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.

No comments about Park Ranger Sequel.

3 comments about The Woman of Wyrrd.

1. Maybe it's best to leave the past in the past. Just how much of a past-life regression session do you need? If you want to delve into the whole "who was I in some other century and how is it impacting my life today" approach by dissecting a previous incarnation, well ... go ahead then. Even when a past life is confirmed it doesn't mean you were that person. In fact, Jung's collective unconsciousness says that we are all connected. Depending on the kind of brain wave patterns you go into during a "past life" visit, there is a chance that the 95% of the brain humans don't used was activated. And you tuned into someone else's life from a long time ago. Think about it ... we are connected to our close friends and often experience strange mental resonances and synchronicity. My advice: let the dead rest.
   
   
   As for Lynn Andrews book ... enjoy it, see how it helps y ou, treat it like inspiration fiction, but do not go looking to the past too much. Life is lived forward.



2. This book helped me find and make sence if my spiritual path. It opened my mind to new ideas. I would definutally recomend this book to anybody who is pagan or just curious about shamanism. ---peace out



3. Andrews has been critcized for her approach to 20th century spiritualism, but this book shows that her fiction has an edge rarely found in contemporary writing. This addition to her chronicles takes the author on a dreamtime journey to Celtic England where Catherine (Andrews in a previous life) begins her studies with a wise woman and the Women of Wyrrd, those ancient crones who hold all the truths of all time. Celtic lore especially fascinates me and the journeys and experiences of Catherine serve to reinforce that we all share the same roots, regardless of the lables we assume today. I read these books for the spiritual truths between the lines and found this book to have more than it's share. A delight to read and to experience.

3 comments about Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery.

1. Motavalli has created a wonderful interpretive picture of the media and public reactions to a great story in early 20th Century America. He puts the reader in the period, but brings us in contact with our ancestors and shows that we haven't progressed in terms of our love for the spectacular stunt! Joseph Knowles exploits thrilled the nation longing for a free show. Not unlike the infamous OJ low speed chase that captivated us a while back.
   
   A good story, a wonderful interpretation and a great read!Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery



2. Never have I read a more fascinating account of salesmenship in America. As a nation the US prides itself on our frontier heritage,the quest for individuality & independence,& the pursuit of an ideal existence in harmony with nature, & making a few bucks along the way. This is a true American story !
   This book Kept Me In Stitches !!!



3. We are often told that our nation, especially our menfolk, are getting soft, that we don't have the ruggedness of our forebears, that we spend too much time in our cities and not enough back to the land, and that as a result we are losing some moral anchor which used to hold us in good stead. The trouble is that we have been told this for at least a hundred years, probably further back than that, and the message has not changed much, although it is a message that is enthusiastically boosted by many. Our coddled and citified society went faddishly berserk in 1913 for a man who simply went into the woods of Maine, vowing to stay there for two months on his own, unassisted by any technology. Joseph Knowles was a sensation at the time, now forgotten. His astonishing story is the subject of _Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery_ (Da Capo Press) by Jim Motavalli. The author, a journalist who writes on environmental themes, has picked from obscurity a wonderful subject, not just Knowles but also the anxiety we tend to have that we are out of touch with natural life.
   
   Knowles was all of 43 years old when he went into the woods. He had been a sailor, trapper, and scout, but what he wanted to be was an artist. He had some untutored skill in painting, and was making sketches and paintings in Boston for a decade when he got the idea (perhaps in a dream) to go support himself in the woods. The _Boston Post_, always ready for a circulation gimmick, was ready to back him. "Can Knowles Live Two Months as a Cave Man?" came the headlines, and though the paper hyped the event, people were sincerely interested in the man-against-the-wilderness theme. Knowles was photographed and interviewed, and given a physical exam before trotting off to the woods in nothing but a g-string. When he emerged from the woods two months later, he had lost weight, but he was no longer naked, wearing birch sandals and the skin of a bear he had trapped and killed. He had caught the national spirit; he was viewed as a hero, awing crowds wherever he went. The bitter rival of the _Post_, the Hearst-owned _Boston Sunday American_, got onto the Knowles bandwagon by debunking it. Knowles, according to the revision, had spent two months in a log cabin with food (and even female companionship) delivered to him. Knowles had a couple of other wilderness trips, and then went on the lecture circuit and wrote a back-to-nature book about his experiences as the "Nature Man". The last third of _Naked in the Woods_ has mostly to do with his painting career; he did commissioned murals and small-scale calendar art.
   
