5 comments about Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu.

1. The subject matter is interesting, but the narrative and analysis are on the level of a high-school report. The text is full of trite phrases and hackneyed expressions, and the author applies a modern-day slant to his assumptions. There is too much "it was as if..." and "he might have...." The illustrations are badly selected and not always relevant. The author uses quotations ineffectively. This book just didn't work for me.



2. What an Excellent Read !!!!!!!!!! history, travelogue, adventure, biography ...................... totally fascinating,
   
   The new revelations on the life, times and travel of Marco, his father and uncle are mind boggling. Based on recent research, it turned out Marco wasn't just a b.s.'ing Venetian after all.
   
   From the great naval battle of Korcula to Marco's final days, this bio/adventure is hard to put down. The history involved, from the "Divine Wind" to Marco's visits to south east asia, india, socotra island .......... history of the great mongol empire, life and times of Kublai Khan, glimpses of the early christian church, voyages, intrepid travellers ....................... it is all here !!
   
   excellent read, rabbie b.



3. A thoroughly researched account of a fascinating life. You could spend a lifetime going through the sources in the book's notes & bibliography, and the book inspires you to do just that. However, it's marred by Bergreen's writing style. His comments after quoted material-- and there is, rightly, a LOT of quoted material-- are often superfluous and give the unpleasant impression of reading a book report. A very well-researched book report, but a book report nonetheless. Still, a good launching point to learn more about an intriguing chapter in history.



4. Having just read Laurence Bergreen's "Over the edge of the world", I couldn't wait to read his new work on the travels of "Marco Polo" Mr. Bergreen is a stickler for accuracy and research. I think he spends more time researching than writing. This is an excellent account of Marco's adventures and experiences traveling along and beyond The Silk Road. My only criticism is that in trying to be so factual some of the passages were difficult for me to understand. Maybe it is the translation from Medieval Italian to English. As of now, I'm just waiting for Mr. Bergreen's next book.



5. MARCO POLO: FROM VENICE TO XANADU BY LAURENCE BERGREEN: Laurence Bergreen, whose last book, Over the Edge of the World, charted Magellan's circumnavigation of the world, returns with a fresh and thorough biography on the remarkable and renowned thirteenth century traveler, Marco Polo. Marco Polo begins in a style that is becoming modern with biographies such as Caroline Alexander's Bounty, near the end of Marco Polo's life when he is a renowned traveler of noble stature and wealth; this makes the return to Polo's younger life as an inexperienced person all the more poignant.
   
   Marco Polo was not the first to feel the urge and thrill to travel the world; it was an experience and almost expectation instilled within his family for some time. At the age of seventeen, barely a man, Marco Polo began his first journey with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo bound for the court of Kublai Khan in 1271. While the focus of the book is on Polo's time spent with the Great Khan, Bergreen spends time details sights and experiences on the Polos' travels across the known world to China where Marco became a personal advisor to Kublai Khan in 1275. Marco then spent almost twenty years in service to the Khan, traveling the many surrounding countries and gathering intelligence and acting as a tax collector for the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. It is here that we see through Marco's eyes and how he views this world that is greatly different to the one he was used to in Venice: from Asbestos manufacture, to crocodile hunting, to the sexual habits of the different peoples; the practice of offering up one's wife to passing travelers was one that greatly perplexed and put Marco ill at ease.
   
   While the book does cover Marco Polo's life, Bergreen seems almost hesitant to offer commentary of opinion on the Polo's habits, ideas, and reactions. Nevertheless, Marco Polo is a fascinating read into the life of the often misunderstood Venetian.
   
   [...]

5 comments about Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

1. I found this book inspiring. His will to live drove him to make decisions that most of us cannot even imagine. It will drive readers to value their lives even more.
   
   I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because, as it is well written, it is a bit drawn out. I kept wanting to skip ahead.
   
   Overall - Very good read.



2. I've a feeling we have not heard the last of Aron Ralston, but it won't be long before we do.
   
   His narration of the nearly fatal idiocy that cost him his right hand is interspersed with flashback stories of even greater follies accomplished during previous wilderness "adventures." We are regaled with accounts of running barefoot through the snow with a bear in pursuit, leaping fully clothed into a raging Colorado River for no apparent reason, rock climbing (in sandals, no less) over, and then falling into, a patch of prickly pear cactus, having his footwear fall apart midway up the face of a 2,000-foot sheer granite wall - these apparently recounted in hopes of showing what an accomplished (or at least, passionate) outdoorsman he is - are not the stuff of legend, or inspiration, or courage; they are the tales of a bonehead in search of a Darwin Award. An Hero.
   
   I continually found myself wondering why anybody who suffered such an unbroken string of disasters brought about by poor decision-making, unpreparedness, naivete, or downright pigheadedness would be set up as an inspirational character (or why anyone would seek to publicize their own stupidity thus); but then I remember Timothy Treadwell and his ardent supporters and followers.
   
   In any event, the straw that broke this camel's back was Aron's reviling us with an event he saw as amusing and clever: he and his friends composed a "joke" distress note and put it in an empty vodka bottle which they then threw into Havasupai Creek, to flow over Mooney falls, to perhaps "be found by a jet skier in Lake Mead." Right. More likely broken glass discovered by the waders barefoot downstream.
   
