5 comments about High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places.

1. This book is organized such that each chapter is devoted to a single milestone of Breashears' life. In each case he gives a general overview of that milestone, along with a few descriptive details of particular situations. But mostly, it is an OVERVIEW of the experiences that made him the man that he is today. After my initial disappointment that the book wasn't as detailed as I had hoped it would be, I accepted it the way that it was and truly enjoyed the rest of it.



2. As a young man, David Breashears looked at a photo of Tenzing Norgay standing atop Mount Everest. He knew at once that he wanted to pursue mountain climbing. His dedication drew him to hone his skill until climbing became his life and Mt. Everest in particular, "etched itself in the landscape of his soul". I look at a photo of someone standing in -65 degree weather, punishing their bodies to the limits of what a human can endure and think, "Wow, people do the damndest things, don't they?" This book provides insight into a life filled with a passion I will never feel.
   It is not easy to live a life dedicated to mountain climbing and still earn enough money to allow you to follow your dream. David explains how he was able to succeed and live well by discovering he could become a specialist in climbing photography.
   The story of his life is compelling. He grows up with an abusive father, who almost completely disappears from the family's life when the mother divorces him. David swears to never become like his father and sets off to make his way in life driven by his need to climb. He lives rough, works at the most menial jobs, and studies his calling. He totally rejects the cruelty he saw in his father, and totally embraces his love of climbing. His is a most unusual life. As attested to in many other books, there is plenty of drama on a shear face or Himalaya climb. But not every moment of climbing is as fascinating to me as it is to those who love this sport. The proper use of various alpine tools is no doubt a life and death issue, but parts of these discussions failed to hold my interest. Still, it is a fascinating book. There is poignancy in the fact that even though David vows to not become like his father, he distances himself from his wife until the marriage simply melts into nothing. The relationships he likes best are those formed on climbing expeditions; brief, intense, soon over. He is the quintessential "guy's guy". I don't usually look to autobiographies for great writing. And while the writing in this book is competent, it is the story that keeps it compelling. This is a look at a fascinating life, a saga that allows the "rest of us" a glimpse into a life obsessed with mountains.



3. A short, climb-heavy, autobiography about famous filmmaker/climber David Breashears, High Exposure captures the imagination with it's simple, sparse narrative style. The story follows the author from his youth as an army brat traveling from base to base with his mother, siblings, and an abusive father, to his apprenticeships on the rock faces of the American west, where he gradually earned the respect and admiration of his fellow climbers, to his eventual travel to the Himalaya, and his work there as cameraman for numerous expeditions.
   
   Breashears doesn't write with the lyrical style of a Greg Child, or the novelist/journalist style of a Kraukauer, or the heavy human-interest angle of a Jim Curran. Rather, his writing is simple, easy to digest, and paints stark pictures of a life in the mountains. In fact, the climbing descriptions are first-rate, and he discusses pitches he's ascended, their difficulty, the challenges overcome, and the lessons learned. I was struck by the attention-to-detail he reveals in his writing, and this book gives you that 'you are there' feel more than any of the other aforementioned writers - and leaves you hungering for more.
   
   Out of the probable fifty books I've read on mountaineering in the Himalayas, I would rank this as one of the finest. While reading, Breashears does a first-rate job of capturing the exhilaration, fear, sense of accomplishment and dedication that climbing one of these giant peaks brings to those who attempt it.
   
   Highly recommended.



4. What an incredible book. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to set it down. I even got yelled at by my boss for reading the book on company time. I've read it 4 times and each time is like the first time. There is alot of information to process so get ready be blown away. It's awsome. Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it.



5. I've read several mountain climbing/Everest books lately and this is in the top half of that list. That having been said, as one reviewer noted, it was more interesting than gripping, and for all the ability to give a auto-biographical look at a world class climber, it didn't really capture the drama of the climb. Since reading about it is about as close as I'm ever going to get to doing it, I need something that makes me feel the cold and the wind and the struggle for air. This was more of a narrative retelling, and emotion is overly removed from the story.
   