   Knowles died in 1942. His artwork is still collected by some, and the Ilwaco Heritage Museum had a retrospective last year. We still have the Nature Man with us, in the form of "Survivor"-type television shows. Going wilderness is the show for Bear Grylls, who has starred in the British program _Man vs. Wild_, and who last year underwent a Knowles-type debunking for spending his nights in cozy hotels rather than in the wild where he was assumed to be keeping himself. Motavalli has a wonderful time with this story, and presents it in all its humorous aspects, but finds something serious in what Knowles had to tell us then and now: "He may have been at least partly a fraud, but he was nonetheless successful in communicating a powerful and useful message to an anxiety-stricken age."

5 comments about Homestead: Modern Pioneers Pursuing the Edge of Possibility.

1. Jane Kirkpatrick does not abandon her characteristic figures of speech and writing that touches the soul for this nonfiction book. She tells the story of homesteading on Starvation Point, a remote area along the John Day River in Oregon, where life acquires new significance and she realizes her dream of becoming a writer. This book gives evidence that a person's writing comes from his or her life, the experiences and people encountered on the journey of life. Throughout this book one can find the origin of many events and characters in Jane's novels. Her memoir is a well-written story that gives insight into the pursuit of dreams.



2. This was an excellent book! very good reading and would be appropriate for anyone. Good story and I loving knowing it is all something that happened!



3. This was the first book By Jane that I read. I was so impressed with her story and her writing that I immediately went out and bought her next trilogy. Upon reading the first of those books which I found as interesting, entertaining and historically accurate that I immediately went and bought every book she has ever written and am waiting for the next one.
   
   This from a reader that doesn't read frilly stuff. It has to have substance and thought and be presented in a way that can keep you awake after a hard day of overtime.
   
   Judy Burnett
   Salt Lake City



4. Jane Kirkpatrick's writing carries with it the spirit of the pioneers. "Homestead" chronicles the Kirkpatricks' effort as a married couple to carve out a living from the dry, hard soil of eastern Oregon. They rough it as they go along, working toward a suitable well, a home with an actual foundation, and a road that doesn't rattle their teeth from their jaws.
   
   A fitting testimony to the stubborn stamina and ingenuity of modern pioneers--and a bracing reminder of what our forbears went through--this book is also a heartwarming look into the meaning of family, faith, and friendship. Jane's love of life shines through every chapter, and yet there is no glossing over the troubles, large or small. This is an honest account of the price one pays to pave his or her own way.
   
   While straightforward and economical, "Homestead" is a book that breathes with the fires of imagination and good humor. Jane's writing qualifies this story as a modern masterpiece. My wife and I read some of the chapters aloud to one another, and at a few points we were laughing to the point of tears; at others, we were moved to prayers of thankfulness for our creature comforts and to quiet hugs of love. This is a book for all to enjoy, and one that'll be read for years to come.



5. Not many people would have the courage to take on what Jane and Jerry do, as chronicled in Homestead by Jane Kirkpatrick. Whether it's shooting rattlesnakes or handling dog seizures, surviving a plane crash or navigating a treacherous road, chasing down run away calves or protecting watermelons from the onslaught of deer, the Kirkpatrick's seem to have faced and conquered it all. Such stories usually make for great fiction. The most startling realization, however, is that this story is real.
   
   Jane recalls everything from the beginning, in this memoir of personal struggle and ultimate triumph. To move to an unbroken land and settle into its rhythms, to find a home among the wilds was a dream that she and her husband shared. More often than not, however, it seemed that this dream was as unmanageable as the road they had to travel just to get there. Everything kept going wrong. From broken machinery to tragedies of a larger scale, the Kirkpatricks found that these events kept drawing them closer to one another. For Jane, the call was to "go to the land and write." And write she did; not only this memoir, but nine novels as well. Settling the land was an adventure and a risk neither of them now regret making.
   