   Oh, I could go on and on.. and Aron does. A litany of grief and stupidity haunts this guy and anyone who does business with him. He manages to lose not only his ice axe on one winter ascent, but the team's only map as well, resulting in abandonment of their summit bid in lieu of an emergency hunt for a way off the mountain.
   
   I think of the disaster that befell the Everest climbers in Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", or the mystery of what happened to Irvine and Mallory detailed in "Ghosts of Everest" and innumerable other actually heroic stories, of excruciating ordeals, unbelievable fortitude and character displayed by many climbers and outdoorsfolk, and then I think of this clown losing his team's map while traipsing around on a 14,000 foot mountain, for cripe sake.
   
   I think about this jamoke going out in the wintertime to scale Colorado's mountains without proper clothing or food, or common sense or respect for the nature in general and mountains in particular. He hikes up mountains in the wintertime but has not the sense to put his chocolate bars or water in an inside pocket where they won't freeze, then bemoans the fact as if it were some giant life lesson Gaia bestows only on hardy souls (who venture forth thus unencumbered with brains).
   
   Feh. Do yourself a favor and skim the tripe. There are perhaps 100 readable pages in the book, and don't swallow any of Aron's stultifying psuedo-religious gobbledygook or cerulean blue prose-poems; it's mostly blather perpetrated by a not-too-bright adrenaline junkie who very well could be the next famous bear scat.



3. I think readers would be better served by skipping every other chapter in this book or just searching online for Aron Ralston, you'll find it. A reader above mentioned he doesn't come off as bragging about his exploits, I found exactly the opposite.
   
   On one hand, Aron and I have been in many of the same places, (probably around the same time) and in a way, reading about his adventures in various places brought back great memories for me. On the other hand, If I wanted to read about his memoir, I'd have bought that book. Halfway through the book I found myself saying, just cut it off already!
   
   While I do respect his accomplishments in his winter solo ascents, I simply don't respecting his risky backcountry decisions. He is redeemed though by calling himself out, recognizing that he's lost friends over his past irresponsible backcountry recklessness. In a sense, the book is a primer for what not to do in the winter backcountry.
   
   I thought it was interesting how with Ralston's considerable experience, intelligence, engineering rigging skills and strength none of it mattered in the end. Just a guy with no more options that did what needed to be done.



4. Aron is an inspiration to all of us and an incredible writer. He fully acknowledges his flaws as a human being which makes this book all the more powerful. He loves life to the limit and paid a high price to do so.
   
   My son was seriously injured in the Iraq war and I purchased a copy for him. It takes courage to make a good life...and Aron has no shortage of that.



5. Like many I heard about this in the national media and read some about it in Outside. Like many I thought what a jerk! This guy is an idiot. Well he is not. In this book he comes off as a very capable thoughtful adventurer. He managed his "problem" very well this book is highly entertaining. Even though you know what is going to happen it is still riveting. There is none of the jerk seen at the post press rescue press conference. Turns out he was high on painkillers for most of the presser. Luckily for readers he was not when he recorded this book. Excellent work of a most interesting life. Strong recommend for adventurers of both the outside and arm chair variety.

5 comments about Wind, Sand and Stars.

1. Like many of his contemporaries, European aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944) was seeking the meaning of life in the post World War I world. He looked for it and often found it outside the bounds of quotidian existence. His job as a pilot for Aeropostale, the French air mail service, offered him a unique perspective as he encountered the elements up close and personal in small planes he guided over vast deserts, oceans and mountains, and through fog, storms and, in a memorable account, a cyclone. His survival depended upon a heightened awareness of nature's elements. His was a life lived large and he knew it; he pities the poor bureaucrat's confined existence; he pities even more the child who with the right "gardener" could become a prince or another Mozart but who is groomed rather to lead a circumscribed life.
   
   His narrative never bogs as he connects the concrete elements of nature with abstract sentiments. He renders his adventures vividly, especially the climatic chapter in which he and his mechanic survive a crash in the Sahara with almost no provisions. A year after that, in 1936, he goes off to Spain and the Civil War to learn why it is that mankind reaches the flash point of war and willingly puts itself in harm's way. That experience and the lessons it divulges comprise the last chapter. Among his often surprising observations is the note on how wild geese flying overhead can stir domestic birds below.
   
   The author speaks in the idiom of a masculine age and a self-assured European culture. The idiom is noticeable but does not diminish the vision or lyricism of the book. I read the 1967 Harvest edition of the book that offered a translation that preserved the authentic voice of the book.



2. It is not exaggeration to say that the reading of four books--one of them "The Little Prince" by St. Exupery--changed my life. It would also not be an overstatement to say all my reading now is done to try to find another title or two to add to this list. (Maybe, though, the changing of my life is of little consequence. . .it slips away. . .it slips away. Maybe now I read to have another title to suggest to my children. They still, I hope, have much of life left. Let their changing begin.)
   
   So, I suggest the "Wind Sand, and Stars" to them.
   St. Exupery writes so convincingly of what the human spirit could achieve:
   "To be a (man) is precisely, to be responsible. . .It is to feel, when setting one's stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world."
   and so devastatingly about what is has achieved:
   ". . .war is won by him who rots last--but in the end both rot together."
   There is wisdom in this book; wisdom in all his books.
   
