5 comments about My Life as an Explorer.

1. When you think of an "explorer" you think of a guy like Hedin. From an early age he ventured again and again into large swatches of Asian geography where few or no Europeans had ever trod. Hedin graphically and realistically portrays his travels with such detail that you can feel the cold, the heat, the parched throats, the curious indigenous eyes and the scenery staggering in its beauty. When you come to the end of this book, you will be all "adventured" out, for on almost every page there is a suspenseful, fascinating episode. Hedin was truly an explorer's explorer. His greatness is dimmed, however, by his fervent support of Naziism during WWII. As someone has writen elsewhere, Hedin knew about the death camps and never disavowed them. He was a solid Nazi partisan. In an epilogue to this book, author and admirer Peter Hopkirk urges us to look at Hedin's many and major contributions and to forgive his pro-German activities in both world wars. I'm not quite willing to forgive, but I will segment my views of Hedin into Hedin the explorer and Hedin the Nazi sympathizer. Anyhow,if you're looking for a fascinating book about exploration in the most forbidding sectors of our planet at the turn of the 20th century, this is a book for you.



2. The Swede Sven Hedin was the last great explorer we will see on this well-traveled planet. Hedin was born in 1865 and this autobiography describes his life up until 1908. Hedin's career was hardly finished, however, as he continued to traipse down the old Silk Road in Central Asia until the 1930s when he was 70 years old.
   
   In a happy trait that should be copied by more auto-biographers, Hedin doesn't spend much time on his childhood. By the third page of his narrative he is 20 years old and off to the Caucasus Mountains which only whets his appetite for the little-known peaks and deserts of Tibet and Central Asia. He spent the years between 1893 and 1908 exploring these regions and filling in blank places on the map.
   
   National Geographic's "Traveler" magazine put this book on its list of 100 best adventure books and, truly, the tales of Hedin's adventures make for good, exciting reading. Hedin displays both charm and generosity in his account. He traveled without the company of other Europeans and he enjoyed the companionship of his local helpers and the dogs he adopted along his way. He draws many clever portraits of the people he met in his travels. Hedin, however, was no mere adventurer. He was a serious, sober scholar who produced dozens of scientific studies of his findings.
   
   One of the most hair raising tales in the book concerns Hedin's first expedition into the sands of the Takla Makhan (desert) of China in which he and his companions nearly died of thirst. A second high point of the book is the account of his attempt to visit Lhasa, the forbidden capital of Tibet. He failed after getting nearly to the gates of the city and was denied the honor of becoming the first foreigner to visit Lhasa in half a century. Amidst the plethora of adventures, the stoic Swede brushes over incidents others would consider high -- or low -- points of their lives. "Fever kept me in Kashgar a long while" is his complete description of one serious illness.
   
   The book is illustrated with many of Hedin's drawings, including his hand drawn maps. I suggest that you read the book with a good modern map at hand so as to trace his routes with more precision as his constant tooing-and-froing can be confusing.
   
   Smallchief



3. (This refers to the National Geographic Reprint edition)

   This is truly a great book, full of the amazing adventures of an incredible explorer. You have to admire Hedin's determination and stubborness, although sometimes I wonder about his planning. It seems like every trip all his animals die, and the men are on the verge of starvation. And as for his trips in the desert, I would have thought the concept of "take some extra water" would have occured at some point!
   Hedin is a fine writer, and his descriptions are not only accessible to the average reader, but often quite poetic as well.
   Nevertheless, I only reluctantly give this a full 5 stars, because I feel that National Geographic missed a great opportunity to make this an almost perfect book, and it wouldn't have been that difficult to do. As a previous reviewer mentioned, some good maps could have helped. There's almost no excuse for NG not to have included some decent maps of Central Asia in their edition. Furthermore, one tends to forget (although Hedin mentions in the text), that he also took photographs on many of his travels. These might have been included as well. (To see some, refer to the Photos section of the website of the Sven Hedin Foundation, "http://www.etnografiska.se/hedinweb/htmsidor/organi.htm"). Aside from the simplistic drawings that are included, Hedin also did many detailed sketches and potraits on his travels. Now one can assume that none of these were included in the original, and this is only a reprint, but nevertheless, it is a missed opportunity. The introductory chapter by A.Brandt also adds little insight, and might as well have been left out as well.
   However, despite the lost opportunities, this book is highly recommended.