   The book was well written with enough action and personal perspective to keep a reader interested. One can not help but feel Jane's concerns as she watches her husband's vehicle slip desperately close to a cliff edge, as she tries to reach out in the best way she knows how while feeling so inadequate. It isn't within herself or her husband that Mrs. Kirkpatrick finds the strength to carry on. That's the kind of strength she only finds in Christ.
   
   Broken into four parts, the book reads quickly and leaves the reader feeling rejuvenated and wondering, "How on earth did these two manage to do this?" Homestead is a book that challenges while it encourages. It challenges the reader to grasp every day and turn it into something memorable; it encourages to keep eyes focused on the dream, whatever it may be, even when getting to it is tough. This is a good and memorable book for all ages. - Lauren Steigerwald, Christian Book Previews.com

3 comments about Voyages and Discoveries: Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques & Discoveries of the English Nat (English Library).

1. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its compilation of real accounts of navigators and explorers of the 16th century. Written in 1590, Hakluyt work provided the navigators of the time of a handy and resourceful aid to deal with places and different cultures that were expected on those voyages of discoveries. Some of the stories really deserve a documentary, even a movie of it, for instance the story of Miles Philip and his 16 years of miseries, captured by the spaniards in Mexico.
   
   Other voyages depicted here are those made by Sir Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish. I have already read a biography of Drake, which I recommend it for sure, but this was the only source I was able to find for the voyages of Cavendish, so that is another reason for my interest in this book. "Slain" is one of the words that is most frequently used in these accounts, showing that the people involve in those voyages suffered a great deal -- and I have only admiration for them.



2. An excellent resource for anyone interested in the early English voyages to North America (16th and 17th centuries). It is an abridged edition, however, not the complete text. I believe that a new edition of the full text (the last one was in 1909) is about to be undertaken. For Hakluyt scholars, there is a seminar planned at the Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, in May 2008. Details are available from the museum's website.



3. History is best not written by historians. In particular I mean the present day academic types who always have some 'politically correct' axe to grind or new theory purposely designed to shock and distort for the sole purpose of making a name for themselves. To really enjoy history, it is better to sidestep this self-aggrandizement of the historian and go straight to the source, reading genuine narratives written by those closest to the events and the period described. This is why I highly recommend this book which covers the period of Elizabethan exploration, trade, and piracy.
   
   In terms of its effects on our modern World, this great impulse to cross oceans, to trade, fight, and colonize was of vital importance. Without the daring and ambition of a few hundred gentlemen and merchants and the toughness of the 'sea dogs' they employed, there would have been no British Empire and no United States, as we now know it.
   
   During his life, Richard Hakluyt compiled an enormous collection of documents and narratives relating to this great outward impulse. This volume represents a selection of only about one tenth of the original work. Besides ocean voyages, Hakluyt also documented overland explorations, particularly the attempts by the Muscovy Company to establish trade routes from the Arctic Sea ports to Persia and Central Asia.
   
   According to the sleeve notes, Hakluyt compiled this collection of narratives by seamen and traders to encourage further voyages of discovery and trade with distant lands, however, this is no sane man's impression. Apart from a few, most of the stories herein contained reveal such suffering and danger that reading this book would dampen the enthusiasm of even the most adventurous person today. We have terrible tales of shipwreck, cannibalism, starvation, scurvy, disease, betrayal, slavery, torture, fatigue, exposure, freezing and simple butchery that it seems miraculous that men could be found to fill ships such as these. But filled they were!
   
   The more upbeat tales usually involve successful pirating expeditions such as Drake's incredibly successful foray around the World from 1577 to 1580, which broke in upon Spain's monopoly of plunder from the New World. The proceeds of this voyage effectively set Britain up as a capitalist power.
   
   Whereas most of the expeditions had realistic objectives, that is to discover feasible routes to known places, there are occasionally misdirected attempts to discover El Dorados, most notably Sir Walter Raleigh's exploration of Guiana where he continuously talks about glittering rocks and shiny ores, and undiscovered cities stacked with gold greater than that of the Incas and Aztecs.
   