   I worry, though, that my suggestion will go unheeded. St. Exupery was younger than both my grandfathers. Yet he writes of a world foreign, maybe unknowable, to me--a world, despite its ugliness and hatred, with nobility and honor. I can't imagine, as St. Exupery relates in one tale, a world where an enemy Arab army--forced into a very temporary, very awkward alliance with French soldiers--appeals to the French for a resupply of ammunition spent in that defense. And the French officer--in gratitude for that temporary support, yet knowing the ammunition would likely be used against his own men--complied!
   
   This past world seems so unreal to me, who reads. How will it seem to my children (and the rest of their generation who foolishly) don't?
   
   So, I suggest this to you this generation and, also, I warn.



3. A wonderful, wonderful autobiographical work by the French aviation pioneer. Antione de Saint-Exupery was among those first who flew the scheduled air mail runs over the Sahara in the 1920's and 30's. Engine failures, crahses, and falling into the hands of hostile Bedouins was not uncommon. Those stories alone would make for fascinating reading.
   
   Add to that the author's genuine talent as a poet philospher, and this is a unique and great piece of historical literature. Saint-Exupery finds magic and value in everything . . . the lights of his primitive dashbord at night, the world scrolling under him while in flight, the hallucinations while dying of thirst face down in the desert sand. And his observations of people! - the love-hate relationship with the Arabs of the desert, a pair of little princesses living in fantastical (because the author makes it so) house in a remote jungle village, the heroics of Spanish revolutionaries and patriots.
   
   The adventure aspects rival any fiction I have read . . . flying while held stationary in a tremendous offshore windstorm off the South American coast . . . the magic of nightfall while in flight . . . slamming into the Libyan desert floor while flying blind.
   
   As he is wont to do, Saint-Ex frequently treks off into the motivations and worth of mens' efforts, and the human situation in general. But always good stuff, some of it ingenious. Thoughtful, posing many truths and questions.
   
   A wonderful work. I had to read it in English, and doubtlessly something has been lost in the translation from French (transl by Lewis Galantiere). Still, not to be missed.



4. What genre is represented by "Wind, Sand and Stars"? A memoir, a novel, a moral tale, an essay, a travelogue? It is difficult to put a label on this book, because it has a bit of each genre. Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a pilot and a poet, best known for his beautiful tale "The Little Prince", which enchanted generations of children and adults, wrote about his experience as a pilot. This is the surface of "Wind, Sand and Stars". There is much more to it, though.
   
   The book was published in 1939. It is hard to believe that on the brink of a great war in Europe, when it was already obvious that the war is inevitable, and many writers created the premonitory visions of doom, Saint-Exupery wrote with great tenderness and faith about the power of humanity.
   
   The job and life of the airplane pilot are for the author an occasion for metaphores. The flights require attention and precision in addition to the observations of nature, the rocks, sand or sea underneath, the stars, moon and sun in the sky above. There is a lot of joy in seeing the Earth from above, but the loneliness adds to the philosophical quality of long flights. Because in the 1930's the airplane technology was not very sophisticated, there were many sudden, unexpected accidents. The constant danger and many lurking traps are described with examples: the accidents of the author's colleagues, Guillaumet and Mermoz, as well as his own in Sahara, and their struggle to survive in the snow, mountains, and desert, without water, food, and rest, show humanity in a most beautiful way. As Saint-Exupery says, in the words of his fellow pilot Guillaumet, who survived in the glacier: "What I did, no animal would ever do".
   
   Saint-Exupery believed in the power of human mind and emotion, in the connection between all human beings - which is obvious when he writes about his experience with Beduins, so different and strange for the French pilot, who could not understand their culture, yet living according to equally valid moral principles and helpful in need. He criticized materialism, and although admired technology and civilization, warned against it becoming a goal in itself.
   
   Banal? Simple? Maybe, but all of us need such positive, however trivial, life philosophy, once in a while, to escape from our daily life, to reconnect and rethink our purpose.



5. This is a beautifully written book exuding a sense of mystery and adventure perhaps no longer possible to experience. Antoine de Saint-Exupery was an aristocrat and pilot who chose to fly lonely postal routes -- a romantic adventurer with incredible sensitivities who was filled with wonder and musings about what he encountered. No one should pass this by. It could be read to a child though it is not a children's story. A popular children's story also written by Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, was published five years later.

5 comments about A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca.

1. The author does a good job of setting the context for Cabeza de Vaca's adventure. I found the level of historical detail to be just about perfect. Highly recommended!



2. Cabeza de Vaca gets most of the credit in history, but he actually had three companions who also survived an amazing eight-year ordeal in the New World. They were part of a 600-person expedition that in 1528 sailed from Havana with the objective of landing on the coast of eastern Mexico about 150 miles below the Rio Grande. Due to the power of the Gulf Stream and incredible errors in navigation, they ended up in Florida, near Tampa Bay. Three hundred men set out to explore the interior, were cut off from the ships, and ultimately stranded. Most eventually made it to the Texas Gulf Coast on rafts, but within a short time their number was down to about twenty and a little later only four -- Cabeza and the other three. The four were enslaved by Indians for about six years and then, after achieving an exalted status as trading intermediaries and medicine men, they spent two more years wandering around southern Texas and northern Mexico before re-uniting with Spanish conquistadors (ironically, a group of Spanish on a mission to round up and enslave Native Americans). The four ended up having one of the most unusual and trying experiences in history.
   