4. This is a tale wonderfully told of an explorer's quest to fill in the blank spots on the map of Asia. Not only does Hedin present a clear and highly entertaining view of his travels, but he also gives us a portrait of his character. He shows us that he is a man with high goals and is undeterred in achieving those goals, even when all odds are against him. He shows us that he is also a very caring man, very much concerned about the welfare of his men and his animals. He also is a man that is awestruck by nature and is very concerned about not unduly intruding upon it or unnecessarily destroying it.

   But most of all, this is an adventure story that is just plain fun to read.

   A suggestion to readers who are not very familiar with the geography of central Asia would be to have on hand some good maps as the ones Hedin draws are quite limited and often fail to give the perspective that may be desireable.




5. I concur with NDylanRay@aol.com. This book is exceptional. I could hardly put it down. You feel the excitement and intensity of his adventures, you begin to understand the force that drives him (and you respect him for it), and you meet the people and the places that make Turkestan and Tibet 100 years ago like no place that you could ever imagine.

5 comments about Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder.

1. Kingbird Highway is a must read for every birder. It is a real adventure story; complete with life and death struggles! If Kenn Kaufman's life work wasn't birding - he could easily be a writer. Do yourself a favor and read this book.Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder



2. As a birder, I empathized with Kaufman's desire to see rare birds in Aleutians, explore the unknown, and experience the American wilderness through the binocular lens. For those of us who might be apprehensive about dropping out of high school and hitchhiking around the country pursuing our dreams, Kaufman makes it easy. He does it for us.
   
   This is the story of a young kid who was obsessed with birds. He left behind a life in small-town American in pursuit of his dreams (meaning to see new birds), and made a niche for himself in the then budding birdwatching sub-culture. On virtually no budget, he managed to navigate his way all around the United States, learning and growing as he traveled, making new friends and seeing wildlife all the while.
   
   His writing is gripping. The excitement that he feels in seeing each new bird, meeting Roger Tory Peterson, or having a car stop to pick him up after having walked for hours on a roadside is very real to the reader. This journey transcends the birds that define it, and background discussion make this book accessible to birder and non-birder alike.
   
   Perhaps most importantly, Kaufman provides an unconventional model for success. Not everyone has to go through the motions of securing a college degree, going to graduate school, or finding an entry level position someplace and begin climbing the corporate ladder. I wouldn't condone abandoning education, but think that Kaufman's case is useful in that it shows that self-education outside of the classroom can be just as (or more) informative and fulfilling.
   
   Kaufman's journey takes him through the full range of human emotion, introduces him to people from all walks of life, and opens up a natural world that a young, lonely kid in Kansas could only dream about. Mixing in some self-deprecating humor, Kaufman's book is both thrilling, and relaxing.



3. Written many years after the fact, this book is well worth reading many years after the fact. Kingbird Highway is an autobiography, a travelogue, and a `where-to-bird' guide for 1973. It is a tale of life, liberty, and the pursuit of birds. Kingbird, alias Kenn Kaufman drops out of high school to pursue his dream (obsession) of seeing more birds in a single year than anyone had ever seen before. There are several catches to his liberty and pursuit of birds. He must see the birds north of Mexico, a technicality that affects his dream. He has almost no money, so he does cheapest Big Year ever with the lowest dollar to bird ratio ever. He spends only about $1000 by hitchhiking everywhere and living off Little Friskies in a can of cold soup for dinner. Kingbird Highway provides a wonderful map of where to bird even now over forty years later. For example, the Brownville Texas Municipal dump is still the place to see Tamaulipas crows. Read in conjunction with a field guide, Kingbird Highway opens a world of birds, their habits, and habitats that might otherwise escape notice.



4. This is a good book, but not what I expected. It's about a specific time in birding and America. This makes Kenn Kaufman's experience unique. This was during the "early days" of birding and bird listers. There was not the instantaneous information of the location of rare species we have now. If you are interested in birding, the search for rare bird species, or the effort to see bird species out of their normal range, I would recommend this book.