   The pure, simple, unaffected way the voyagers and merchants describe the peoples and cultures they encounter is a real pleasure, and often very funny. I particularly enjoyed Sir Walter Raleigh's chaste lechery towards the native women of Guiana:
   
   "I protest before the majesty of the living God, that I neither know nor believe, that any of our company, by violence or otherwise, ever knew any of their women, and yet we saw many hundreds, and had many in our power, and of those very young, and excellently favoured, which came among us without deceit, stark naked."
   
   A very early case of 'No sex, please, we're English'!!!
   
   The book has some drawbacks. The narratives by merchants often smell too much of the counting house, the focus being on the details of trade, therefore the reader shouldn't feel bad about skipping the occasional page or two. A more serious problem was the complete lack of maps, very surprising in a work of this nature. Also, I think a lot more could have been done with footnotes, as several of the narratives don't tell the full story and it would be interesting to hear what subsequently happened to the men and their ships.

5 comments about Edward Abbey: A Life.

1. It's true that Cahalan never uses the term, and Abbey himself certainly never fesses up to it, but it's clear that's the case, as a careful reading of this great biography shows, especially if you've read the bulk of Abbey's own work as well, as I have.
   
   Clues? The womanizing and multiple marriages, whether or not Abbey was a misogynist. The immature and obstinate behavior (Example A: Abbey rolling a tire off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon). These alone, if seen in the context of someone's drinking, almost stamp them on the forehead as a stereotypical Type A male alcoholic. If they don't, the whopper storytelling part of his personality does.
   
   But, of course, that's not all.
   
   Although it turned out to be an incorrect diagnosis, normally, there's only one reason you get a diagnosis of pancreatitis without some other medical condition being indicated along with it. And, of course, Abbey's ultimately fatal esophogal varisces are traceable directly to alcohol.
   
   Now, that said, in addition to never owning up to being an alcoholic, Abbey never quit, contrary to myth that even Cahalan doesn't appear to catch.
   
   That's clear from Abbey's final years journals, from which Douglas Peacock, Abbey's model for Hayduke, quotes in "Walking it Off."
   
   In early 1988, Abbey describes the effects of withrdrawal from the codeine he had been using to try to suppress chronic coughing that aggravated the varisces. He explicitly says beer does not ease his codeine withdrawal symptoms.
   
   To the degree that Cahalan, without labeling or analyzing, does catch Abbey's alcoholic behavior, he described it well. Unfortunately, whether because of lack of experience in dealing with the breed or whatever, he unfortunately doesn't analyze Abbey.
   
   The alcoholism is of a piece with other parts of Abbey behind his legendary self-spinning, a glimpse behind that sometimes Abbey gives us himself.
   
   Abbey adamantly insisted he was NOT an environmentalist. Well, the Grand Canyon incident, among MANY others, prove that point all too well. Again, Cahalan sees the pieces, but doesn't do the dot-connecting as much as one might like.
   
   What Abbey really was, as shown by things such as his fondness for 20h century classical music mentioned in "Desert Solitaire," was an existentialist philosopher with a heavy dollop of libertarianism on top. If he had fallen in love with another way of expressing and getting in touch with both existential and libertarian selves, he wouldn't have been out in Arches National Monument.
   
   And yes, we would have been poorer for that, but not as much poorer as Abbey idolators would have us believe.
   
   Abbey deprived the environmental world, the world at large, and many people around, of what could have been much more that he had to offer. But, that's because he was ultimately depriving his own self of -- himself.
   
   But, again, Cahalan, while laying out all the pieces, doesn't quite put the jigsaw together.
   
   That's the prime reason this otherwise excellent bio falls a star short of the top.



2. Reading about Abbey provided me with the realization that some people in this world really do have a "life" - without many constraints, guilt, or heavy-duty obligations that are often tagged on to an individual by nature of his/her duty to satisfy others. Cahalan presents Abbey as a human being in search of his soul while dispelling the myths of his misogyny. Made more interesting by the fact that Cahalan was my professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2003, I easily became immersed into the journeys of Abbey, who like myself, see no boundaries for where I travel or where I go in the future. A great piece of interesting literature!! From the sands of Abbey's Southwest to the sands of Kuwait, I have fallen victim! This inspires me to write my own account of the life of an American woman who finds her passion in the deserts of Kuwait.