   Everest is almost as much of a protagonist as Breashears himself, and it was indeed very interesting to read about the history, about the other expeditions, and about the call on the author that brought him to climbing as a life. It was enough, and I recommend the book without reservation, but I would say read "Into Thin Air" if you are looking for a more powerful and exciting retelling of an Everest climb.

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 To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers.

1. This book pulled me out of the doldrums. What an appealing person Petit is! Daring, ingenious, and courageous to an insane degree, he pulled off the greatest feat of street theater in the history of the world. He makes the phrase 'the impossible dream' stand up and dance. What I didn't appreciate until I read this book was what a fine engineering coup it was - all the rigging done clandestinely in the dead of night, so that at first light he was ready to step into the air.
   
   And what a nail biting read! He re-creates the months long drama, keeping you right there with him all the way to the exhilarating end. What I also wasn't prepared for was how agile and graceful a writer he is and what a benevolent, endearing spirit.
   
   You think you're facing a daunting challenge? Read this book and put yours into perspective.



2. I remember seeing the WTC towers being built, still partly framed in steel, as a child in the late 1960's. I also remember a snippet of this event in the news in the 70s. But, it was (I think) Ken Burns' American Stories on TV that reminded me of it and really gave it perspective that blew my mind as to how unbelievable an event it was. To me, it wason a scale of things like landing on the moon. With that still fresh in my head, I looked into the event and found this book and was unable to put it down from the first page until I finished it.
   
   This book is inspiring. Petit is a bit crazy, but to pull off a hack of this magnitude, you have to be. Genius is touched with madness. To say the feat is inspiring is a great understatement. The logistics, planning, obstacles overcome, and just plain luck that all aligned in the end were really incomprehensible - more so after reading this book!
   
   I thoroughly enjoyed every page. Sometimes, I get overwhelmed with things I need to do and obstacles I face, and I look at that timeless picture of Petit between the towers on the cover of this book and I am inspired. If he could do THAT, certainly I can find a way to overcome whatever is in my way today. THis book is fantastic.



3. I have just finished reading this book. The tension was unbearable as the operation in the sky was carried out and as I read on I realised.... my feet were sweating!! Perhaps my fear of heights was coming through but here was an experience that has never happened to me whilst reading. Do yourself a favour and get a copy.



4. Firstly, i am so surprised that this book does not figure in the "Hype list" of any Media outlet. Luckily, i came across a short review of this book in a magazine and was intrigued to know that Sep11'2001 was not the first time that the towers of World trade centre captivated the attention of millions around. It was way back in 1974, when a French tightrope walker did the unprecedented daredevilry act of walking between the peak of two towers on a cable which he had rigged illegaly the previous night. He walked for 45 minutes from one tower to another, making the sky his theatre. Why did he do it?? Was it for fame? Money? Lunacy?? Philipe Petit's book explains the whole adventure in simple prose accompanied by sketches and photographs which were done during the unfolding of his "project". It is an amazing adventure. Reading it is like reliving it- Petit achieves that magic of retelling a story and giving his readers a feeling of experiencing it vicariously.

   When Petit was asked by a TV crew why he did it - his answer was, when i saw three oranged, i juggle. When i see two towers, i walk ! ;-)

   Petit was not alone in his effort to breakthrough the security of the towers and implement his plan. Aiding him where his friends who believed in his ability and went to great lenghts against all odds in planning and pulling off the feat.

   This is a great book, in the true spirit of adventure and the endless capacity of a human to set and achieve his goals. One more imporant thing to note, Petit doesn't sound arrogant or egoistical. At the peak moment of his success, he is modest and humble, bowing to the gods in every element which helped him in the feat - the wind, the sea, the people below, his dear friends, the friends who stood by and the friends who gave up- he sees gods in all of them and thanks them for their role.

   I am not given to effusive praise and there is nothing like a perfect ten. But, this is a fine read.