5. Kenn Kaufman began birding at an early age, and as a young teenager he hid his "geeky" habit from his friends. Eventually, as he became older, he realized that there was a birding fraternity and he began to bird with others who loved it as much as he did. At 16, with his parents' blessing, he dropped out of school and began doing cross-country birding by hitchiking around the country. His knowledge of birds grew and his contacts with other birders increased. In 1973 he decided to go for a Big Year, that is a year in which he attempted to break the record for most birds seen in a year. The pace of Kaufman's quest was amazing and he relates his adventures in an interesting and down-to-earth style. Towards the end of his Big Year, Kaufman begins to question his own motives for building up his list and his introspection brings a new maturity to him and his methods of birding. This is a great book for any bird enthusiast.

5 comments about The Journey Home (Plume).

1. As usual Abbey was brilliant. It was one of the best novels I ever read.



2. When I sit down to write about Edward Abbey, I feel a pang of affection and sorrow, because through his writing I have really grown to like the guy. I wish I'd been able to meet him.
   If you've read his works, I'll bet you know what I mean. He's the kind of guy you want to take camping with you. He's the first one you call when you get an itch to shoulder a pack and head out.
   Even if you don't agree with everything he says (or how he says it)--and I know I don't--you just have to like him.
   "The Journey Home" is Abbey at his most articulate, at his most candid. He takes on the issues of Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and the Navajo Generating Station, though much of his information on the Navajo Generating Station is now extremely out of date.
   He examines everything from the desert to walking to why people bother doing anything, always with his trademark sense of bitter humor.
   On walking he says, "The iron tug of gravitation should be all the reminder we need that in walking uphill we are violating a basic law of nature."
   On reasons for climbing mountains he says, "George H. Leigh-Mallory's asinine rationale for climbing a mountain--"because it's there"--could easily be refuted with a few well-placed hydrogen bombs."
   Edward Abbey is a classic, and these essays are some of his finest, and his most fun.



3. Much as others have already said Edward Abbey was a remarkable man. There is no doubt that Desert Solitaire stands out like a beacon in the desert of the usual literature, now called nature writing, available today. It is the shear life, zest and energy that permeates the work as it does here, although not all the time, in "The Journey Home". Abbey's stories this time are more personal and although still not at all self conscious they are deeper because of this. In this sense they are akin to the great work of Jack Turner, "The Abstract Wild" and Doug Peacock's "Grisly years". At no time do they suggest they are great writers, rather it is their spirit which wakes the reader with its realness. As yet I have only read these two books of his but each of them is different with its own seams to unwind, the first that of the younger man and the second that of the older. Its unfortunately rare to meet people like Abbey nowadays when much of the way the world is drives out this sense of adventure and joy in nature. This is not made easy by people's unfamiliarity with nature and even fear to tread outside their comfort zones, myself included. But if you want that kind of experience and living at the edge as Abbey knows well how to do then you have to jump off that cliff sometime.



4. Its been over ten years since I read Desert Solitaire and I've combed through a couple of his works looking for another collection of stories that hit me with the same "between-the-eyes" impact as Desert Solitaire. Well, I found it with Journey Home. To me Edward Abbey represents the second coming of John Westly Powell. He, like Major Powell, foresaw the westward expansion of the U.S. and in the case of the desert southwest instinctively knew that water would be the limiting factor. It's important to remember that Abbey saw the huge growth up tick coming some 25 years ago. And places like Phoenix, and Vegas have exploded in size ever since. Abbey puts it all in focus with "The BLOB Comes to Arizona." "Telluride Blues - A Hatchet Job" is another case in point. But for pure fun, nothing tops Abbey's "premarital honeymoon" adventure in "Disorder and Early Sorrow." If you're a fan of Abbey and you buy the book for that story alone, you won't be disappointed.