3. Having never heard of Edward Abbey or any book he ever wrote (I picked up the book because it was the first on a shelf at the library) I was absorbed by this guy's life and tribulations. I even made it a point to start to read A Fool's Progress. I'm glad I took the time to read the book because it makes you realize that the guy was human, introverted and not the eco-rebel everyone thought he was. He was a writer. I love his mantra:
   1) Write Right!
   2) Write Good!
   3) Write On!
   
   Though he had his troubles with family life I thought his struggles with life, writing and being successful made for a good story.



4. I had never even heard of Edward Abbey until Dr. James Cahalan's book was published. I live approximately 35 miles from Indiana and Home, Pennsylvania, and happened to catch an interview of Dr. Cahalan on my NBC affiliate in Johnstown.
   
   This sparked an interest in Abbey and I immediately bought "The Fool's Progress." I struggled to get through 250 of the 513 pages of his "Fat Masterpiece."
   
   I received Dr. Cahalan's "Edward Abbey: a life" as a gift and found it extremely interesting. The author provides very good insights into Abbey's life, his viewpoints and his writing style.
   
   Reading this book has breathed new life into my interest in Abbey. Having read Dr. Cahalan's book has given me what I needed to now finish "The Fool's Progress" with a better understanding of the context in which the book was written. Also, as soon as I finished "Edward Abbey: a life" I bought "Desert Solitaire."
   
   "Edward Abbey: a life" has given this casual (or maybe wannabe) Abbey fan the inspiration and understanding to become a true Abbey fan. In my opinion, this book is the perfect starting point for those fans wanting to explore the many facets of Edward Abbey's life, relationships and writing.



5. Edward Abbey's life was so interesting that most any decently-written biography of him should be entertaining. Cahalan's biography is certainly that, but he also delves into Abbey's psyche through the presentation of details that are ignored in other biographies of Abbey. Thus, the reader is provided an image of Abbey that has a lot of "texture," and, I believe, is closer to a faithful picture of the real man, faults and virtues combined. Cahalan does a good job of remaining impartial, and tries to present the events just as they are, so that the reader is pretty much left free to make his/her own judgements about Abbey The Man. This doesn't mean that Cahalan's personal opinions about Abbey don't come out in the book (he is sympathetic to Abbey), but he lets the reader know when he is expressing an opinion, and when he is stating what is taken as fact.
   
   Biographies of famous authors, especially revolutionary ones like Abbey, is a genre that I have started to really enjoy. It seems that, for me at least, reading about the events, and the author's reactions to them, that helped to form such an extraordinary individual is often more entertaining than the author's own writings! That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed most of Abbey's books (not all, though). The same goes for Jack Kerouac. Cahalan's biography and Ann Charter's biography of Kerouac are two fine examples of biographies that read like novels, but are in some ways better, because they report actual events!

5 comments about The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise.

1. 
   I just started to read this book but found that this guy is getting involved in smuglling rare animals in Nepal. Read all the follwing news about this writer. And lets boycot his book!!
   
   1) Police recover illegal treasure trove from house of National Geographic writer
   
   KATHMANDU, May 23 - The Metropolitan Police Crime Division Hanumandhoka Friday said that a police investigation unearthed a large number of wildlife items and artefacts of archaeological significance at a house rented by an American national at Baluwatar in the capital.
   Working on a special tip-off, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sher Bahadur Basnet on May 17 raided the house of Rajesh Maharjan which was rented by US citizen Ian Baker and recovered the items from the house.
   
   A police statement released during a press conference in the capital today said that the police team recovered the illegal items from Maharjan's house at Kathmandu Metropolitan-4 in Baluwatar.
   
   The statement added that after the recovery Maharjan informed the police that Baker had also stored more items at a rented house owned by one Khewang Norbu in Naxal.
   
   The police have also sealed off Norbu's house.
   
   Police informed that Baker, who has been living in Nepal for the last 24 years, had stored statues of archaeological importance, vestiges of various wild animals including skin, skeleton and statues in the Baluwater residence.
   
   The police have arrested Maharjan, while Baker is still at large.
   
   Reportedly, Baker was a features writer for the National Geographic and News Week magazines.
   