   In A LAND SO STRANGE, Andres Resendez tells the above story. I suspect the book is sound history. To judge from the 53 pages of footnotes at the back of the book, it certainly appears that A LAND SO STRANGE is well-, probably exhaustively, researched. If only the writing reflected something close to the same amount of time and effort as was devoted to the research, we might have a classic work of history. But, instead, the material seems to be hurriedly or indifferently organized and presented and the writing itself frequently lapses into the cliched and formulaic, and even sappy. There also are a number of type-setting errors and at least one glaring error in word use. On the plus side, there are about thirty useful illustrations and maps. Three-and-a-half stars rounded down.



3. This is a fascinating tale of early European exploration of North America that has been omitted from the US school curriculum. The author, Andres Resendez, is Professor of History at UC Davis; he provides an account that is both scholarly and engaging. The narrative is accessible to the layman with enough concrete detail to make it absorbing and gripping. While the scholarly integrity is evident, the details of references and supporting evidence are provided as end notes so as not to impede the reading of chronicle of these Spaniards-turned-shaman. Resendez strikes a nice balance between offering a narrative in absorbable prose for those wanting to read the text as a story and yet provides ample notes and references for those wanting to engage in further reading or research.



4. Unlike too many history books by college professors, this book is highly readable and exciting. I was sorry to see it come to an end, and it has sparked my interest in reading related books. And it has many footnotes, so it is easy to find related books! The book was obviously extremely well researched and paints a very balanced picture of native Americans and Spaniard explorers. While basically a story of probably the first Europeans that lived among native Americans, it includes a lengthy build-up as to how they came to do so, as well as information at the end of the book as to what happened after their life among the native Americans ended. It provides exceptional information on the life of native Americans in the southern portion of North America at that time and, for me, gave me several insights into the European advance into America, such as 1) while native Americans remain properly indignant at the violence brought by many Europeans, some native Americans were also unreasonably violent against the Europeans and 2) there were some Europeans who advocated a peaceful co-existence with native Americans. For anyone who has interest in life in America in the early 1500's, this is a wonderful book. The two- or three-page description of what is was like on a ship sailing across the Atlantic at that time is a real eye-opener!



5. An interesting book but a there was not enough details for me to make it excellent. Of course the details are not known so the author could not include them. If you are particularly interested in this subject you will probably enjoy it more than me.

5 comments about Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home.

1. When I first read this book it took me back to Alive by Piers Paul Read & I remembered how special Nando was in the story. I was madly in love with Nando for his common sense and bravery. I still have that original book. Finding Miracle in the Andes was a special surprise because it's HIS story of it all. It is such a good book that I know I'll keep this one forever too, and read it over and over. I read Alive several times and I intend to go back and read it all over again too now. It touches your heart. I was so sad about Susie. Nando's mom too of course, but Susie seemed special to me. It's not surprising that Nando has become a huge success. His wife and daughters are beautiful, as he is. His life has shown that he's an extraordinary person.
   Barbara,
   Ukiah, CA



2. An amazing story that I couldn't put down! I was awestruck by the sheer impossibility of anyone surviving. The most striking moment was under the avalanche in which Nando surrendered his life and was ready to die.
   Their courage and instincts for survival were amazing. The message I took away is that love can inspire a person to do miraculous things and that God is too distant to rely on or understand. While I myself am a strong Christian, I still enjoyed the story. Finally, the book was well written with inner monologues and background and mixed with just enough detail to keep the story moving along. I highly recommend this book to any adventure/survival story lover, or anyone who wants to ponder the human spirit.



3. Nando Parrado has wriiten a great book, not only on survival skills, but on the Leadership it took to pull the survivors together to work as a team.



4. This book takes you on a journey that inspires you to live everyday to the fullest and appreciate what you have.
   It's a incredible book and hard to put down once you start reading. I am in awe at the pain and suffering they experienced and how they overcame all the obstacles that were in their way including death. I had listened to the audio book first and then bought the book and read it too, love everything about it.
   It is worth your time.



5. I loved this book so much I lent it to family and friends. Now I can't wait to get it back, so I can read it again. A truly empowering book. Written with such compassion that readers could never be "grossed out" by some of the extremes of survival that are revealed in this book.

5 comments about An Island to Oneself.

1. This book is so good that i could not put it down. I I have often daydreamed about living on a desert island or even just out in the wilderness away from civilization and this book just makes me want to grab some gear and go. Tom Neale did what few do in this day and age. His writing is also so good that I was just as captivated by his day to day living as I was by the horrific details of books like "Into Thin Air". A must read for anyone who has dreamed of living off the land.



2. A friend highly recommended "One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey" by Sam Keith and Richard Proenneke (Paperback - May 1999). I knew when I read the jacket blurb that here was another Tom Neale, only this time he isolated himself in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska. So, Neale is hot and Proenneke (the one who lived the adventure) cold, but they faced similar challenges and found ways to rise to the occasion.
   
   And Proenneke and Neale were contemporaries, both hardy, solitary, infinitely capable men. If you enjoyed Neale's story, I can't imagine you wouldn't also enjoy Proenneke's. I would have paid a good sum to be in the same room had these guys ever met and started exchanging stories.



3. While Tom Neale did what most of us will only ever daydream of doing, his wonderfully told story, full of vivid detail, will transport you to his beloved island and allow you to escape as he did, if only vicariously. I simply loved this book, and will read it anytime I feel the need to "get away" from it all.