5. That claim may seem a little rash in the face of Abbey's great prose work, Desert Solitaire, but this book in my view offers a more intimate and personal look at Abbey himself and provides some great insights into his formation as writing placed withi the context of the American west. One of the strengths of this work, as opposed to Desert Solitaire, is the broadness of subject matter covered. Abbey begins by recounting his life changing hitch-hiking, train jumping tour across america to the west in the summer of 1944. His style, however, is like Kerouac, but without the without the self consciousness and pretension. Through Abbey's it is nature that is the subject, his personal exploits are merely secondary/accidental; Abbey is just along for the ride. He tells of his first glimpse of the mesa's of Hopi country on the fringes of the Painted Desert as viewed from the side door of the Pullman as he drifted down the tracks towards New Mexico. Throughout, he describes his love of the desert and the creatures that live there with a vitality and gentleness uncommon in today's environmental discourse. This sensitivity is even more pronounced when compared with his verbal protests against what he sees as the destroyers of his desert paradise, such as, the miners, developers, dammers, trappers and, yes, even the tourists. "The Journey Home" closes with a surrealistic celebration of the desert as seen through the detached lens of an anonymous camera, which I consider some of his most beautiful and original writing. For all those who have read Desert Solitaire, read this to get a more intimate look of the man behind the ideas. Abbey's contradictions are what makes him so great as an American writer. He is at once an anarchist, environmentalist, desert rat, river-runner, essayist and novelist, but above all a man from pennsylvania who became entraptured by the mysteries of the desert and dedicated his life to celebrating its beauty.

No comments about Park Ranger Sequel.

5 comments about Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance.

1. Ric Gillespie has clearly presented the never-before accumulation and coordination of the many aspects of AE's last flight. The radio messages especially, received after her disappearance, when compiled as Gillespie has done, point to a quite different conclusion than the US Navy/Coast Guard one of 1937. Any student of AE's disappearance needs to study this book.



2. This book covers Amelia Earhart's final flight in far greater detail than any other book. The author has obviously done his research. I would recommend also buying Amelia Earhart's shoes to read after you are done with this one. It starts where this book leaves off, detailing research as to where exactly she landed. The authors of that book and the author of this one belong to the same organization (TIGHAR) which has research the Amelia Earhart disappearance for years.



3. I first became interested in the Earhart mystery after seeing a National Geographic special on the subject. Wanting to learn more I decided to purchase this book.
   
   The main premise of the book is that Earhart crash landed her plane on Gardner Island (south of Howland Island) and for a time survived. This book is fascinating reading because the author spends the majority of the book taking the reader through the exhaustive search conducted after Earhart failed to arrive at Howland Island and presents evidence that radio siganls likely from Earhart, converged on a spot near Gardner Island. A CD with supportive evidence is included with the book
   
   I find the theory presented by Mr. Gillespie as a very plausible explanation of Earhart's disappearance. The only other alternative being that Earhart ran out of fuel and ditched at sea.
   
   As one reads this book, the depth of the tragedy becomes apparent because if the radio transmissions were from Earhart, then there existed a window of opportunity to rescue her.
   
   Overall, Fascinating reading and well presented.



4. The subject of Amelia's last flight is smothered in rumor and theory. The great thing about this book is that the author presents the facts in detail. Lots of footnotes and a comprehensive collection of all the known tidbits. You can draw your own conclusions on the basis of those facts you happen to believe. An honest presentation of facts about the missing pilot and navigator, what an idea!



5. By limiting himself to what is truly known, the author builds an excellent case for how he thinks Amelia died. The book is thoroughly researched and written like a detective story. Several involved parties come off poorly, most of all Amelia, whom the author reveals as a poor pilot and a publicity seeker. Also coming off poorly is the United States Navy, though not for want of trying. Radio communications in those days was simply awful, and the use of Morse code necessitated brevity. However, as Einstein said, things should be as simple as possible but not simpler, and the Navy made its communications simpler than they should've been. As a result, not everyone was singing from the same hymnal and confusion reigned. I won't go so far as to say this is the "definitive" work on the subject, but it comes mighty close.

5 comments about The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey through the Congo.