   2)
   Illegal items hoarded by American seized
   
   KATHMANDU, May 23 - Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Hanumandhoka confiscated dozens of illegally possessed artifacts, idols, wood craft and huge materials of endangered wildlife from the rented apartments of US citizen and legendary writer Ian Baker, who is also a contributor to National Geographic and several other magazines.
   Ian Baker, who has been reportedly staying in the country for over 24 years, was found to illegally possess a huge collection of archeologically important materials, including skeletons, statues and skins of wildlife in his two rented apartments located at Naxal and Baluwatar in the capital.
   
   Acting on a special tip-off, a police team raided a house of Rajesh Maharjan at Baluwatar where police recovered a huge cache of such materials.
   
   Police said they arrested house owner Maharjan, who told them that Baker also possessed illegal materials in another rented house at Naxal.
   
   Following the information from Maharjan, who is said to be an aide of Baker, police sealed the house. With the help of experts from Department of Archaeology and Kathmandu District Forest office, it was revealed that those materials were archeologically important, some even dated back to prehistoric times.
   
   On Thursday, police also seized dozens of artifacts, statues, skeletons, skins of wildlife, among other things. Senior Superintendent of Police Upendra Kant Aryal, chief of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, said the recovered materials were one of the largest collections ever confiscated by the police in the country.
   
   However, police said they were yet to ascertain the intention behind collecting those materials. During interrogation, Maharjan told that Baker had gone to Thailand after storing those materials in the house. Police said Baker has been absconding since police raided his two apartments.
   
   The country's law has banned people from possessing, buying and selling archeologically important materials. On the other hand, the CITES (Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna), to which Nepal is a signatory, also terms buying and selling wildlife body parts illegal.



2. Ian Baker, explorer and Buddhist scholar, narrates a sequence of incredible journeys to the Tsango Gorge in Tibet, the hidden and inaccessible Beyul Pemako.
   
   The book can be read on many levels: as an engrossing adventure; the depiction of a man's passion, determination and endurance to achieve a goal in the face of incredible hardships; rarely described Tibetan customs; and the contrast between the spirituality of the Tibetans and the materialism of the Chinese who were penetrating the area at the same time as the author.
   
   The thread that weaves the narrative together is the inner journey that unfolds as Baker traverses the sacred geography of the area as revealed by Buddhist texts, Tibetan lamas and the experiences of the author and his team. Backed by historical textural references and oral traditions, the author encounters the living, pulsing presence of this landscape in the form of the body of the dakini goddess Dorje Pagmo and her energy centers or chakras. He and his team successfully access the throat of the goddess, the hidden gorge with its long-sought waterfall.
   
   After his arrival at the waterfall, his journey culminates in a visit to the sacred site of Gompe Ne on the banks of the Tsampo River where he enacted, as countless pilgrims before him have, a birth-death-resurrection using the sacred geography of the site.
   
   I was constantly reminded of experiences in the Andes, especially Peru and the Andean Path, where the exchange of energies between man and the natural world and its sacred landscapes create spiritual alchemy and inner spiritual transformation.



3. A fantastic book for readers who are interested in learning about Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan culture and the Tibetan way of living, and readers who enjoy visiting and / or reading about exotic places on earth.
   
   I picked up this book right after a trip to Tibet with my 4-year old son and truly enjoyed reading it. It took me deeper into the land that I had just visited by illuminating a bit about its history, its incredible natural beauty, its people's belief system and, most importantly, the interconnectedness of all. It is a well written book and Ian Baker has done an outstanding job of getting the reader very close to the actual experience.
   
   Connecting with nature is certainly a powerful way to get connected in life and, once connected, the ultimate discoveries are often of the hidden secrets in one's soul.
   
   If you are not convinced about reading this book, I highly recommend viewing the related photos on hollot's site (find the site by doing a search on "hollot + sardar" since amazon does not allow posting URL's).



4. The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise takes you on a journey into canyons when no one as recorded before...breath taking..



5. The Tsangpo river cuts the eastern Himalayas to join Brahmaputra in the jungles of Assam. Intrepid British explorers have chartered most of its course during the glorious days of the Raj - leaving unexplored ~10 mile stretch of an inaccessible 'Tsangpo gorge'. Because the altitude difference between Tibet and India cannot be accounted for by the known flow of Tsangpo, the Brits hypothesized that this stretch of the river contains a large waterfall (or a series of them). This book describes several expeditions undertaken 1990-2000 by Baker and his colleague Hamid Sardar to solve this geogrpahical enigma.
   