5. This is a beautiful book that proves dreams do come true if you really want something bad enough and are willing to work hard enough no matter what the risk to reach that goal. It was Paris, 1968, when young 18-year-old street performer Philippe Petit saw a sketch of the proposed World Trade Center towers, and he was so awestruck that he drew a line between the two rooftops of the towers, and decided then and there that his ultimate goal was to one day walk on a high wire between the two towers. Over the next six years he perfected his craft. He did public performances atop Paris' Notre Dame in June, 1971, and he walked between the northern pylons of the world's largest steel arch bridge in Sydney harbor, as well as other high wire acts. One day in late summer 1974, Petit's dream came true. As thousands watched he made eights crossings between the towers, 110 stories above the ground, in less than an hour.

   I think the most fascinating aspect about this story, was the lengths that Petit and his co-conspirators went to plan, train, and carry out this unauthorized feat. It's all here in vivid detail. And even if you didn't bother to read the text in this book, the photographs are amazing and breathtaking by themselves. This is a captivating memoir that captures the excitement, triumph, and joy of Petit's stunning achievement. Now that the towers are, sadly, gone, it's all the more important as a part of the towers history. I more than enjoyed this memoir, I was fascinated by it. It is certainly a positive and enlightening ray of hope for those who dream of the impossible!
   

   Joe Hanssen

5 comments about Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark (Modern Library Paperbacks).

1. Remarkable testimony to an exceptional life. Freya Stark was an iconoclast in her time and ours, and her story is worth tracing, for a better understanding of one of the world's most enigmatic regions.



2. A well written, well researched book about a fearless and adventurous woman who lived a most interesting life. Especially interesting--though not surprising--were how the insecurities she lived through as a child molded her as an adult. Her near financial poverty as a child in a world where peers and relatives lived sumptuous lives gave her a ravenous appetite for luxury as an adult. Her beautiful, emotionally remote mother and mostly absent father had her looking for love from the unlikeliest of men during most of her adult years. This book shouldn't be missed even if you aren't particularly interested in the part of the world she adored.



3. My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden CityForbidden Journey (Marlboro Travel)I don't understand why other great women travellers are not mentioned in any of these reviews. If you like this author, don't forget about Alexandra David-Neel who paved the way and Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart who traced their own unique paths. All but Schwarzenbach have been translated into English and are available from amazon.



4. Having just scrolled through the other reviews, I don't have anything to add except the comment that I am another fan of this book. I think the author did a good job of bringing this complex, interesting woman to life.



5. Freya Start was a pioneer in her day -- a remarkable and complex woman whose intellectual curiosity led her to explore a region --the Middle East-- where few Western women felt comfortable to go in company, let alone, as a solo traveler. THis book describes her character as it developed over time, headstrong, determined, and driven to compensate for her plain features and disfigured face with daring adventures. Her advise and counsel to the British foreign office proved to be amazingly prescient, though she was not always heeded. A very good book of historical and human significance.

2 comments about The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca.

1. You can take it from the head of the cow: America is a lot different than the Europhile blowhards from the International School say. This epic journey of a quasi- transcontinental romp is not for the faint-hearted or loose-boweled....this is some scary stuff. Few books are a exhilirating as this one. Pitch your tent and start reading!



2. I bought this after reading a little about Cabeza de Vaca in another book (Richard Grant's American Nomads--check it out). It was worth reading if you have an interest in these kinds of things: whether its history, exploration, and discovery that interest you, or wandering, roughing it, and exciting stories of survival.
   
   I haven't looked at any other versions of this book, so I don't have anything to compare it to. That being said, this version did have a lot of background, in the forms of introductory material as well as footnotes. These were both helpful and cumbersome. A lot of the footnotes were essentially useless for my purpose in reading the book. I just wanted the story-- I didn't really care about the exact locations and time frames, which is what a lot of the footnotes were about. But I'm sure that if you were doing something more scholarly with the book, the footnotes would be invaluable.
   
   One of it's most interesting features to me was Cabeza de Vaca's thinking. By today's standards, he's still a racist, but for his time, he's outrageously sympathetic to the Indians and their ways of life. He tries to see the reasons behind actions that his civilized contemporaries would instantly dismiss as savage.
   
