1 comments about Fly-Fishing the 41st: From Connecticut to Mongolia and Home Again: A Fisherman's Odyssey.

1. Travelogue of fly fisherman, artist, author James Prosek who circumnavigates the globe along the 41st parallel fishing and recording rare species of native trout. Prosek writes of wine, women, fishing and fellowship in a casual, loosely structured style...what more could a man want in a quick read? Johannes, his Austrian friend, figures largely in this book because he must--he is a unique character to say the least. At times, however, there is a little too much focus on those around the author, Johannes especially, and too little introspection. Kudos are due to Prosek however for his sensitive and open-minded treatment of the various cultures he is presented with in his travels; Also, for not trying to make some grand declaration of self-discovery. Prosek simply lets this book be what it ought to be.

1 comments about The Personal Narrative of James O Pattie: The True Wild West of New Mexico and California.

1. I can't recommend this book because its partly or mostly untrue. Pattie, is one is to believe him, traversed nearly every corner of the old West from 1824 to 1830, participated in countless battles with Indians, rescued Mexican maidens, was one of the first Mountain Men to reach California, became a hero when he vaccinated 18,000 Californians against smallpox, explored large parts of the Rocky Mountains, and ended up in a Mexican jail from whence he made his way back to the United States and dictated his story to a journalist.
   
   Pattie tells a good tale and there is an air of authenticity in many of his travels. He probably saw some country out West, and his descriptions are no doubt valuable, but it appears he vastly exaggerated his exploits. The problem with reading the book is that you can't be sure what is truth and what is fiction.
   
   Well, telling whoppers was a tradition among the Mountain Men and Pattie seems to have been a master teller of tall tales -- and smart enough not to make them so tall that they are manifestly untrue. There's enough authentic material about the Mountain Men in the 1820s to ignore this book without loss. If you're captivated by Pattie, the editor, Richard Batman, has written "James Pattie's West" which tries to unravel the truth in this story.
   
   Smallchief

No comments about The Mormon Mountain Meadows Massacre: From the Diary of John I. Ginn.

4 comments about The Man Who Mapped the Arctic: The Intrepid Life of George Back, Franklin's Lieutenant.

1. It takes considerable flair and panache to write history in a way that makes it read like a novel and not very many authors have that ability. Canada's Pierre Berton has it! Dava Sobel and Simon Winchester are certainly up to the task! In "The Man Who Mapped the Arctic", Peter Steele demonstrated his rightful claim to membership on that short list. Steele, a physician who has spent most of his life in the North and an arctic adventurer and mountaineer in his own right, has eloquently told us the astonishing tale of George Back, Franklin's undeservedly obscure and unsung Lieutenant and his astonishing exploits in exploration that rival Samuel Hearne's or Lewis and Clark's in their extraordinary scope and difficulty.
   
   Steele's prose has painted a vivid picture of Back's working life as a Navy Lieutenant and explorer and the compelling setting in which the story takes place - endless waterfalls and rapids; excruciating clouds of mosquitoes or black flies; extreme temperature swings; backbreaking 90 to 100 pound loads hauled over strenuous ankle-breaking portages; the open water of Lake Winnipeg, Lake Superior and Great Bear and Great Slave Lake that might better be described as inland oceans when observed from the perspective of a canoe; changeable unpredictable weather; the dumb-founding athleticism of ten to twelve men paddling in perfect synchrony at 50 strokes per minute for hours on end singing, if you please, to provide a rhythm and take their minds off the numbing pain in their backs and shoulders; lost rations, near starvation and cannibalism; the stinging cold and near endless dark of sub-arctic winter camps; the political struggles, bickering, corporate fighting and espionage that occurred as a matter of course in the conflict between the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company; and much, much more.
   
   Of Back's cultural indoctrination by fire upon his arrival in Canada, for example, Steele wrote:
   
   "He knew nothing of the rival fur companies' years of bitter forest skirmishes, sniping from riverbanks at each others' canoes, occasionally taking prisoners, and resorting in extremis to arson and theft, kidnapping and murder - tantamount to open warfare." "Neither did he understand the cultural differences that might arise between himself and a disparate group of French Canadian voyageur canoemen, Indian hunters and Eskimo guides, who he expected would guide them through the most barren and inhospitable land anyone could imagine, among people utterly ignorant of intrusive Westerners and their strange ways."
   
