2 comments about Epics on Everest: Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peak (Adrenaline).

1. This is one of the most exciting books on the subject of mountain climbing I have ever read. Adrenaline on full!



2. Not just "there I was in a whiteout" stories, although those are in there. The sixteen pieces represent attempts on Everest back to the Twenties when Mallory disappeared. They are in chronological order, which is helpful because many of the writers refer to past history in their work. All but three are excerpts, but as always, carefully chosen so that you enter and exit the work without feeling confused. There are selections about the early exploration of Everest and then a detailed third-person account of the first ascent in 1953. Geoff Tabin writes about the dynamics of an expedition and the labor that goes into making even an unseccessful assualt on the mountain. Willis puts an interesting spin on the idea of "survival" by including two interesting accounts - one explaining why the previously strong bond between Messner and Habeler didn't "survive" after their 1978 triumph without oxygen, and a first person account by Maria Coffey, who after losing Joe Tasker to the mountain traveled ther with Peter Boardman's widow to find closure for her own "survival". And there are the epics: Venables' near fatal overnight bivouac on the mountain, Anatoli Boukreev's rebuttal of "Into Thin Air", which cast him in a poor light, an account from Lene Gammelgaard, a less-known participant who nearly died that brutal night in 1996, and my favorite - an emotional yet self-effacing first-person story of that same disaster by Michael Groom, one of the guides, who reflects not only on his own near-death, but the helplessness of a guide who could not save his clients: it was he (among others) who walked away from Beck Weathers and left him for dead. So all in all a great read on many aspects of Everests history, and if mountaineering gets your blood going, don't overlook the earlier series volumes"Epic", "High", and "Climb", all packed with riveting tales of death and survival from mountains around the world.

No comments about A Journey to the Northern Ocean: Samuel Hearne (Classics West).

No comments about The Northern Horizons of Guy Blanchet: Intrepid Surveyor, 1884-1966.

No comments about Ice Captain: The Life of the Endurance Expedition's Other Hero, Joseph Russell Stenhouse.

1 comments about Captain James Cook: Seaman and Scientist.

1. There are those who are quite able to transfer their research into the written word in such a way that the reader is fully able to enjoy the fruits of their work - and there are those who are not. Thankfully, Bill Finnis belongs to the former group.
   
   "Captain James Cook - Seaman and Scientist" arrived through my letterbox just as I was departing for a week's diving on one of the many Safari Boats found in the Egyptian Red Sea. I always take a good book on such trips and this one proved to be an excellent choice.
   
   This is a hardback book measuring approx. 11in x 8¼in, containing almost 250 pages of text with just the right amount of charts, sketches, portraits and photographs in support. The book begins with a chapter headed "Setting the Scene" and that is precisely what it does. Drawing on his own vast experience of the sea, the author explains the prevailing wind conditions in the Pacific Ocean before reminding us of the contributions made by a host of individuals - many of us will remember from our school days; Magellan, Drake, Anson, Bougainville, Dampier and Cartaret - to name but some.
   
   So, having been reminded of what has gone before in terms of world exploration we are now treated to an exposé of Cook's early years and how he came to be apprenticed to a small shipping company in Whitby on the Yorkshire coast. Then, after some 4 years - and just as he is offered his very first command of a merchant ship, he elects instead to widen his horizons by joining the Navy.
   
   What follows is an immensely readable account of Cook's life and, of course, his death. Along the way, we learn of the difficulties associated with determining longitude and how this led to errors in fixing the precise positions of islands being charted by various explorers. We also learn how William Bligh - later to become that famous Captain Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, accompanied Cook on his last voyage. Perhaps, after learning so much about navigation from the great man himself, it was little wonder that Bligh survived that epic voyage in a small open boat after having been evicted from his ship.
   
   Elsewhere, we learn how Cook had conducted a detailed survey of the Coast of New Zealand during 1769-1770. I particularly liked the comment whereby, in 1943 US Forces were based in that country and decided the charts should be brought up to date. Their own survey of the New Zealand coastline revealed several apparent errors made by Cook. Some years later, with the benefit of satellite position fixing, it was found that the US Forces were in error and Cook had been right all along.
   
   In summary, this book contains 250 pages of historical detail written in a style which makes it hard to put down. It is a fascinating account of one of history's most fascinating men and the reader will not be disappointed by either the content or the way in which it is presented.
   
   NM

No comments about Bradford Washburn: A Life of Exploration.

No comments about A New Voyage And Description Of The Isthmus Of America.

No comments about Bartolome de Las Casas: Great Prophet of the Americas.

5 comments about Theres a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe (Capital Discoveries) (Capital Discoveries).