   It's a great story. A Spanish exploration goes bad, and the few survivors fight against the odds and eventually make it out alive after walking across North America. It's a true story that would put the best Hollywood screenwriter to shame. But like a lot of firsthand accounts from that time period, it can be kind of dense. I got used to that, but it did take a little time. On the plus side, the story doesn't really take off until a little ways into the book, so you can use the first part to get used to the writing style.

5 comments about Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone.

1. I've always been intrigued by stories about the jungles of Africa, and this was the one story I'd often heard referenced in popular culture and knew very little about. This book was a fantastic overview of the historic search for Dr. Livingstone, brought to life by vivid imagery and excellent pacing.
   
   I particularly enjoyed the relevant facts about Livingstone and Stanley's background and personal lives prior to their African adventures and all of the discussion of what was occurring in both America and Europe at each point in the journey.
   
   I highly recommend this!



2. The fact that Dugard kept me turning pages and wondering if Stanley would live to see Livingstone, is a testament to his prose. A great 'adventure story' with vivid background, scene description and character study. Dugard captures the essence of the mettle of the great explorers, creates a vivid picture of the 'safari' before land rovers, helicopters and malaria pills.



3. Ever since I read "The Last Voyage of Columbus," I have been a Martin Dugard fan. In "Into Africa," Dugard does an admirable job of mixing adventure story-telling with important historical details to make this a fun, historically-compelling read. As a young child I thrilled at the adventures of Livingstone and openly wished to be like him. Now, many years later, Dugard's prose has pernitted me to relive that childhood adventure while also allowing the adult in me to savor the gritty reality of Livingstone's near-fatal treks.



4. A good story, though not extraordinarilly well written. It does serve well enough as a casual introduction to the story of Stanley and Livingstone.



5. Henry Morton Stanley, who's real name was John Rowlands- he was left at a horrible Victorian workhouse after his grandfather died (his mother having abandoned him), was a remarkable man. He certainly had his flaws, but considering his lack of family from age five, he did rise to a prominence that would certainly make a Horatio Alger book pale by comparison. By contrast the missionary David Livingston, was a crusading anti-slavery activist who became distracted by the then popular obsession- the source of the Nile. Despite his more prim upbring Livingston had his flaws, which emerge in his journals and letters. He was also a remarkable man and certainly endured (as Stanley did) hardships that should have killed him before they finally did.
   
   This fascinating story, including many details I had never encountered in earlier books, are well recounted in "Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingston" by Martin Dugard. This is a real page-turner and a story that is not censored to make either man look better than he was. I did find several errors in fact (elephantiasis is not a form of leprosy and one GENUS of mosquitoes transmit malaria, not one species as implied by the author!) However, despite such lapses and an occasional purple passage, Dugard has written a most interesting account of the famous expedition to find Livingston. The reader will also start to realize why Africa is in its current state, what with inter-tribal warfare, Arab and other slave trading, constant raids, murder, endemic disease and colonialism, it is hard to see how anything else could have resulted. The wonder is that any African states are stable at all after their fairly recent history.
   
   A good read and a worthwhile examination of two lives that unexpectedly intertwined.

5 comments about Flight of Passage: A Memoir.

1. Interesting and well written story of two kids flying across the country in a Piper Cub. Great adventure and an example of God's provision and protection even when people don't acknowledge His existence.



2. I am a new private pilot and devour anything aviation related, so I very much enjoyed the flying theme of this book. But even without the flying aspect, it is a great story of how complicated father/son relationships can be and the bonding between brothers. It is a very touching story. Mr. Buck is a solid author as well, which is not always a prerequisite for writing a memoir.



3. This is a fantastic book! I've read it twice and will most likely read it again. It has so many compelling elements that it can't be fully appreciated in one reading. I think that the sheer adventure in Kern and Rinker Buck's 1966 coast-to-coast flight is what really seized me. I am the same age as the Buck brothers and struck out on my own the very same week they made their flight. Their desire to have an adventure, prove something to their father and master a pursuit reserved for skilled adults hit home with me. The book is funny, touching and insightful about family relationships.
   
   It is a great read and I, for one, am very grateful to Rinker Buck for putting this story down on paper all these years later.



