the persecution of the Native Americans. For the author Fremont is neither and both, a man who forced America to "reimagine America itself". Born in 1813 in Savannah, Fremont was to embody America itself, the Colossus in the Cradle, that was just beginning to feel its way into the new frontier of the West.
   
   He was to be surveyor in the 1830s when the Cherokee nation was relocated. Fremont's most important expeditions would be between 1838 and 1854, charting various routes and mapping the American west. His campfires and wagon trails are today nothing but dust, few are preserved. The author sought in van to find them but found instead the legacy of Fremont, America astride the West gave birth to the American West and after that to commerce and the great movement of population, for which Fremont's old camping sites are now national parks or owned by the government or inside the property of corporations.
   
   This book evokes so many things it is hard not to give it praise for all of them. It tells the story of the American West and attempts by well meaning explorers to sympathize and help Native-Americans, Fremont himself judged the U.S government deficient in its promises to the American Indian.
   
   An amazing read that will be enjoyed by any student of American history or anyone interested in the frontier or the American West.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



3. John Fremont was (in some aspects) the Alexander Hamilton of the mid-19th century. That may seem like a strange comparison, but they had one very strong similarity.... you either loved them or you hated them. Both were seen as larger than life and aroused strong emotions throughout the country.
   
   There are some pretty significant differences between the two - Fremont was world-renowed explorer of the American Wild West - while Hamilton was a bona fide finacial genius (which Fremont definitely was not!). Hamilton died too young and became somewhat of a martyr and his reputation has grown. Fremont may have lived a little too long and scandal soiled and diminished his reputation.
   
   Now to Chaffin's wonderful biography on Fremont: What a great/interesting read! The characters are much larger than life John Fremont, Thomas Hart Benton (His father-in-law), General Stockton (Who helped win California fo America) and of course Fremont's exploring buddy Kit Carson.
   
   Chaffin tells a tale that is so odd that it must be true. The tales of Fremont's four main explorations is straight out of a Hollywood movie. We follow Fremont up mountains, across rivers, through deserts - we see how they faced extreme starvation and how some members were forced to turn to canabalism (ouch!).
   
   Chaffin presents Fremont with warts and all - there is mention of his affairs, his conceit, his insubortination, his shameless self-promotion and his many financial blunders. While Chaffin does not apologize for Fremonts faults he also chooses not to dwell on these aspects.
   
   So why only four stars? There are some minor flow problems (for me) I found that the section on the war for California to be far too long, and the sections on Fremont's role in the Civil War and his ill fated Presidential campaign to be far too short. However, a significant amount of the book concentrates on Fremont's explorations.... which is exactly why I give a full recommendation.



4. I loved this book--an inspiring story that conveys the excitment of the exploration of the west. Author includes historical background so Fremonts actions are placed in the context of the time. Very readable--almost like a novel. The one drawback are the maps of Fremonts explorations. They are merely sketch maps without any location detail--I would have liked to have seen more detailed cartography with, perhaps, landforms included. Many (most) place names in the book are not shown on the maps. I kept my atlas at hand while reading, but many place names have changed. I strongly recommend.



5. A good book, rich in historical detail, but...wow, the copyediting is bad. It's enough that it's really hard to read the book. I hope they can fix the copyediting problems if they reprint the book or bring it out in paperback.

No comments about Great Black Heroes: Five Brave Explorers (level 4) (Hello Reader).

No comments about Women Explorers (Women Who Dare).

5 comments about William Clark and the Shaping of the West.

1. This is an interesting work on William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame. Touched on only briefly in most histories, Clark was quite an enigmatic person who figured prominently in early American and early Missouri frontier history. The subtitle, Shaping of the West, is quite appropriate as Clark, as Indian Agent for Missouri, negotiated numerous treaties with the Osage, Missouri, Fox, Sac, Winnebago and other contemporary Indian tribes.
   
   Landon Jones does not spend too much time on the epic, 1803-1806 transcontinental exploration, choosing instead to focus on the other aspects of Clark's life. Brother of General George Rogers Clark, William is intimately connected in the Trans Appalachian West's Indian wars with the Shawnee and various other Lake Country, Northwest Indian tribes which culminated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. This start sets the tone for the rest of his life which was spent fighting, evaluating, negotiating and moving Indians as America's frontiers rapidly moved across the Eastern and Midwestern United States.
   