1. Subtitled "Stanley's Mad Journey through the Congo", this book appealed to the historian in me. It also appealed to my armchair-traveler sense of adventure and exploration. There was much to learn here too because, prior to reading this book, all I knew about Henry Morton Stanley is that he is often remembered for searching for the explorer, David Livingstone in Africa and, upon finding him uttering the words "Mr. Livingstone I presume". This was in 1870. Years later, in 1886, Stanley went back to Africa with a huge expedition, the stated purpose of the mission to rescue Emin Pasha, the governor of the southern Sudan. This book is about that mission, the unstated nature of which was territorial expansion and a hoard of ivory. It makes fascinating reading.
   
   Filled with details taken directly from some of the diaries of the men on the expedition, this is a story of one bumbling misadventure after another. Stanley started out with more than 700 men; barely 200 returned. There was illness, warfare, wrong judgments and mistakes. And through it all, Stanley was absolutely convinced that he was right in all things and had no trouble putting the blame on others. Perhaps it was this very pigheadedness that helped them survive at all. After all, Stanley had something to prove because he was an illegitimate child who was brought up in an orphanage. Later, he went to America and briefly fought for the confederacy in the Civil War but he deserted, became a journalist and eventually went back to England.
   
   There are a lot of characters in this book and I must say I sometimes got confused about all the players. There were officers who tried their best to follow orders in horrible situations. There were hundreds of African natives who acted as porters and who often deserted. Then there were the sponsor with big money and nations looking for glory.
   
   There was never enough food. Disease was everywhere. They had to deal with a notorious slave trader. They also had to deal with the conflicting ambitions of several nations, most notably the Belgians. They had to leave most of their provisions and belongings along the trail. There were wars with hostile natives. They were attacked by poisoned arrows to which they responded by using their guns and burning villages. There was the heat and the bugs and the wrong decisions and illnesses which added an extra two years to their trip. And then, when they finally found Emin Pasha, he didn't really want to be rescued. But he finally joined them along with about 600 Egyptians fleeing the Sudan with their families, slaves and household goods. Mostly, I felt sorry for the poor porters.
   
   This book was a slow read but I kept coming back to it, mostly because it was an escape from my day-to-day life and added some perspective to my knowledge of history. It doesn't read like a novel though. It's full of facts and figures and conflicting points of view. I enjoyed it. However, I stop short of recommending it to everyone. It is for history buffs only.



2. These explorer stories are amazing in the ordeals they endured. Given how soft humankind is nowadays, I doubt any of us transported back to these times would have survived. How they did it is beyond me.



3. Liebowitz and Pearson have done a masterful job of skimming through the memoirs of all the members of the "Emin Pasha Relief Expedition" and bringing to us the most 'unadulterated' narrative of what might have actually happened. Stanley who spent time in a poor/workhouse in Wales as an unwanted 'bastard', never recovered from this disasterous childhood. It is a shame that he couldn't put it behind him, because it colored and ruined the real things that he accomplished.
   
   He never stopped 'reinventing' himself or being the snake oil/confidence man he had to become to make his way in the world from an early age. He had to constantly 'CYA' and make sure (to himself) that he was always in the right (at least in print), and that all kudos and accolades would come to him along. His search for Livingston and Emin Pasha, lead to the first exploration of Central Africa by a European; but these accomplishments were never enough for Stanley who "failed" to return with either man (who it is questionable ever needed 'saving').
   
   He was much like a street kid who goes around "tagging" buildings to show the world that he exists. Wherever he could he 'claimed' to have been the 'first' to see all types of geographical phenomenon, and where he could put his name on it (or some English Royal), Stanley Pool, Stanleyville, Stanley Falls, Mt.Stanley, etc. For example, he claimed to be the first to see the Ruwenzori/Mountains of the Moon (the largest which was called Mt.Stanley), when two of his officers saw it and told him of their discovery, not to mention that Emin Pasha had written to a friend in Germany about them two years before Stanley went looking for him. It reminds one that Sir Hilary didn't climb Mt.Everest by himself, not did Perry or Amundsen reach either of the Poles by themselves.
   
   Besides being a self-booster and braggart, he was a viscious slave driver (literally), who flogged his people when it suited him, and treated his African porters more like slaves than workers. While he brought along his own food and entourage (which he never shared), his officers and porters were left to fend for themselves and many died of starvation and disease (because of malnourishment). The majority of people who went with him died, as they did on his other three expeditions, and of the people that he ended 'rescuing', more than sixty percent died; and were taken back to Egypt where most of them didn't want to go in the first place.
   