4. WARNING: the first few chapters are dry, I almost gave up on the book and I am glad i didn't because after the first few chapters the book is so interesting and grabs you.
   
   Very Funny and descriptive you will love this book even if you don't have an interest in aviation.
   
   it takes you through the boys journey and Rinker Buck describes everything in enjoyable detail. The book describes their flight across the country and back(although he really does blow through the journey back).
   
   The book reminds you of a different time in the world, 1966, when you could fly around without a radio and sleep on the tarmac at the airport.
   
   Anyone can enjoy this book and it is in story format, not biography.



5. Rinker Buck is an engaging storyteller and this story is truly delightful. Touching at times and hilarious at others, Buck takes you along on he and his brother's amazing adventure across America in a Piper Cub. I would recommend this book to just about anybody, especially aviation enthusiasts.
   
   One note: you don't need to read the after word as it is a little sad and depressing after such a good read, and it doesn't relate to the story that much.

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 Mountain Madness.

1. Scott Fischer's name as a mountaineer was as well known within the international mountaineering community as it was little known by the general public until his tragic death on Mount Everest during the deadly climbing season of May 1996. That deadly season at the top of the world captured the public's imagination not only because of the significant loss of life, but also because for the first time, the mostly private business of challenging the world's highest summit was available for the first time to all who were interested on the internet, over satellite phones and through Jon Krakauer's presence as an "imbedded" journalist for Outside magazine.
   
   With Scott's death, Birkby lost a close friend and an influence in his own life going back to 1982 when the two men, who had only recently met, climbed Mt. Olympus together in Olympic National Park. Although Birkby's evolution as a highly skilled and well known outdoorsman had taken him on a self described "horizontal approach to America's wild places" his new friendship with Scott inspired new types of vertical adventures with Scott and his commercial climbing company Mountain Madness that included expeditions to the summits of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Elbrus and even eventually, to the famous Everest base camp.
   
   Birkby's healing from the loss of his good friend began on the SCA high school crew he led in Grand Teton National Park the summer following the tragedy. But even as the pain eased, Bob and other member's of Scott's community grew frustrated with the incomplete portrait of who Scott was as a man, a father and a mountaineer that emerged publicly in major accounts of the accident. And so he eventually began a search for the truth of who Scott was, mostly gained through the eyes and hearts of those who knew Scott best, that Birkby chronicled in a manuscript that he was never sure would be published.
   
   It is to our great good fortune that not only did Mountain Madness eventually find its way to publication last February, but also that one of the book's most influential and articulate story tellers about Scott's life was Bob Birkby himself. This first person narrative tells great stories of adventures but also seeks - quite successfully - to ask and answer questions about why people seek out adventure in the outdoors and how we succeed or fail in balancing this need with other priorities in our lives.
   
   Scott was both a charismatic and controversial character, a fact that Birkby both acknowledges and illuminates. From his tracing of Scott's boyhood in New Jersey, watching a documentary on television about the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) that led to his odyssey to Wyoming's highest places, to his early frustrations of trying to make a living by following his passion with his company Mountain Madness, the reader learns much about what drove Scott Fischer to the heights he sought.
   
   And while Birkby had no intention to add yet another book to the considerable cannon of Everest disaster literature, the quality of his research and the trust his interviewees obviously placed in his integrity and commitment to tell Scott's story does in fact shed some new light on that fateful May expedition. But perhaps more importantly the author has succeeded in telling the story of a man, his community and what came to be a far more fleeting moment in the history of high elevation mountaineering than any of the real people living in that moment could have recognized at the time.
   
   As readers come to different conclusions regarding the who the real Scott Fischer was and how well Scott met the challenges of his own life and goals, Mountain Madness succeeds fully in articulating the call that wild places has on so many of us. And by the end of the book too, we realize that with his crisp descriptive prose, his own vast experience and deep sensitivity to human triumph and fragility, Bob Birkby was our perfect guide to this remarkable story.



2. I got caught up in Mountain Madness and barreled through it in a week. Because Fischer's life is so crammed with the incredible, in the hands of the wrong writer, it could easily become a boring litany of outrageous feats. However, Robert Birkby gets it right. Each climb is unique in its setting, challenges, and personalities. And make no mistake, the book is crammed full of incredible adventure, both terrifying and triumphant.
   