   For 50 years Clark and his family are directly involved in the early stages of America's Manifest Destiny, in the sweep of American history from colonial Virginia to the conquest of the West. No one played a larger part in that accomplishment than William Clark.



2. 
   What impresses immediately about this biography is the fact that it's a FULL biography and is not just concerned with the famed Lewis & Clark Expedition (only one of the ten chapters deals with it). Clark was born in 1770 (one of his older brothers was George Rogers Clark, the "hero of Vincennes" during the Revolutionary War), and took part in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 (it was on this campaign that he first met Meriwether Lewis). Resigning his commission from militia duty two years later, he retired to the family farm in Kentucky (near present-day Louisville). It was here that Lewis contacted Clark in 1803 proposing co-leadership roles in the expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Clark was the chief mapmaker on the journey, and also was preferred over Lewis as the one to negotiate with the Indians.
   
   After the successful completion of this extraordinary exploring venture, Clark was named the principal Indian agent at St. Louis. He established Ft. Osage on the Missouri River and began dealing with Native American concerns, building a reputation as a fair, friendly, and compassionate (for his day) agent. He was present at Prairie du Chien during the late 1820s to help conclude major treaties with various tribes. He died in St. Louis in 1838.
   
   Clark has been praised often as a brave and able explorer, and a successful Indian agent. He was human, though, and there were dark sides to Clark as well, which Jones is willing to point out. Once when he had "trouble" with one of his slaves, he paid a man 50 cents to whip him. Tens of thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from their lands while he was Indian agent, most notably the Cherokees, who were made to walk to Oklahoma from their lands in the southeastern US along what became know as the "Trail of Tears" because of the death and misery endured along it. Heroes, like everyone else, are not cut from a single cloth, and whether the reader thinks of Clark as a hero at all, Jones provides a balanced and fair account of Clark's life on which to decide.



3. I highly recommend this book. William Clark is presented as a highly capable and effective leader. He comes across as a strong and determined soldier, an amazing traveler and explorer, and a friendly man. But his prejudices (like nearly everyone of his generation) against African and Native Americans are described in striking detail.
   
   Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery is only briefly described, and other books have told the full account of this story. Instead Jones concentrates the first half of the book on Clark's developmental years including his military service in various Indian conflicts prior to the expedition and his other preparation just growing up in the wilderness (I grew up in Kentucky, and Jones does a great job talking about Harrodsburg, Locust Grove, and Louisville). A sidelight story of his brother George Rogers Clark's campaigns against the Indians and his later struggles with managing the Northwest and with alcohol and poverty is fascinating. The last half of the book is informative and profoundly disturbing. Holding various administrative positions in Missouri, Clark was often the most powerful man in the West. He was responsible for the US's management of Indian affairs, and Clark signed more than 35 treaties with these tribes. There is a sameness to the ethnic cleansing that Clark helped perpetrate.
   
   Jones kept me engaged throughout the book. Clark doesn't come off as a deep thinker or a complex man. Instead he is a creature of his times, and white Americans were extremely effective in our cruelty as we took control of the West . At times Clark rises above the rest - his treatment of Sacagawea and her son - but at times he is a cold hearted bastard - his relationship with his famous slave York.
   
   Clark lived a long and full life. One particularly enjoyable (and very well done feature of this book) is Jones' willingness to digress as he discusses the many people whose life Clark touches . The list is long and I appreciated these brief descriptions of de Tocqueville, Anthony Wayne, Thomas Hart Benton, Lafayette, William Henry Harrison, Black Hawn, Tecumseh, and many others.



4. Book came in timly manner as described. Would buy again.



5. Reads like a Time or People magazine story -- both politically correct and boring.

5 comments about In Search of the Elusive Peace Corps Moment: Destination: Estonia.

1. Excellent book, about one of the nicest places in the world. Tone is understated, sense of humour is - well - rather Estonian. Strongly recommended.



2. I am still living and working on Hiiumaa as it was years ago, when Douglas made his carrieer as volunteer. You cant find me in the book, but number of real people working on Hiiumaa in those years.
   
   All these stories have bit different angle (and definitely not all stories), when they are told by people, who know Douglas. This book doesnt teach you how to be a volunteer, but just describing a way of a man searching his role in community. ... and Douglas succeeded - we all know him as "Our own American".
   
   (...)