   He then spent the rest of his life complaining about everyone and everything (except for one officer, who he said reminded him of himself as a young man), trying to discredit anyone who might have a claim to any of "his" glory. A tale of a man driven by more devils than any one man should have to handle.



4. Stanley's Mad Journey: The Last Expedition
   
   Even by the standards of nineteenth- century Imperialism, Henry Morton Stanley was excessive. His career, detailed in "The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey through the Congo," encompasses the worst of colonialism: racism, elitism, and opportunism, among others.
   
   It is ironic that Stanley's life would be forever linked with that of Livingstone, who he found and addressed with the immortal words: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
   (Like: What other White Man would be in the middle of Darkest Africa?)
   Stanley encouraged the popular perception of the Great White Hunter through his colorful, and self-serving, journalism for the tabloids of the day. He had no qualms in serving as Front Man for King Leopold of Belgium, who wanted to get on the African bandwagon with his own colony.
   
   A European adventurer with the unlikely name of Mehemet Emin, who had adopted Arabic attire and manners, much like T.E. Lawrence, needed reinforcements, and it was agreed upon that Stanley would lead a rescue mission. Stanley developed a plan which, while it looked good on paper, was incredibly inefficient and downright foolhardy. His officers were the wrong men for the job: his equipment was inadequate; and his timing was wrong.
   
   But the biggest problem was Stanley himself: arrogant, grandiose, disdainful of the Natives, and willful -he didn't have the right character traits for a leader. Illness, accident and murder claimed the lives of many of his men, yet he remained aloof and regal. It was a wonder than anyone survived the operation.
   Like another reviewer, I read this book shortly after reading "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey." It provided an interesting contrast in styles of leadership and character: Roosevelt saw his expedition as a test of his own mettle; Stanley (like some other American presidents, although not TR), was thinking how his Legacy would hold up. Not well.
   
   The Last Expedition is well-researched, entertaining, and well written. (****)



5. I have nothing more to add to the splendid reviews given this outstandingly informative work; however, I would recommend a fictionalized account of the same expedition written by Peter Forbath entitled " The Last Hero". It is no longer in print but can be purchased online from used book sellers.
   
   I cannot emphasis strongly enough the impact Forbath's book had on my curiosity about 19th century exploration, particularly that of Stanley's 3 African enterprises. Whether you consider him a hero or villain, one cannot readily dismiss the tremendous contribution Henry Morton Stanley made to our understanding of and to the mapping of the " Dark Continent ". We will never see the likes of him again.
   
   Both " The Last Expedition " and " The Last Hero " raise the standard of adventure, excitement, and intrigue to an altogether different level.

5 comments about Adventures in the Ditch: A Memoir of Family, Navigation, and Discovery on the Intracoastal Waterway.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed Adventures in the Ditch. Crisp writing and well-drawn characters make Jon Coile's memoir a must-read for anyone with even a hint of familial dysfunction. I bought this as a gift and kept it for myself. Bravo!



2. Adventures in the Ditch is a compelling story of family relationships tested to the limit on a journey on the Intracoastal Waterway. Written in an engaging, self-deprecating style by an experienced naval officer, the book chronicles a trip, alternately nail-biting and hilarious, on the "Ditch," and introduces a roster of fascinating characters, from the author's aging father, to a brash co-worker with dreams of adventure, to an old salt whose expert advice saves the day at a critical moment. Along with the fun and family insights, the author provides technical asides, so well constructed and beautifully explained that he thrilled this non-technical, non-boating reviewer. This book launches readers on a terrific journey with a skilled captain; step aboard!



3. In today's hectic world most of us will not take the time to chart an adventure, plan extended time with our closest relatives let alone write about it to memorialize the event. So for the rest of us we can sit back and enjoy the keen writing and touching discovery of this extremely moving book!It makes you want to re-live parts of your life, ask questions and push boundaries. The author finds out about who he can trust, where he came from and to expect the un-expected. Challenges against Mother Nature and human nature make this book wonderful!