   It was a lot of fun to read about the camaraderie and good times the climbers have when they are not risking their lives on the mountains. I'm afraid of heights, but I sure would have enjoyed hanging out with this guys on level ground. In fact, one of the things I appreciated was not feeling like an earth-bound outsider, looking in on the gods of climbing. Through Birkby, who was a friend of Fischer's and is also admittedly more of a horizontal hiker, I felt squarely anchored in the book. I also appreciated that Birkby is an outdoorsman, and I always felt like I was in the hands of someone who understood the process of climbing.
   
   Lastly, this is an excellent portrayal of a fascinating person. I got a good understanding of the drive behind Fischer's climbing. He seemed like a man with a relentless hunger, and yet a thoughtful man, who was struggling for balance in his life.



3. Everyone who met Scott remembered him. His energy and enthusiasm always left an impression. Robert captures the person, but also captures the communities of people with whom Scott spent his life. This is a remarkable book on a remarkable person.



4. Anyone who likes mountain climbing/adventure books will really love this portrait, as the author takes the reader through the experiences of Scott Fischer's most memorable life. A great pleasure to get the "behind the scenes" view of so many aspects of Fischer's multiple adrenaline filled challenges. When asked the question "Whom would you like most to have a beer with", Scott Fisher would be at or near the top of the list of any person who appreciates an action adventurist's life story. One cannot but feel a sense of real loss at not having had the opportunity to have met this person, "in person". This book, is I suspect, as near to being a close second, as one can hope for. I expect it most likely will be a best seller within the genre of mountain climbing/true adventure books.



5. World-class mountain climber and guide gets a posthumous tribute from a mournful, devoted friend and fellow mountaineer.
   
   Birkby opens atop the 18,000-foot Himalayan peak Kala Patar. It's 1996, and Scott Fischer (1955 - 96) is showing him the skyline of Mount Everest, where Fischer will shortly lose his life. That climb was a far cry from the pair's initial adventure back in 1982, when Fischer convinced a then-inexperienced Birkby to scale Mount Olympus.
   
   The author details Fischer's childhood, when a love of camping and a penchant for thrill-seeking blossomed into challenging hikes as a teenager with the National Outdoor Leadership School. He would later join NOLS as an instructor, counting among his students Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm, 1997, etc.).
   
   Birkby tenderly recalls Fischer's clumsiness in his early 20s, when he miraculously survived more than 12 deadly plummets and was nicknamed "the Fallingest Man in Climbing." After gaining increased experience and acumen, he left NOLS and formed Mountain Madness, a company offering guided climbs whose motto was "Make it happen."
   
   Deftly detailing Fischer's life in conversational prose, Birkby shares stories about encountering bears and traversing frozen terrain in the Alaskan wilderness, adventures ascending Kilimanjaro and the death-defying challenges of the Annapurna Circuit trail. As his son neared his first birthday, Fischer became more determined than ever to scale Everest. Climbing down from its 29,000-foot peak in May 1996, the group he was guiding got caught in a blizzard. Everyone managed to descend to safety except Fischer, who perished from exposure. The tragedy received widespread media attention and a lasting memorial in Jon Krakauer's eyewitness account, Into Thin Air (1997).
   
   A fitting homage to one of the great outdoor extremists.
   (Kirkus Reviews)

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

1. This book tells the story of one of history's most misunderstood and mischaracterized individuals. Henry Stanley rose from poverty to become one of the world's most effective but least known explorers, uncovering central Africa's mysteries and unwittingly creating the groundwork for the rape and bondage of a continent. From the famous but never-uttered "Dr. Livingston, I presume," to the reduced public stature resulting from the self-serving detrimental statements of others, Stanley emerges as a complex man worthy of a better and truer place in history than he accomplished. In addition to the personal tale, this book opens to the reader the state of 19th century Africa and is worth reading if only from this perspective.



2. 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.



3. 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!



4. 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.



5. 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.