   Both adventurers speak Tibetan and have a working knowledge of Tibetan tantra, both completed silent meditation retreats in isolated caves and both practiced with 'tantric consorts', Tibetan & Indian women placed on special diets (consisting of rose leaves and gold) trained to help men achieve a 'union of male and female principles in order to recognize the ultimate Emptiness of all phenomena." While Baker tittilates the reader here, he never delivers real information.
   
   Baler obtained a number of esoteric texts from lamas familiar with the Tsangpo territory - the texts detailed magical places throughout the gorge, incantation 'keys' necessary to 'open' those places, the nature of 'deities' residing in them and the value of their help to realization of the fact that 'nothing inherently exists on its own'. Heh. These texts, as well as subsequent Baker's narrative, reveal that the valley has ALWAYS been known to and lived in by Tibetans and local Monpa & Lopa tribes; it was never unknown, never had to be discovered and the rivalries driving American and Chinese expeditions to chart the river portrayed in the book seem pointless and even slightly comical. As well as poignant: expeditions (including Baker's own) were quite content leaving ailing and weak members behind to fend for themselves. Personally, I found the obsession with 'discovering' and 'exploring' a bit disconcerting. Why do we have to document, photograph, chart etc. every nook and cranny on this planet? Why can't we let it be? let local people be? What is the confusticated point?
   
   Baker insists on describing every single leech-infested forest and swamp on their way, every impassable boulder, pass, rivulet, stone or log which, with 500 pages, merge into a general picture of hardship, malaise, effort, hunger, leaking tents and, above all, sheer survival luck. There were so many cases where the 'pilgrims' appeared to wander aimlessly, in the dark or fog, having lost their native guides only to find them at the end of the day, against all odds huddling around a fire, that one is forced to contemplate the possibility of divine guidance.
   
   I would mention the fascinating account of 'poison cults' in local villages, and of small Tibetan monasteries and hermitages, scattered throughout the most inaccesible parts of the valley..., the gift of psychedelic mushrooms to a Tibetan hermit monk, and the touching relationship that developed between the Chinese liason officer, 'Mr. Gunn', and Occidental adventurers. Between the lines we can also read about havoc that local Monpas wreak upon local fauna (with mass-killing of rare animals such as the takin buffalo and tigers) and the much more serious Chinese depredation consisting of systematic mechanized exploitation of Tibetan natural resources and destruction of the environment (not to mention cutural genocide). Perhaps understandably, Baker wants to preserve his future access to Tibet.
   
   The greatest weakness of the book is that we learn little about Baker's own practices and realizations. We learn a lot about leeches and orchids, but what was going on with the lama's daughter mentioned early in the book? what about the tantric consorts? what (if any) spiritual realizations and benefits did Baker and Sardar derive from obsessive backpacking along the Tsangpo...? We also don't learn who financed these expensive yearly expeditions. Why are there no photo's of the supposedly discovered waterfall? Why can't the waterfall be seen from sallites or googleEarth? The apparent fear of personal disclosure detracts from the value of the book.
   
   Nevertheless, the book is well written and I enjoyed reading it. One cannot escape the notion that Baker and Sardar exemplify some of the best traits of 'man' - courage, resourcefulnes, commitment to spiritual growth and to having a good time.

1 comments about Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know: The Autobiography.

1. Awesome is a sadly overused word these days, but I genuinely think it is the most fitting word to describe the man that is Ranulph Fiennes.
   
   The life of Sir Ranulph Fiennes is the stuff of legends. Special Forces, mercenary, author, in consideration for the part of James Bond after Connery, arctic explorer, in fact "Worlds greatest living explorer" as judged by Guiness Book of World Records, ran 7 marathons in seven continents in seven days only half a year after bypass surgery. Not many people can, even with a bit of poetic liberty in their description, match the resume of Sir Fiennes.
   
   In this gripping, well written, fantastic book, Sir Fiennes describes some 40 years of adventures and expeditions, including a stint in the service of the sultan of Oman, blowing up 20th century fox property, circumnavigation around the globe along the Greenwich meridian, amputating four fingers on his left hand in his garden shed, each and every single one of these stories in itself worthy of a book on its own.
   