4. First of all there were 28 reviews on this book before mine, 27 of them were 5 star ratings - that tells you people really love this book. I thought it was very good & I along with most of the other reviewers would love to find a place like this to get away to. I am glad that Tom Neale took the time to write about his adventures because beautiful tropical uninhabited islands are something that don't really exist anymore. The events in this book took place just a generation or so ago & the isolation Tom Neale found there is mostly gone nowadays. In the early 1960's Tom would go up to 14 months without even seeing another human being. Compare that to 2006 - online I can see that at this current moment there are 16 sailboats anchored at Suvarov Atoll.
   
   I thought the best moments in the book are when Tom is describing his friend the duck or his cats...or just his total happiness.
   
   I have a couple minor negative points to add: The book was written in 1966 & the newest edition available was printed in 1990. The "postscript" in my 1990 edition says that Tom left Suvarov in December 1963 for a variety of circumstances & was going to live out his days on Rarotonga rather than die a lonely death on an isolated island.
   
   I was very suprised to find out via the internet that he went back in 1967 & lived there until 1977. I think a postscript in a book written in 1990 should have this information in it.
   
   I also thought it was strange that when you read the book Tom describes his life between 1954 & 1960 as a terrible time where daily he tried to find a way to get back to Suvarov , worked in a dreary store & after work would go home every day & work on a boat he was building. He mentions a few friends and not much else. When I looked up his history after reading the book I see that in this time he got married & 2 years after this became a father. I think it just shows that Tom was a very private person by not even mentioning this in his book.



5. No video cameras and immunity for Tom Neale, he did the real deal all by himself for years on a deserted atoll.
   
   A fascinating story of what it takes to survive and a great character study of the type of person who can/would do it.
   
   Tom lived the lazy island life but wasn't satisfied and finally went out to pull a Robinson Crusoe (at the age of 50!). And this was in the 50s. He had no satellite phone to get him out in an emergency, no doppler weather reports, no Honda(tm) generator.
   
   On top of that, he had no safety net. Off the regular shipping channels, he had no scheduled visits, just some random people who happened to pass by and say hi. It was just his skill, determination and a great knowledge of island living that allowed him to survive and thrive.
   
   His daily struggles (from pesky hermit crabs up to life threatening injuries) are a fascinating peek into a life most people will never experience.
   
   After you finish it, be sure check out Wikipedia and the web for more information (and pics) on his life after this book.
   
   An amazing read that ends much too quickly.

5 comments about Alive.

1. It's become a bit of trivial fodder: In 1972, a plane carrying a Uraguayan rugby team and their friends crashed in the Andes. They survived there for over 70 days, doing whatever was necessary to survive, sustained on their faith, and the hope that they could one day break beyond the prison of the mountains and reach civilization.
   
   Since the story HAS become a piece of trivia, it's important that we read something that makes us understand the underlying humanity of the situation. To that end, Read's book is almost a necessity. It details day-to-day life in the crashed plane, and attempts of the Uraguayan families to find their missing loved ones.
   
   The great thing about "Alive" is that it chronicles the event in a somewhat detached manner. At first, this might seem odd; after all, such a tragic event is an emotionally-charged topic, especially once you get down to the human element. However, to tell the tale with emotion is to get LOST in the tale. To overcome this, read uses a scientific, detached description of events, which ultimately leads the reader to ponder the horrific reality these people went through. It is a very successful storytelling mode, which only hits a few snags (he insists upon calling cannibalism "anthropophagy," and admits in the introduction that some of the survivors felt the book didn't go into enough detail about the friendship they felt for each other). Also, there is the fact that this book dates back to 1974, only two years after the events; it would be nice to know how the survivors faced the rest of their lives.
   
   Still, the book is thorough, and it's dry, almost dead-pan style is the only real way of describing the events that unfolded, without getting lost within the maze of emotions (actually, the dry delivery almost makes things even more horrible; don't read this book if you are squeamish). "Alive" is a tale of horrific events that tested the limits of humanity. It is a must-read for anyone interested in what being human really means.



2. This is a very interesting book. My wife and I were living in Uruguay when this occured and I recall all the anxiety until they were found. Also, recently, our son was in a conference in California where Nando Parrado, one of the survivors, spoke. Nando has also written a book about the crash and survival.
   The book Alive is a bit gruesome at points, but realistic about the guys' survival. There was shown a great deal of determination and desire to live on their part.
   In general, very good.



3. Once I finally got into the book, this was a good story of survival. The men and women who crashed in the Andes had to overcome horrible situations -- injuries from the crash, an avalanche, and then the lack of food. What they did to survive was admirable, even if some may judge them harshly over their decision to eat the flesh of their dead friends.
   
   That being said, though, the story moves so slowly, and the author's writing style is so staid, that it took me forever to actually feel like I was reading something worthwhile.
   
   A good story, but it's a journey to plod through it.



4. This is the only book I've ever read where I caught myself shielding my eyes so as not to know quite so much about the fine points of cannibalism. I ended up skipping about two pages detailing the butchering of the bodies, which organs are the most nutritious, etc. However, the author was just doing his job and there's only a few pages involving cannibalism.
   
   The plane came down in a snow field at 11,500 feet elevation, higher than the highest mountain in California by comparison. This put them far above the timber line in a frigid place devoid of all life -- not even a fly or a blade of grass. Due to incompetence on the part of search and rescue operations and also a so-called psychic who had the rescuers searching everywhere but the right place, the survivors were presumed dead and left to fend for themselves for 72 days, and would likely have never been found were it not for the daring feats of mountaineering by two of the survivors who went on an arduous 8 day trek out of the mountains and into Chile in search of rescuers.
   