4. I really enjoyed Adventures in the Ditch and heartily recommend it to all mariners, lovers of sea stories, and anyone who appreciates tales of fathers and sons coming together while facing adversity.
   
   Coming from a long line of watermen myself, and growing up on the water, I've always loved a good sea story, and this book really delivers in spades. As a short-range sailor, the detailed, firsthand accounting of the trip really helped me experience the amazing Intracoastal Waterway vicariously, and has inspired me to follow in Coile's wake.
   
   Jon Coile also does a wonderful job of conveying all of the excitement, frustrations, fears, joys, and humor everyone encountered on board Griffin, and tells a great story for those not experienced on the water as well. Some of the colorful people they encounter along the way reminded me that there is a whole other America out there, just begging to be explored by anyone willing to take on the challenge.
   
   Adventures in the Ditch is a fun and easy read, and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



5. I don't always have the resources nor the gumption to do the things I dream about. Consequently, I live vicariously. Jon Coile allowed me to go on a motorboat voyage down a stretch of waterway I'd heard about and seen only in bits and pieces. The Intracoastal Waterway looks straightforward on the maps, but Jon's yarn spinning reveals that adventures are never as simple as they look. It's only 1250 miles along the Chesapeake bay to Miami, but it's not the mileage, but the quality of the mileage that keeps you engrossed. I rode the Griffin, a seven ton, 31 foot motorboat on a six month journey. Each leg took less than two weeks, but it seemed many times that she would not make it at all. The Griffin had to winter in Florida before Jon could make the return trip.
   Adventures in the Ditch is not just a story about boating, but more about human interactions. The southward trip was a family adventure. Jon's octogenarian father, Russell, was the center of attention until his brother, Andrew, slipped and required so many stitches on his head, they resembled the lacings on a football. Wendy, Jon's wife came to the recue and provided the "crew power" required to take the boat the rest of the way to Florida.
   The return trip was a two-man adventure. Jon's buddy, Tom, an ex-special forces "nothing is going to stop me" type of guy, joined him to bring the Griffin back, despite a broken propeller.
   The author is a compelling story teller and keeps you engrossed. You wonder what unexpected disaster occurs next and how you're going to surmount the challenge. Vicarious living or not, boating is not an armchair experience.
   The book is for the boater and the boater-wanna-be, like me. Adventures in the Ditch is a book you can't put down until you complete the journey.

5 comments about The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal.

1. I loved this book! Adventure, history, romance, and the story of a
   woman who was 70 years ahead of our own conservation movement. I had
   heard of Ruth Harkness from George Schaller's book "The Last Panda," and
   from a World Wildlife Fund web page, but the details of this
   action-packed story blew me away. No wonder this book got the reviews it
   did. Superbly written and a page-turner to boot.



2. I found it hard to put this book down. Ruth Harkness, who was rich in bravado and adventure, stood out like no other woman in her time. When I finished, it did indeed feel like a great adventure had come to an end.



3. If you want to read a hack writer glorifying a selfish, unscrupulous "explorer" who bankrolls the indiscriminate slaughter of pandas by hirelings while she lolls about in silks in a palace smoking opium, this is the book for you. Ruth Harkness was a vile, unprincipled woman of privilege who lied, drank, and fornicated her way into history by returning the first captured panda to the United States--after cutting a deal involving the shooting of other pandas--then spent months trying to sell it to the highest bidder. As soon as she did, she returned to China to wreak more death and mistreatment upon the species.
   
   Most of the reviewers here must have skipped over the scenes where these woeful victims are abused, mistreated, and left to die by Harkness when another, more promising animal comes along. Actually, this is not surprising, because no animal lover could finish this ghastly book, which is very poorly written into the bargain. I know I couldn't.



4. Here's a biography that reads like a novel - a love story, a detective story and an adventure story, all rolled into one. Much of it plays out in one of the most peculiar and remarkable settings ever - 1930s China - and the characters, beginning with the irrepressable Harkness, are a combustible mixture of people who would never have come near one another were it not for . . . pandas. Originally motivated by romance and adventure, Harkness sets out to capture a panda and becomes world-famous; but in the ensuing years, the lessons she learns about people, animals and herself will turn her into a very different person. A great book!