3. I absolutely loved this book. Douglas Wells has a true Midwestern Charm about him that makes this book irresistable. I bought this book and figured I would save it for some summer reading on the farm. But sitting in my dorm I decided I wanted to glimpse over the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't even study for my finals and all my friends were asking to borrow it because I seemed to enjoy it so much.
   
   Douglas Wells talks about his sometime arrogant views of Russians, falling in Love, and the frustration of the Peace Corps. He has some memorable stories about the first time he drank the local beer, sauna trips, and uncovering a lost bells from the WW2 era. A postive book about a Peace Corps experience and a real page turn. Might not change your life or rock your world but it will make you laugh and make you want to tell your friends some of his stories.



4. Not only a great read but also informative. As one of the first Peace Corps books I read I didn't know what to expect but it was surprisingly good. I have read numerous Peace Corps book since but this one remains my favorite.



5. As an Estonian-American who grew up in the US and a visitor of Hiiumaa for a 2 -week vacation, after Wells' "Peace Corps Moment", I was pleasantly surpised to find how tourist friendly the island had become, from what I remembered from a previous visit. After reading the book, I realized how much Douglas Wells had been involved in creating the change. Hiiumaa has much to offer and Douglas captures the essence of Hiiumaa and the Estonian character and humor. I very much enjoyed his book and could not help but chuckle my way through it.

4 comments about Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America.

1. I am pleased to give my unprejudiced review of Under A Wild Sky by William Souder, my son.
   The author paints a picture, in words, of a 19th century complicated man, dedicated to giving his and future generations beautiful and accurate portraits of Birds Of America. This is a great book for all interested in learning about the life of the man and his work.



2. William Souder doesn't just describe Audubon's personality. Souder appears to be Aubudon's best friend who has been watching Audubon for years. Now, Souder is telling the reader how his best friend works and what drove his friend to make "Birds of America."



3. It's been over a century since naturalist John James Audubon's death, but his fame is no less for it, and author William Souder's biography Under A Wild Sky: John James Audubon And The Making Of The Birds Of America provides both a well-researched biography and an inviting leisure read recreating Audubon's time and passion. Chapters tell of the lush abundance of species Audubon was called upon to catalog, and tells of his struggle to gain recognition for his work. A 'must' for any Audubon fan.



4. Like most everyone, I have been slightly familiar with Audubon's Birds of America-but I had no insight into the man or the world that produced his famous series of meticulous paintings. From the first page, William Souder's excellent book drew me into its engrossing narrative, making the carefully researched details come alive. Because of the detail and the direct writing style, the world Souder portrays seems close and immediate-almost like today-but in many ways it was light-years from today's modern world.
   
   In detailing Audubon the man, Souder shows us a fascinating, infuriating character, obsessive in his hunting, exploring and collecting efforts, relentless in his painting, while often oblivious to his domestic responsibilities and economic situation. Reconstructing an immense amount of research materials, Souder describes Audubon's acclaim and success in Scotland and England, leading to the historic publication of the monumental Birds of America. While cutting a flamboyant, confident figure in Europe, we also see Audubon's private torments. His incompetent letters to his wife- addressing her as "dearest friend"- provokes an extended almost tragic transatlantic misunderstanding. Reading these passages should make us forever grateful for telephones!
   
   Under a Wild Sky is full of wonderful rich description, and for this we can thank Audubon and others for having kept detailed journals and letters. But I was most impressed with Souder's ability to write in a familiar, personal style that weaves it all into a highly readable, intelligent and entertaining narrative that-as I said before-really makes the subject come alive. Highly recommended.

2 comments about Beyond the Limits: The Lessons Learned from a Lifetime's Adventures.

1. Ranulph Fiennes is a remarkable person who set out to achieve what most considered impossible. From circumnavigating the Earth's polar axis to discovering a lost ancient city in Arabia to gut-wrenching unsupported polar treks, Fiennes shares the ups and downs of a life lived in full.
   
   Here are the finely-distilled lessons learned of an intrepid spirit, told through captivating stories of adventure and magnificent photographs.
   
   This book provides hard-earned, sage advice for people from all walks of life. Recommended.



2. Sir Randolph Fiennes has been called the 'world's greatest living explorer': he's spent thirty years circumnavigating the globe, broken many exploration records, and has had both high and low moments in the process, so it's little surprise BEYOND THE LIMITS provides such a fascinating memoir and examination of these points. Ranulph Fiennes's lifetime of adventures is documented in a vivid series of lessons: add color photos and you have an outstanding achievement.