   With no food it was inevitable the group would have to eat the dead if they were survive. As someone explained, your survival instincts and your appetite will not only lead you to eat the dead, but eventually to savor it. Then, when the two expeditionaries finally connected with civilization, a peasant tossed them a crust of bread and their appetite for human flesh evaporated.
   
   As horrifying as it was, there is an upbeat message in this book about the unshakeable will to live, about the utility of human solidarity in the face of death, and the mystical communion between the survivors and their dead comrades who saved their lives by providing the nourishment to survive.
   
   This book has been around a long time. It's a page-turner and millions have read it, especially in South America where this event was known simply as the Andes crash, and the survivors are still celebrated as heroes. Google it if you want and you'll find lots more info, photos, and a Google map reference to the exact spot the wrecked fuselage came to rest.



5. What would it be like being stranded in the Andes with very little food or water? Well Alive by Piers Paul Read might give you an idea. This emotional, and yet exciting non fiction book accurately depicts the terrible seventy-two days a team of Uruguayan rugby players and their relatives experience. The setting of the book is in the Andes Mountains, Uruguay, Chili, and takes place in 1972. The theme of this book is man's will to survive is more powerful than anything. The main characters of this moderately paced book would be the last sixteen survivors, the two strongest of them being Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, who play a big role in the survival of them all. After being stranded for seventy-two days in the Andes Mountains this small rugby team forms a special bond and learns the true meanings of life. I think this is a very exciting, but gory book and would recommend it to anybody but only if you have a strong stomach because there are many references to dead bodies and eating human flesh. These rugby players show us that with faith and a strong will to survive we can overcome large obstacles.

5 comments about Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West.

1. Once upon a time in the West, a man named William Gilpin was blown westward along with an expedition of John Fremont that took him as far as Walla Walla, Wash. In 1846 he fought in the Mexican War. In 1861 he went to Washington, DC, after Abraham Lincoln was elected. Later he became the first territorial governor of Colorado. Once upon a time, Gilpin saw the land beyond the 100th meridian (which runs through the center of Nebraska and Kansas) through a mystical fervor. The semiarid lands were no desert, but a pastoral Canaan. Agriculture would be effortless. All that was needed was the plow break the soil so that rain would naturally follow.
   
   At the same time that Gilpin was convincing the country that the West was a Biblical Paradise, an exploration party headed by John Wesley Powell was camped a few miles from Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was 1868. At this time Powell was not the pioneer that Gilpin was, and he was 34 compared to Gilpin's 55. Powell's interests were always varied. In 1860 his *mollusk* collection won awards at the Illinois State Agricultural Society fair. In 1861, he volunteered to join the army in the Civil War. Within six months he rose through the ranks to become a captain, an expert on *fortifications*. In April of 1862, Powell lost an arm due to a Minie ball at Shiloh. Powell continued through the war. In 1865, Powell began a professorship in *geology* at Wesleyan.
   
   Powell began his exploration of the Green and Colorado rivers on July 6,1869. On August 30, 1869, only six of nine men and two of four boats managed to go all the way through the Grand Canyon to come out near Yuma, Az. The rest of the Colorado had already been explored. In a few short months, John Wesley Powell had gathered enough data to challenge Gilpin's portrayal of the West. For the rest of his life, he would try to convince Congress of what he had learned about the proper way to treat the land beyond the 100th meridian.
   
   Powell's geological and *ethnological* work and his study of Native American *languages* continue today to form the basis for our understanding of these subjects for southern Utah and northern Arizona.



2. I re-read this book and Powell's own "Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons" over the Holidays and have decided that these 2 books are absolutely inseparable. You must read both and I'm glad to see that Amazon offers a special deal for the purchase of these 2 books together. In my opinion, you should read Powell's "Exploration..." first and then read Stegner's book. Stegner's book is very readable but I hesitate to call it an easy read. While you are reading this book, you have to stop now and then to absorb and reflect on the opinions, actions, and counteractions of that particular moment. Everything must be placed in some historical, political, and personal context (3 dimensions which necessitate contemplation by the reader). Stegner does a wonderful job in maintaining the general flow of the text and he supplies an extensive listing of notes for those who want more information and detail. In my opinion, this is a wonderful book about a brilliant man with incredible foresight. Now, it seems that we need a beacon like Powell warning the Easterners about their relentless development of land with no thought or planning on the impact to their water resources and water quality. Most folks in the Eastern U.S. take their water resources for granted. We need a modern day Powell to warn us about the consequences of increased impervious area before its too late.



3. Almost everything that could be done wrong in the development of the modern American West (and not just the Rockies westward, but the High Plains as well) was warned against by Maj. John Wesley Powell, but done anyway by the federal government and various states.
   
   The result? Water crises, fights over water rights, lying, chicanery and stealing in the name of water rights, corporate farms squeezing out small farmers, urban sprawl and smog in the middle of deserts, dust bowls and more, were either forseen or hinted at by Powell.
   
   The 100th meridian of latitude is the U.S.'s "dry line." Areas to the west, generally, before you get to the Pacific Coast, average less than 20 inches of rain a year. Hence the title, and the basis of Powell's warnings.
   