5. I thought the book was horrible. I am a true animal lover and find killing animals to be disgusting. The poor pandas that were captured suffered horribly and many died. Ruth Harkness said she loved the Giant Panda but she contributed greatly to the frenzy of hunters capturing and killing them for "fun". I bought this book based on the reviews I read here and was extremely disappointed and disgusted with the book.

5 comments about The Beckoning Silence.

1. I saw the documentary entitled "The Beckoning Silence" on a transatlantic flight and was so overawed by its beauty, its understated sense of drama and Simpson's captivating interviews that, when the film was done, I simply went back to the beginning and watched it again. On my return flight I watched the film a third time. Like Simpson I too had read "The White Spider" as a teen and it seems we were both mesmerized by the story of Hinterstoisser's desperate attempt to lead the climb down the Eiger.
   
   I suppose I hoped that Simpson's book would be a chance to relive the film a fourth time and I've been disappointed. On film the man is a charismatic, thoughtful and fascinating interviewee and you truly get a sense of his inner turmoil about climbing. I'd previously read "Touching The Void" and found his writing-style uninspired so, having seen him talk with such passion on film, I was hopeful that this volume would reflect my new respect for the man. Didn't happen.
   
   So: the book is a collection of climbing stories - many of them involving tragic ends - written in the familiar Simpson style. But the film? Now there's another story! Catch it if you can.



2. For a guy with the true grit to drag himself out of a crevasse and down a South American mountain in "Touching the Void", he sure does a lot of whining at the begining of this book. His attempts at existentialism really bogs the book down. Once he gets down to doing what he is good at, writing about climbing, his description of his attempt on the Eiger is gripping stuff.



3. This book on mountaineering is written by the author of another classic, *Touching the Void*. It's a good read but unsatisfying overall, at least to me.
   
   Each chapter stands well enough on its own, and covers topics that are familiar in the mountaineering genre. In one chapter, a friend bails on a climb because he can't stand the growing death toll. In another, Simpson narrowly misses getting hit by an avalanche. The climax story is an attempt on the North Face of the Eiger - - what else? Simpson writes well and the stories work.
   
   The underlying theme, though, is the hardy perennial of mountaineering: why do I do this dangerous thing even as friends continue to die? The book dances around this but never confronts this. Instead, Simpson keeps climbing even as a louder and louder voice inside him tells him to stop. The sport comes across as an addiction that can't be explained to someone who doesn't share it.
   
   It's telling that when Simpson seriously thinks of quitting, he tries paragliding as an alternative. He and his mountaineering friends view this *dangerous* sport as a *safer* alternative to mountaineering. Why not try something more mainstream like mountain biking instead? I would have liked to see Simpson confront the issues suggested here - - whether he's pursuing adrenaline rush, death wish, a need to be extreme, or whatever it is.
   
   Alas, the book does not provide much illumination in such matters, so I don't think it works as a whole. It succeeds as a series of magazine articles stapled together.



4. book in excellent condition
   
   arrived really quick in the desert in the middle of australia
   ...thanks



5. I decided to read this book after reading Simpson's first book Touching the Void, which is one of the most interesting and inspiring books I have ever read. The Beckoning Silence shows a different side of Joe, and one that is most entertaining. He is someone with the confidence to make fun of himself as well as expose his fears but with an unwavering inner strength and wisdom. Originally I thought the book would be entirely about climbing the Eiger, but he actually takes you on a journey climbing several mountains while paralleling his experiences with his climbing heroes of the past and interweaving the impact they have had on his life. He also takes you paragliding in Spain; although, reading about his fear of flying while on a jetliner circling the airport with mechanical problems was one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. The last quarter of the book is dedicated to his climb and his fear of climbing the Eiger and all his heroes who paved the way with their lives before him. The reflection on the death of two other British climbers on the last three pages was a bit melodramatic and way to drawn out, but I think you'll really enjoy this book and since I heard he just finished the movie of the same title, you may want to check that out as well. Incidentally, "Touching the Void" was an excellent documentary, one of the best and most interesting I have ever seen and very true to the book.

No comments about Explorer: The Life of Richard E. Byrd.