   There are many, many autobiografies on the market today. Most of them are from celebrities with less than extraordinary lives offering a bit of entertainment, but here we have a genuine, awe-inspiring, effulgent adventurer who has done it all telling his story. We learn of the physical stamina and the strength of will it takes to be an arctic explorer, of the sacrifices and bounties connected with that particular endeavor, and of the wonderful and dangerous place our earth can be.
   
   In spite of his amazing track record, he is modest and down to earth. He doesn't claim to be the 'toughest man alive', but tells his story in a casual, humouristic, and self-deprecating manner. This book is not only the story of a man beyond the normal limits of physical and mental endurance, nor is it just a jolly good read, it is inspiring in the truest sence of the word. He even gives you advice on how to get going with your own arctic expedition.
   
   One can not but feel strangely inadequate and humble, yet at the same time elated and inspired after reading this volume. It is in another sadly overused word, brilliant.
   
   Highest possible recommendation.

5 comments about Columbus in the Americas (Turning Points in History).

1. This is a terrific history of Columbus' four trips to the Americas taken mostly from his journals and other contemporary accounts. It is better than good for several reasons.

   First, it is novel in that it describes the first voyage beyond the histroy we get in grade school. It describes Columbus' luck as well as his skill which when combined enabled him to make the journey and how he kept the crew thinking that land was always just over the horizon. He establishes every sailor of the time knew the world was round - the fear was the unknown size of the sphere and what lay beyond the horizon.

   Next, it describes Columbus' next three voyages. I had seen maps showing them, but never read any accounts.

   Perhaps the most interesting part of the book, though, was Mr. Least-Moon's accounts of how Columbus treated and perceived what he named Indians. The author puts these acts and attitudes into the context of the impending slaughter by the Spaniards of the Indians in the name of Christianity. The most remarkable aspect of the author's accounts and comments is that he makes the observations without a hint of political correctness or bias. His nearly emotionless rendition makes the reader's own conclusions more poignant.

   This book is a terrific historical account of events about which most of us only have a superficial knowledge. It is strongly recommended.




2. As an introduction to the voyages of Columbus, this book by William Least Heat-Moon serves the task well. In its brief 180 pages, an overview of where and when Columbus travelled is well chronicled.

   There are perhaps too many people who know of Columbus only that "in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue". Yet Columbus did more than just sail. Although he never discovered America and constantly thought he had arrived in Asia, he nonetheless served as the spark to the later journeys that would fully reveal the New World. Unfortunately, both his journeys and those of his followers would do much to injure the indigenous people with the introduction of disease and slavery.

   If you are searching for a primer on Columbus and the New World, Least Heat-Moon's book serves that purpose well. If, however, you are looking for something of greater substance, look to other sources.




3. I received this book "Columbus in the Americas" as a present and enjoyed it very much. I previously read Heat-Moon's Blue Highways as well as River-Horse and this is a quite a departure from those books. Frankly I enjoyed Blue Highways and River-Horse more because Heat-Moon has such a great way of telling stories of his experiences. With Columbus he had to rely upon historical fact and obviously could not put in the first-person details that makes the other books so wonderful.

   Considered on its own merits though, Columbus is an excellent interpretation of his voyages. The book has emphasis on the qualities Columbus had that make reading of his accomplishments worthwhile even 500 years after the fact. This book has stirred my interest in learning more about the life and times of Columbus.




4. Given the recent uproar over traditional accounts of Columbus' "discovery", it is particularly refreshing to read so balanced and unpoliticed a narrative as this, especialy from one who's ancestors were among the "discovered". This story comes as close as I could imagine to taking the reader aboard on all four voyages.



5. Least Heat-Moon has turned in a small book about several voyages of discovery that continue to the present. Like the author's own voyages, we are properly briefed in the historical context, brought into the narrative of a 15th Century ocean crossing, shown glimpses of what we as a species believe is real, then are left to discover how we feel about what we are shown and who we are. This timely account of the voyages illustrates the cupidity of the discoverer and includes the author's macabre wit and razor sharp sense of historical irony. Not to be missed, while we wait...