   And, AND, all of that came after this one-armed Civil War veteran led the first navigation of the entire whitewater section of the Colorado, actually starting on the Green River in Wyoming and running all the way down past the Grand Canyon. (Despite some claims otherwise, it seems pretty clear James White did NOT do this.)
   
   It was this trip, in the name of scientific research, that gave Powell his standing to eventually found the Bureau of Ethnography, do further Western research and make some top-notch recommendations for the development of the west.
   
   The reason I didn't five-star this is that I would like to have seen a little more depth to Powell's post-exploration career. Also, a little more personality profile of Powell's struggle with disappointment over the Newlands Act and other repudiation of his ideas would have been nice.
   
   True, Stegner may not be a professional historian, but it would have been nice to see him incorporate this.
   
   To get an idea of what I mean by the end of this critique, please read Donald Worster's "River Running West." Also, Worster provides a bit of corrective to Stegner's occasional near-hagiographical approach to Powell.



4. This is an excellent biography of John Wesley Powell--exlorer, geologist, scientist, writer, and politician.
   Anyone who reads this is sure to increase the amount they know about this historic figure, and about the West in general as the stories of each are inextricably tangled. The book excels at its account of John Wesley Powell's life AFTER his famous trips down the Colorado River, and does a great job of describing Powell's role in the battle against over-populating the West.
   If the book has faults though, they lie in that many of Stegner's sources have since been expounded upon or dismissed entirely, and so the facts in this book aren't entirely current. Also, Stegner dismisses too quickly the merits of the story of James White, a man who very possibly went down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon two years before Powell did.
   And, it's kind of ridiculous how Stegner criticizes Powell's second expedition's photos as if they were famous works and art: This photo "is marred by too much nondescipt low-water beach in the foreground," and that sort of thing.
   This is a great book for anyone interested in John Wesley Powell or the Colorado River. It's possibly Stegner's best nonfiction work, though "Mormon Country" is good as well.
   For another great account of John Wesley Powell, read "Down the Great Unknown" by Edward Dolnick.
   Or, for a half-decent book about Wallace Stegner's peculiarly white view of the American West, read, "'Why I Can't Read Wallace Stegner' and Other Essays" by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. That one's kind of interesting.



5. I kept waiting for this book to get boring. It has all the potential to be boring. But it's not. It's an excellent introduction to the history of the West. I learned little tidbits about all sorts of varied subjects - Native American tribes, government, the history of the USGS. Stegner does get a little too wrapped up in the details at a couple points, especially when he gets into all the wrangling in Congress over Powell's various ventures, but in general it's an excellent book.

5 comments about Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer.

1. Jeal's wonderful biography of Stanley succeeds on many levels, as biography, history, psychology, cultural analysis and literature. The book brings to life his three great African journeys that made him famous but also captures the other parts of his life: his humble upbringing in Wales, his time in America and his later years in England. Stanley was a complicated man and, after reading the book, I felt I understood him.
   
   The book also provides a good picture of Victorian England and the politics of the European powers towards Africa in the late nineteenth century. His book also reflects on the subsequent developments in Africa that color how we now look at the exploration and colonization of Africa.
   
   Jeal was provided access to a vast trove of Stanley's writings that were previously unavailable. A fascinating part of this book is to see how new information, combined with a writer's keen analysis, can completely upend the standard view of a person or historical event.
   
   All in all, a thoroughly interesting book.



2. Years ago I stumbled on a book of fiction about Stanley's captaining of the ill-fated relief mission to "save" Emin Pasha in the late 1880's. I simply couldn't believe that what I was reading about the horrors of the journey were real, so began by reading my first Stanley biography. The horrors were real, and the courage required of African explorers was almost beyond imagination. Stanley, more than any man, knew that dark side.
   
   From the beginning I've been riveted by the man's accomplishments and (like T.E. Lawrence, as another review has perceptively noted) his many attempts to 'create himself' for the media to cover up a sad, neglected, Dickensian childhood. The most recent biography of Stanley I read, by John Bierman, depressed me, because it leaned so hard on Stanley's toughness that he came out as a brutal bully with no redeeming features whatsoever. My initial admiration waned.
   
   It is thus a delight to find in such a superb, well-written, and thoroughly researched biography as this, that Henry Stanley was a genuine human being, flawed and fascinating, gentle and brutal, demanding and obsessed by duty. Jule presents a multi-dimensional character and one's respect for other biographers, who've simply beaten Stanley for the sins of his generation, wanes in direct proportion to the realization of all that Stanley achieved in spite of his inner demons. That sad, abandoned child lived in Stanley until the day he died, but what remarkable courage he showed in spite of it! And what permanent changes he helped bring to world history, even if others took his great explorations and made horrible things of them.
   
   Also, with all due respect to many of the earlier, brilliant African explorers such as Burton or Stanley Baker, how remarkably free of racism and paternalistic 'cant' Stanley was. Burton himself was almost a pathological racist. There is no trace of this in Stanley. Again and again, when he lost his temper, it was because his fellow whites invariably treated the natives with (at best) contempt and, at worst, with brutality. The irony that it has become fashionable to portray Stanley himself as a brutal racist, is simply one of many in this biography.
   
   This should remain by far the best, most thorough, and most balanced biography of this remarkable man for the foreseeable future. Thank you, Mr. Jeal, for portraying the whole man again. And what a remarkable story it is, truly starker than any fiction!