   In other words, Steele has provided us with an exciting biography of a talented naval officer, explorer, mapmaker, outdoorsman and survivor who has languished for too long under the shadow of Franklin, his considerably less talented superior. The Yukon News praises "The Man Who Mapped the Arctic" by suggesting that it is destined to become a classic story of Canadian Arctic exploration. I concur.
   
   Paul Weiss



2. As a resident of the Alaskan Arctic, I find it refreshing to read a book by a biographer who does not just sit at the computer, or camp out in a stately library somewhere. Steele, a doctor and mountaineer, as well as a biographer, actually went out and retraced the distant and remote routes across Northern Canada --the same routes of his subject--British explorer George Back. He followed the exploits of Back on foot, and also by canoe, boat and plane, including a forced landing on a remote lake.
   Steele also traveled to Back's birthplace in the Cheshire area of England, and the areas of France where he was held as a prisoner of war well before he reached he age of 20.
   Much has been written about a contemporary of Back's, the courageous John Franklin, but much less about Back himself. Perhaps this is because Franklin and his 129 crewmen perished in a tragic search for the Northwest Passage. Steele's book should help Arctic enthusiasts learn more about Back, Franklin's Lieutenant on three earlier Arctic expeditions.
   Back, who served in the British Navy as a teenager, and spent five years in French prisons, showed early maturity, a very hearty constitution and a strong will. He successfully explored vast areas of Northern Canada and discovered and traveled the Back River, including shooting its 83 rapids.
   Steele, reflecting his medical background, notes that Back died in his bed at a relatively advanced age (for that time) of 82 years old. Back kept very active, and was also a fine mapmaker and artist.
   Steele also provides a social and economic profile of England in the early and mid 1800's, to show the rather limited options for many bright and ambitious young citizens. Thus, Arctic exploration, despite all its dangers, became a way up and out from a rather entrenched power structure.
   I could feel the inner drive of explorers like Back, Franklin, Parry and others as they sailed out of English ports, bound for uncharted Arctic waters, and expected to be gone for years at a time, with no way of communicating good or bad news, or getting rescued. Kind of like our space program at present, although we do have much more communication, but still plenty of risk.
   Pick up this book like I did, during several months when the sun does not rise above the horizon in Arctic Alaska. Find a comfortable chair by a sturdy floor lamp, and call your Greenland Husky or other faithful dog to your side, and return again to the days of George Back and his Arctic explorations.
   Earl



3. We need more of this kind of book in Canada.

   This was a fun read. The only complaint I have is the maps could have helped illustrate the routes taken.




4. An incredibly well researched book. The Man Who Mapped the Arctic is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian and European history or Arctic exploration. This is not dull Canadian history! Peter Steele's writing is witty and engaging.

No comments about Gittin' Western: A True Adventure of Body, Mind, and Spirit.

5 comments about Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes.

1. The Life, Legend, and Madness offers an in-depth view into the secretive life of Howard Hughes. Unbiased in its writing, the book focuses on all of Hughes accomplishments and successes, as well as some of the darker aspects of his life. After reading this book, one can really see that Hughes is one of the few "larger than life" characters that ever lived.
   
   Hughes played an integral role in shaping this country, a role unknown to many of today's younger generations. Donald Barlett and James Steele do an amazing job detailing both his accomplishments and private life. Some of his endeavors are less obvious today than others, such as helping transform Las Vegas into the resort town we know today. Many people are unfamiliar with the Hughes Medical Institute or the creations from the Hughes Aircraft Company. Although the book does show his odd lifestyle behind the darkened windows and closed doors, it is fair in that it also accurately focuses on his important business dealings.
   
   The popular movie "The Aviator" seems to be scripted largely from the first half of this book. To fully appreciate the movie, I recommend reading this particular book first. Not only will it help clarify references that may slip by in the movie, but this book shows that Hughes was much more than a movie producer who flirted with Hollywood's divas of the day. He was a master engineer, expert businessman, and defender of Democracy (he furiously fought Communists). Innovative people like Hughes is what America is all about.



2. After reading other books on Howard Hughes, I thought this book would be a waste of my time since I'd "read everything else" but little did I know that this book went into such detail of his life, exposing in great detail specifics that other books briefly mentioned.



