5 comments about A Voice in Our Wilderness: John Husar's Timeless Writings on the Outdoors, Strange Meals, and Life's Simple Moments.

1. John Husar's writings don't only apply to fishermen, hunters, or any denomination of people, but to anyone who loves to experience travels, adventures, or living in general, because he wrote not just about the outdoors, but how extraordinary life is. This book is a must-have for anyone who likes good stories told by an exellent storyteller. And who knows, you might learn somthing. Read it, you won't regret it



2. Reading this book filled me with inspiration to get out and enjoy the outdoors. John Husar's writing is absolutely poetic. He was an artist who painted with humble words. It's an easy read -you can pick up any page and start from there, because it's a collection of his columns. Thank you for making this book!

   After reading a few columns, I took my kids out for a walk in the woods for the first time this year. This book is not just for the fisherman/hunter, it's for anyone who loves the outdoors and appreciates natural beauty. It's timeless and classic. I even gave it to a few friends for Father's Day.




3. The writings of John have been missed in the Chicago Tribune. Thank you for the wonderful book ! I look forward to the next book with more stories.
   He has taken me on advertures around the world with such respect for nature and the environment.



4. Mr. Husar was an avid hunter and fisherman but this book should appeal to anybody who loves the great outdoors. He didn't write about how to catch big fish but about how to have fun while doing it.

   I really like that it's a collection of newspaper columns -- you can grab it and read one or two columns at a time, depending on how much free time you have, or read it straight through.

   I'll keep this one on my shelf for a long time.




5. What a wonderful book.....Mr. Husar has a way of capturing the essence of the outdoor experiece in a artfully brilliant and often humerous way......showing great respect for all God's creatures.

5 comments about Tales of the Himalaya: Adventures of a Naturalist.

1. Larry Swan was a born naturalist, an original thinker, and an inspiring teacher. He was also a fascinating character and a raconteur of the first order. When I was an undergraduate in the 1960s, his courses at San Francisco State College were legendary. His lectures were like savory curries. He served up meaty ideas in a rich masala of entertaining and sometimes bawdy stories. "Tales of the Himalaya" is a collection of Swan's adventures and the discoveries and ideas that emanated from them. The chapters stand by themselves. There are chapters on debunking the yeti, his discovery of the Aeolian Biome, a theory of high altitude bird migration, an amusing exploration of leeches and lice, and a wonderful chapter about his beloved Sherpas. (All who took his course in Zoogeography ended up loving Sherpas.) And there is much more. Like Doc Ricketts of Cannery Row, Larry Swan was the kind of person who turned John Steinbeck on to biologists, and made his students want to climb mountains. This is a book about science, exploration and travel, imbued with an infectious personality. If you have ever looked up at a lofty range of mountains and wondered, then this is a book worth reading.



2. I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Northwestern corner of Bangladesh. Although my job keeps me busy I still seem to have large amounts of free time for reading. As there are not many outlets for books in English where we are, my fellow PCV's and I have learned to read almost anything. In a rare and exciting care package from home, my father sent me this fantastic book. Dr.Swan's adventures are so full of excitment and humor that you wish they were your own. They can compel even the most diehard homebody to think of packing a bag and heading to the mountians. Dr.Swan writes of the Himalaya and it's people with respect and admiration that could only come from someone who knew and loved them well. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a little adventure or some very truthful information. As soon as i finished it I sent it off to a friend in the neighboring town. I have yet to see it show up back at the Peace Corps library, which means it is still floating around somewhere amongst the PCV's of Bangladesh.



3. I am one of the lucky ones who actually knew Prof. Larry Swan, the author of this remarkable book, and I was privileged to have heard all of these stories recounted by the man himself in the classroom and at his home. Although I miss his voice and grand gestures, I am delighted to report that the stories in his book, from his boyhood in Darjeeling, to high altitude spiders, Yetis and the great Indian monsoon, are as engrossing on the printed page as they were to hear! Professor Swan was a remarkable biologist, a master teacher and a creative, gifted man who lived a full and amazing life. This excellent volume of his adventures and thoughts is a reminder to us that great lives can be led, and great mentors can be found. It is a must for all inquiring minds and adventurous spirits!!



4. Written in a casual, funny and lively style, this book is chock full of fascinating nuggets about the critters and people that populate the Himalayas. Lawrence Swan was an excellent writer and a renowned authority on Himalayan wildlife. A must read for anyone interested in wildlife, The Himalayas, and/or the rigors of field work.



5. Hello...I'm a 13 year old girl, and I knew Dr. Swan quite well. He was a great, full of energy, brilliant person. This book is wonderful, and the life of him is very interesting, even to me. I would definately something i would recommend to anyone and everyone. I will prolly read this a million times, and I will never get sick of it, ever.

No comments about Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Aviation.

No comments about The Memoirs of Someone Awesome.

1 comments about The Coast Mappers.

1. The Coast Mappers provides a thoroughly enjoyable historical record of the early survey of the west coast of the United States. It is clearly written as a Youth book but the content and artwork make it an excellent addition to any library or coffee table.

2 comments about Eric Shipton: Everest & Beyond.

1. This book is a competently written biography. It puts into an easily-grasped perspective the full gammut of Shipton's climbing and exploring career and it gives much on his personal life and what he did between expeditions that is not available from his own books. It deals dispassionately but sensitively with such issues as the leadership debacle that preceded the '53 Everest expedition, and shares Shipton's views of his climbing companions, Tilman's reticence, for example. One thing that tickled my interest was that it reveals the sources of many of the pithy comments and aphorisms that have passed into mountaineering lore, such as Tom Bourdillon's comment on food: "The main thing is that there should be some". I couldn't put this book down.