3. Allow me state here at the beginning of my review that categorically Tim Jeal's biography of Henry Morton Stanley is a masterpiece. The book is epic in scope and proves to be both a wonderful narration of a life as well as a statement in support of the rehabilitation of Stanley's reputation. The book stands along side of my favorite biographies such as PETER THE GREAT by Robert Massie, AMERICAN CAESAR by William Manchester, and PRINCE OF OUR DISORDER (T.E. Lawrence) by John E. Mack. Much of Stanley's story seems to mirror T/E. Lawrence. Both illegitimate and trying to find a place in the world when the British class system was an obstacle to achievement to those of lowly birth. Both in many ways reinvented themselves but never were able to overcome the circumstances of their birth and childhood secrets. But as amazing as is the story of Lawrence of Arabia Tim Jeals reveals Stanley to be as just as an incredible life. I am not going to go into the various expeditions and events of Stanley's life in this review. You can discover those for yourself. But would like to comment that Jeals biography has a heavy amount of insightful psychological background to his narrative as well as almost a legal brief defense of Stanley's reputation whom Jeal clearly feels has been badly stereotyped, I found this approach exciting and most interesting although at times I wondered if the unfavorable view of Stanley needed an advocate. But this is a warts and all biography and Jeal does present Stanley as most human. In the end Jeal convinced me that my favorite African Explorer, Richard Burton was not the greatest. Stanley gets the nod now. I highly recommend this book to you. I think you will be amazed by this life and by the way it unfolds through Tim Jeal's exceptional writing.



4. This is the finest biography that I have read in some time. The writing is superb and it is based upon the most thorough research on its subject yet. The author is uniquely qualified to write this book as he has also written the definitive book on Stanley's counterpart, Dr. Livingstone. What makes this book so compelling is the subject himself. He was abandoned by his mother and never knew his father. The kind grandfather who took care of him died suddenly when Stanley was five years old and his mother's family had him placed in a workhouse. There he stayed for ten years when he left at age fifteen. His life became an odyssey which took him to America back to England and then to Africa where he achieved fame. Despite his accomplishments as discoverer and author, his personal life was full of disappointment. His attempt to hide his illegitimacy had led him to lie about his background. This coverup came close to unraveling on numerous occasions. Years after his career had ended he returned to New Orleans incognito where he walked the cemeteries looking for a "Stanley" tombstone that would give him a name to use in documenting his story. The irony was that one of the world's greatest discoverers could never find himself. An excellent book about a fascinating subject.



5. Stanley takes you to a place in history where you may have never traveled. A name associated with Africa but never explored. Makes you get up from your reading and reference the World Atlas re the Congo. A terrific adventure story and it's all true.

5 comments about The Man Who Swam the Amazon: 3,274 Miles on the World's Deadliest River.

1. I followed Martin's swim via his web site from start to finish. Needless to say I couldn't wait for the book. I read it in just two sittings and found the insites into the man and his crew to be simpley amazing. Matthew wrote this as a day to day diary, just as the web site did. For those of us that will never experance the Amazon in person, it gives you the feel of the jungle and the strength and determation of this man. He has to considered one of the greatest and most unselfish people on this planet. To do this, to open the eyes of the rest of us to what is really happening with the inviornment is an accomplishment that no politican or hollywood movie could ever do. If we had Martin Strel running the governments of this world it would be a better place for all of us. Martin proves that anything is possible if you really want it. A must read for anyone who say's "I just can't do that".



2. This is your quintessential "page turner." Despite being fully aware of how the story ends, I found my fingers glued to the book, just dying to know what would happen next. In addition to chronicling Strel's astonishing athletic feet, Mohlke also allows the reader to voyeur his or her way onto the boat as we meet members of the crew and delve into small human dramas which unfold as they travel deeper into the deadly jungle, (I, too, can't wait for the movie.) All is written by an author who was masterfully able to marry articulacy with slang, and eloquence with wit. I loved it.



3. What Martin Strel did is unbelievable! This story is written beautifully to chronicle the journey through the jungle, as well as unveil the different sides of a man who seems incredibly human, yet not human, at the same time. The daily, journal style arrangement of this book has an easy, exciting flow and makes it near impossible to put down. I am exctied for the documentary "Big River Man" to come out, to put a face to all of the characters of the book!.....Here's to hoping that Martin's dream of peace, clean water, and friendship will be realized.



4. From the very first page, you know you are in for the story of your life. It is overwhelming to even think of the logistics involved in this unprecedented level of accomplishment - and even more so that it was the grueling feat of a man who, in most walks of life, would be well past his atheletic prime. Author, Matthew Mohlke, brings the reader onto the expedition, the highs and the lows. And if it is Martin's intent to remind the world of the need to preserve the beauty of our forests and rivers, he has accomplished just that with his passionate and unswerving devotion to this cause. In The Man Who Swam The Amazon, the authors share the danger and the beauty; taking the reader on a page-turning adventure that no script writer could ever improve upon. Thank you Martin and your whole incredible team for sharing all 3,274 miles with us; I could have read a page for every mile.



5. The story of a 'fat man' with the heart of a (sea)lion who swam the Amazon is one to inspire all of us who see ourselves in our dreams as athletes. It is compelling because it is often a life and death struggle with this overwelming monster of a river. It is also full of humanity, strength, frailty and beauty as it is the story of Martin and his support team who appreciate and deeply experience the wonder of the great river, the jungle and the different people along the way.