1. This is a wonderful book and if you are familiar with backcountry anywhere you can appreciate it. I had a racoon in my chimney which was gotten rid of useing moth balls. Years a go we had an "outhouse" three sides canvas and the fourth open to the elements. We had no neighbors. We came up one weekend to find that a porcupine had eaten part of the seat. We were much more careful after that.



2. This was my first adventure into the world of author Michael Tougias and I haven't looked back. I admit, the title is what prompted me to pick this book up since I'd not yet had the pleasure of reading anything by this author. I sat down to read and was up until 2am finishing the last page. It'll have you laughing right out loud! I felt as if I were there sharing in all the antics of Mike and his friends through his delightful descriptions. This is one of those books I'll go back and read again and again.



3. Michael Tougias's latest book, There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse, is a well-written, humorous account of some his adventures (and misadventures) surrounding his rustic camp in northern Vermont. Tougias bought the small A-frame when he was only 22 years old. Over the years, with the outdoors world as his teacher, he learns to live with nature, rather than by asserting dominance and control over it. Middle-aged suburbanites, such as myself, will readily see aspects of their own youthful development in Tougias's stories.

   Don't expect the eloquence and introspection of a Thoreau. Tougias's style is light and very engaging. Also, as a bonus, the book is filled with great recommendations for further reading about naturalists and mountain men. The pages turn very quickly, which is unfortunate, since there are only 160 of them, including lots of porcupine filler. I found myself wanting more after the tales came to a rather abrupt ending. Further development of the three characters might have added to the tales. Overall, I enjoyed the book immensely.




4. After putting my three year old to bed for the night, I collapsed into my favorite chair, picked up "There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse", and found myself welcoming the morning sun with a smile on my face, memories my own misadventures, and thoughts of childhood friends. A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book. Michael Tougias has the uncanny nack of combining an extensive knowlege of the outdoors along with Wit and heart of a great storyteller. I found myself longing for my own special place, and to share adventures with Michael, Boomer, and Cogs as they learn about the great outdoors and themselves. I will return to this book over and over to share their stories.



5. Michael Tougias, a well-respected outdoor writer, has written a wonderful book about his growth from a young novice outdoorsman to a competent expert. "There's A Porcupine in My Outhouse" is funny portrait of one man's experience learning about the natural world. After I finally stopped laughing, I realized that I had even learned a lot in the process of reading his book.

2 comments about Finn Burnett, Frontiersman: The Life and Adventures of an Indian Fighter, Mail Coach Driver, Miner, Pioneer Cattleman, Participant in the Powder River Expedition, Survivor of the (Frontier Classics).

1. 
   This is a reprint edition of the 1937 first edition, published by the Arthur H. Clark Company. It tells the life of Fincelius G. Burnett, better known as Finn, who became a much-traveled frontiersman and Indian fighter and later a true friend of the peoples he skirmished so often with.
   
   Finn left his home state of Missouri for the West in an attempt to avoid getting drafted into the Union army. He became a teamster on the 1865 Connor Powder River expedition, witnessing the hanging of Oglala chiefs Two Face and Black Foot at Ft. Laramie, which set off a rash of white-Sioux hostilities. The expedition reached the Powder River country of Wyoming, where Ft. Connor (later Reno) was established. He participated in a number of skirmishes with the Sioux, usually as a member of Frank North's Pawnee Scouts throughout the summer and fall of 1865. In 1866 he helped build Ft. Kearny on the Bozeman Trail, and was there during the Fetterman massacre (he was on the detail that retrieved the dead bodies). He participated in the Hayfield Fight near Ft. C.F. Smith in 1867, and then changed hats from Indian fighter to gold miner during the South Pass gold rush. It was during this time that he forged a friendship with the Shoshone chief Washakie, becoming the agricultural agent at Ft. Washakie; it was also here that he befriended Sacajawea, the famous woman who was with Lewis and Clark (some dispute this was the same Sacajawea). He settled on a ranch west of Lander, WY, a gift from Washakie, and died at the age of 90 in 1934.
   
   Beebe's account of Burnett's life is robust and (to use a term that would've been perfectly acceptable back in 1937 when the book was published) "manly." It's straightforward and concerned with getting the facts right and allowing them to speak for themselves. Anyone interested in affairs of the High Plains West, especially during the 1860s-80s, should find this book worthwhile.



2. Biographer Robert Beebe David provides the reader with a straightforwardly narrated account in Finn Burnett, Frontiersman, the biography of an extraordinary pioneer of the American frontier. In the upper Plains and northern Rockies, Finn Burnett was at first a staunch battler against Indians, but later befriended them, including famous individuals such as Washakie, the Shoshone chief, and Sacajawea, known for her role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. Part of the Stackpole Books "Frontier Classics Series", Finn Burnett, Frontiersman is very highly recommended reading for students of American frontier history.