3. The story of Howard Hughes, told superbly in this classic bio, is simply magnetic. How else could you describe a tale that begins with young Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. being born into one of Texas's wealthiest oil families (his father's company, Hughes Tool Company, held a virtual monopoly on drill-bits for many years), moving to Califoria to become a movie mogul, pioneering aviation, heading TWA, and then slipping into degenerative obsessive madness that rendered him completely in the hands of his manipulative underlings. Thus in this book we confront both the young, energetic Hughes (romantically linked to both Jane Russell and Katharine Hepburn) and the old, sick hughes - a nudist who left his hair and fingernails uncut for years, chronicly addicted to codeine, flitting between vacuum-sealed hotel rooms in diffent countries (Bahamas, Nicaragua, Toronto, London, etc.), yet whose name continued to command terror and respect among presidents and governors.

   As I read this book, there were many Hughes habits that I found deeply endearing, even as the weird details mounted. How can you not like a guy who, in the pre-VCR era, decided to buy the local Nevada TV station, just so they'd play the movies he wanted? Who - upon installing his home entertainment system - had an obsessive-compulsive need to watch the epic 1968 thriller "Ice Station Zebra" over and over again? (It's a good movie, after all.) Who bought up half of the real estate of Nevada in a doomed expectation of a world gold shortage? Or who lent his name to the ocean-dredging vessel, Glomar Explorer, to aid the CIA's covert attempts to refloat a Soviet sub? And there was something genuinely visionary about the way he built his aircraft and electronics empires. Indeed, despite the piles of carefully-compiled evidence of financial disasters at TWA, RKO, Air West and Summa Corporation, somehow I want to believe that Hughes was not the bungling sicko that emerges from these pages, but so what if he was, the story remains magnificent.

   As a postscript, every time you see a DirectTV advertisement, remember that it used to be a Hughes company.




4. Donald Bartlett and James Steel's book, "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is an excellent example of journalistic reporting converted into book form; the book is simply fascinating to read. The authors accomplish the gargantuan task of separating fact from fiction in the very complex life of Howard Hughes. "Empire" is impeccably researched and documented; It is a bona fide biography that reads more like fiction than real life-such was the world of Howard Hughes.
   
   "Empire" traces the rise and tragic fall of Howard Hughes; a man who wore many hats, he was an aviator, Hollywood movie producer, Las Vegas hotel/casino owner ... and a recluse. For one brief shining moment, Hughes was considered one of America's premier aviators, breaking flying records, but then falling out of grace with government and the aviation industry for breaking contract deadlines. In the long run, Howard Hughes would become a grand failure in the world of big business.
   
   Bartlett and Steel show the reader a man who had everything to live for, good looks, fame, fortune, power and prestige, but he was unable to triumph over his social and physical phobias that led to psychological, emotional, and physical illnesses and to his final descent into the dwellings of the insane. Hughes' deep mistrust of all people-even family, worked against him and led to his demise and the lose of his billion dollar empire by the very people whose job it was to safeguard him and his empire.
   
   By the time I finished reading "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes, I was much more accepting of my status as a non wealthy individual. Although Howard Hughes had everything a man could possibly wish for, he was underprivileged in peace of mind.... The authors do a superb job in separating fact from myth in the life of Howard Hughes. The book is worth reading.



5. "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is indeed an empire within itself. This book manages to expose the life of a very seceretive and private man of power who lived in his own unique way in the world. An incredible book about an incredible man...

No comments about The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit.

No comments about Wiley Post; From Oklahoma to Eternity.

No comments about Saved: The Extraordinary Tale of Survival and Rescue in the Southern Ocean.

5 comments about Tom Crean: Unsung Hero of the Scott and Shackleton Antarctic Expeditions.

1. One night last week I watched "Scott of the Antarctic." Being very impressed with the realistic nature of this 1960 production and, always impressed with the stalwart, intrepid, and frankly at times, insane daring of the British Explorers, I picked up this volume from my shelf and read the whole thing in a single night!! It had actually been given to me by an Irish friend about two years ago.
   
   I am grateful to that friend. Here in one book is more adventure than several explorers can pack into many lives - all accomplished by a single man - Tom Crean -- backbone of the Expedition: stalwart working-class hero and embodiment of everything that made both Ireland and Britain great nations.
   