2. This book together with Shipton's "The Six Mountain- Travel Books" and "That Untravelled World" let you fully understand the life of the great mountain explorer. Blanks in his life, never told in his books, are finally filled up!

1 comments about Fire & Ice: Tales From An Alaskan Volunteer Fire Chief.

1. Mr. Whetsell has an engaging style. He mixes stories and life lessons as he relives 30+ years of experiences as a Volunteer Fire Chief in Cordova Alaska. I'd recommend it to those who are looking for a true life adventure story.

5 comments about Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride.

1. I agree with the other reviewers that Annie Londonderry's story is one of a charming, brash, lying, self-promoting, scoundrel whose adventure meshed with, if not influenced, feminism, freedom of dress, and use of the bicycle by women. However, there is constant repetition of Annie as a charming, brash, lying, self-promoting --etc. etc. etc. (Get the picture?) Many times I said, "Enough already. I know that. Get on with the story." Relating an incident speaks for itself. There is no need to add after each that she was a charming, brash, etc. etc. Some of the information included in the epilogue, the afterword, and the appendix (is there a need for all three?)could have been included within the text, substituting for the redundancy, and explaining in greater depth Annie's personality and interaction with her family. The changing social customs of the period and the history of bicycling tied with Annie's antics would be a better read without the padding. I appreciated the bibliography and notes.



2. Annie Kopchovshy decided to ride around the world on a bike. So she changed her name to Annie Londonderry, conned half the planet in helping her ride around the world, mostly on trains and steamboats, and made money while doing it. An interesting story? Why, yes. An amazing woman? Yes. Smart? Yes. Amoral? Sure. A con artist? Yes. Did she lie and cheat and act self centered? Yes. Did she leave behind her husband and kids during her travels? Yes.
   Interesting, daring, and a great piece of history.



3. Instead of running to buy this book, bicycle there! I could not stop reading the story, and finished it over the weekend based upon my father's enthusiastic recommendation. What an amazing true story Peter Z. has discovered, digging from his family tree. This would make a blockbuster movie. It would secure at least an oscar nomination for the lucky actress who gets the role of Annie Londonberry, perhaps someone such as Natalie Portman?
   Mr. Zheutlin is an erudite story teller and I can't wait to read his next book.
   R. Bornstein, Ft Lauderdale, FL



4. "Around the World on Two Wheels" is the fascinating and highly amusing tale of how Annie Kopchovsky, a Jewish immigrant and mother of three living in Boston in the 1890s, singlehandedly reinvented herself as "Annie Londonderry," the subject of a high stakes wager over whether it was possible for a woman to cycle around the world. While the wager and much of Annie's recollection of her journey is apocryphal, she did succeed in circling the globe, all the time spinning fantastic travel tales to willing and gullible newspapermen.
   
   Zheutlin has done a marvelous job in researching the tale of Annie, a distant relative, and also in separating the facts from the many fictions she put forward. He also puts Annie's groundbreaking journey in the proper historical/societal context.
   
   A great read that will appeal to a large cross section of readers.



5. An extraordinary story! Peter Zheutlin, a descendant of Annie Londonderry's brother, has researched and written her incredible adventure. With all her claims, her outrageous self-promotion, her character flaws, Annie Londonderry has emerged again as one of modern women's most outstanding pioneers and role models. Her story--and this book--is inspiring, fun, and memorable. It is a stiring tale of one woman's incredible adventure, a provocative and thoughtful example of women's suffrage, and a tale of the Old West rarely investigated today. It is not only a must read, but a must have.

No comments about Medusa: Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 & The Sufferings of the Picard Family After the Shipwreck of the Medusa.

1 comments about Persia in the Great Game: Sir Percy Sykes: Explorer, Consul, Soldier, Spy.

1. Persia was interested in the Great Game as one of the possible routes to India for the Russians and for this reason became the object of England's important presence in this area. The political situation of Iran today finds it roots in the confilctive relationships between Britain and Russia during the Victorian Age and the early Nineteenth Century.
   
   Sir Percy Sykes was one of the principal englishmen that influenced the permanence of the English in Persia and due to his remarkable caracter is still rememberd there today.
   
   Antony Wynn draws abbundantly from Sir Percy's, his sister Ella's and his wife Evelyn's diaries, official documents and correspondance to bring back to life this rocky and slightly megalomaniac server of his country. From training in the cavalry in India, to the extensive explorations of Kashmir, Ladakh, Turkmenistan and the whole Persian territory, Sykes' career is followed to the founding of the Kerman consulate and after that the permanence in Meshed, where he probably really influenced the insucess of the Russian attempt to annex the North of Persia.
   After WWI Russia and Britain became allies and the services of Sykes became very important. Eventhough a diplomat and not a military he founded and commanded the South Persia Rifles that became the first modern Persian army. In contrast to the Central Governement he managed to check the influence of the Germans and check the tribal disorders mustered up by Wassmuss and defeated the raiding tribes of the South ensuring the safety of commerce.
   After the war, Lord Curzon showed no sympathy for this knowledgable but difficult to treat military/diplomat, and practically determined his retirement. Sir Percy however had many arrows to his bow and through conferences, articles, books and public apprearances managed to support his vast family.
   
   Antont Wynn writes with detail and is never boring. Historical biographies gain much when contextualization is attempted. In this aspect I found the book a little defective even if the bibliography and the recalls to other sources is satisfying. The photographs add flavour to the reading helping to visualize the caracters.
   
   This book is an indispensable read for the understanding of how the Iranian opinion of the West has formed and is still ongoing. The description of the basis of the economical and political relationships between England and Iran are still part of our current situation.