   Tom was the non-com backbone of the operation. Someone capable with his hands, able, trustworthy and dependable in the extreme, men like Crean built the Empire and made feats of arctic exploration possible. From an adventure reader's point of view Crean was part of the last accompanying party with Scott, before Scott's choice to proceed onwards with 5 men deemed fittest. Of course Capt. Scott assured his posterity by dying along with 4 of his men. What I did not really know was the epic adventure Crean and his remaining companions endured in their eventual return.
   
   I will spare the details, but this book is packed with non-stop action (one thing that sticks out in my mind is the wild and very imprudent sled ride down the glacier -- it has to be read to be believed -- especially by anyone with actual glacier travel experience). Crean's last solitary walk of 32 kilomentres to gain help for his starving and badly scurvied companions is at once a stroke of genius, courage and luck -- he would not have survived if he had arrived 30 minutes later, by that time a wild storm pummelled the camp and Crean would have died if he had not made the hut).
   
   Crean also was a part of the Shakleton expedition and was again selected as one of the most dependable, and physically strong people to undertake the long journey to South Georgia and the also epic traverse of South Georgia ( a 34 mile trek across an island mountain range that had never been explored before). The adventure is unrelenting -- even the last kilometre before reaching the Whaling Station involves them on an abseil down a 20 metre waterfall.
   
   This book should be read for the sheer joy of understanding what gives all people strength when all else seems lost... it would have been easy to give up, but Tom Crean and his ilk never did.
   
   There is one point I should raise with this book that is a little annoying. It is the prediliction to interpret people as the embodiment of their race and nationality. Of course the Irish do this much more and perhaps better than most... but the idea that figures such as Crean are some sort of Zeitgeist representative of their country is misleading and wholly beside the point. There are points in the narrative where the author postulates what would have happenned had Crean be choosen to accompany Scott...there is also the attempt to make the obligatory genuflections to Irish Nationalism -- how does one square the circle of him being the right hand of Empire but at the same time significantly nationalist enough for the Irish (as if loyalty to the British made a person any less Irish).
   
   In simple terms Tom has little time for politics -- he evaluated people individually. It wasn't like him to judge. He was in many ways the strong and silent type. As such he offers us a template for a very fulfilled, dependable and just human being This is the story of this remarkable man.



2. Tom Crean is a true hero of the age of exploration. He was a man of great courage, strength and conviction. He was a member of two South Pole voyages with Scott and one with Shackelton. One could argue that had Scott chosed Crean over P.O. Evans to represent the "lower decks" on the last push to the pole, Scott may have survived to tell the tale. As it was, Crean is credited with saving the life of Lt. Evans as they struggled back after being the last support group to leave Scott and his party of five on the polar plateau and thus were the last to see them alive. Additionally, Shackelton credits Crean with, if not saving his life, being integral to the success of the Endurance expetdition by playing a central role in Shackelton's escape from Elephant Island and hike to eventual safety. Michael Smith tells an exciting, compelling story of the stark realities of the age of exploration in the early 1900's. This book is a factual story, expertly told about the "follower" Crean, a quiet man with strength and character that are so remarkable it is difficult to comprehend. Everyone of us can learn something from his example. This is a story about human endurance and will.



3. May I state from the outset that I am Irish, so my opinion is probably biased. I was enthralled by the book, and this unsung hero (what a title, given that he never spoke about his exploits). Smith did a remarkable job given that Crean left so little written material behind. I am dissapointed with earlier remarks about "Not much new here folks", they obviously missed the point. This book is about Crean and his part in the well documented events of thos days. Crean is my hero, I would have loved to have known him.



4. Having read about Amundsun,Scott and Shackleton,this entry on Crean[and the Biography on Worsley],complete the elusive details on a host of characters who chose to go where no others had gone before. Isolated and at the unrelenting mercy of the elements,these thoroughly detailed accounts evoke the best of the human spirit.



5. A captivating read and even more than a book about Tom Crean.
   Michael Smith assembles a intriguing chronology that reveals
   a compelling perspective of the times and lives of the Polar
   Explorers. An insightful character analysis into the leadership and the crews.
   My only complaint is,after Smith's meticulous documentation of names,dates,latitude/longitude, and geographic locations,
   the book offers only a few rudimentary maps. But you can easily remedy this(inconceivable oversight)by obtaining the USGS Topographic Index Map of Antartica(free)and a beautiful Satellite Image Map($7 US)scale 1:5,000,000 mapI-2560.I plotted as I read and ended up with a great reference souvenir.