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

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



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



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

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




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



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

2 comments about Imperial Footprints: Henry Morton Stanleys African Journeys.

1. A hundred years after Henry Morton Stanley's death, his own African explorations have receded from public memory in favor of critical reviews of European colonialist expansion in Africa. James L. Newman returns Stanley's importance to the world with Imperial Footprints: Henry Morton Stanley's African Journeys, a re-creation of his seven African journeys which explains why and how he made them, and their lasting impact on the modern world. The blend of history, biography and travelogue makes for an exciting blend of researched fact and drama which reads like fiction, giving Imperial Footprints an edge over other coverages on Stanley.



2. "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all heard that quote. Some of us even know who said it. However, if that's all you know about Henry Morgan Stanley, you are in for a treat when you read Imperial Footprints. In his time, Stanley was compared with Christopher Columbus, and Newman makes it clear why. This is a well-written and very readable story. Newman has done an excellent job of capturing the adventure of Stanley's seven(!) African journeys, as well as his very interesting younger life. Did you know that Morgan fought in the American Civil War? On both sides??? I give Imperial Footprints my highest recommendation. If you like adventure stories, if you like well-written biography, Imperial Footprints is the book for you.

No comments about West Coast Adventures: Shipwrecks, Lighthouses, And Rescues Along Canada's West Coast (Amazing Stories).

3 comments about Hemingway in Africa.

1. I enjoyed Christopher Ondaatje's book from beginning to end. It is well worth the price, and the sheer weight of the book is impressive, for although it is not a big book in height or in number of pages, when you pick it up youu feel the tension in your wrists and lower arms, for each page is extremely thick, creamy and rich, and most of them have photographs placed in them. Physically it is a luxury object.
   
   And it certainly tells us a lot about Hemingway, particularly a facet of his life that I had never cared to peer too deeply into, thinking that his mania for hunting game revealed a side to his character even more contemptible than the others. But oddly enough reading this book had the opposite effect, and one winds up with a queer sympathy for Hemingway, and his adventures in the wild both during his early (30s) trip with Pauline Pfeiffer his second wife, which resulted in the stories, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" and "The Snows of Kiliminjaro"--and then much later (20 years later), he and Miss Mary embarked on an ill-fated sequel to this safari that caused them both much grief and physical pain and he wound up writing the God awful TRUE AT FIRST LIGHT and during which he clearly went a little insane. All of this Christopher Ondaatje followed, the exact same footsteps, and his journey into the heart of Africa seems to have caused him no cavils at all.
   
   I expect you'll like this book. It reveals a lot of truth and a lot of delicacy of perception.



2. The best thing about this book are the repro photos of Hemingway and his contemporaries. Sadly, the author's own photos, scavenged from his previous trip files, are mostly poor stock. The same can be said of his writing. There are no new nor creditable insights into Hemingway here, in fact you will mainly learn about author Ondaarje's own quirks and predelictions, ad nauseum. Ondaatje is not a hunter, knows nothing of hunting, and yet presupposes his ability to dissect "Hemingway in Africa" when in fact hunting was the sole motivator for Ernest's 1933 trip to the dark continent. It's like a medical biography penned by a chimney sweep. You will get very little insight into Ernest Hemingway as the book wanders hither and yon. Even worse, the book is full of factual errors and shaky assumptions as Ondaatje waddles over the landscape searching Hemingway's trail. Ondaatje had previously been in Africa for a book on British explorers Speke and Burton. It is apparent he decided to capitalize on that experience and become a literary critic. He has failed miserably. Buy the book for the pictures, nothing else....



3. Ondaatje is one of my favorite writers. In Hemingway in Africa he takes the reader on a journey that Hemingway himself did not reveal. The photographs are wonderful and the writng is engaging. I truly enjoyed this unique book. Highly recomended.
   
   Also Recomended: Woolf in Ceylon, Traces of Eden

4 comments about The Enchanted Quest of Dana and Ginger Lamb.

1. I am, for the most part, an armchair adventurer. Ever since a friend gave me a copy of Byron Farwell's epic biography of the famed 19th century traveler, Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, many years ago, I have been a huge fan of exploration and adventure literature. I've planned half a dozen trips either following in Burtons footsteps or blazing paths I thought anew. None have ever come to fruition, though I have been on many smaller adventures since.
   
   Recently I the vague idea that I wanted a new read, but I didn't quite know what. I ventured into my local bookstore and headed back to the history and biography section, as I usually do. Browsing there, my eyes lit upon a slim volume with a distinctively "pulp fiction" jacket. "The Enchanted Quest of Dana and Ginger Lamb," read the title. The cover art depicted a muscular, almost Frank Frezetta-style, couple hacking their way, half-dressed through a jungle with machetes. Well, I love that kind of kitsch, so I picked it up out of curiosity, leafed through it for a moment and took it to the check-out counter.
   
   Turns out that Dana and Ginger Lamb were Orange County natives. Married in the early 1930s - he in his mid thirties, she eleven years younger - they lit out for an adventurous honeymoon. They built a boat; a sort of half canoe, half sailboat rig, from scratch, and sailed and paddled it to Panama. It took three years. Along the way, they searched for buried treasure, lived on a desert isle, dallied with pirates and were accused more than once of being gringo spies. Eventually, they took their tiny boat through the Panama Canal itself - the smallest craft to date - and returned to the U.S. via steamer. High adventure indeed.
   
   Being media savvy, the Lambs kept the hometown papers in Santa Ana and Orange County - and eventually the L.A. and New York papers - apprised of their adventures. By the time they returned they had become celebrities. Their book, Enchanted Vagabonds, written with a lot of help from a literary friend, became a best seller. Capitalizing on their succes, the pair went on the lecture, documentary and slideshow circuit, making a name for themselves, coast-to-coast, as family adventurers, teaching basic survival skills to the Ward and June Cleavers of America.
   
   They went on to have more adventures: spying (for real this time) in Mexico on German suspects during World War II, searching for a lost city in the jungle between Mexico and Guatemala, hunting through Baja for a hidden mission. They never found anything they were ostensibly looking for. But that wasn't the point. They were looking for themselves, and for a way of life - and a living - that was theirs alone. That they found in abundance.
   
   It's a great story and a pretty darn good book. If I have a complaint it's that the authors, Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz and Jerome Klinkowitz tend to repeat themselves; by the time you've read the preface and introduction, you feel like you've already got the whole story. Also, not that much is known about this intriguing couple from a personal perspective and it shows in the writing. The Klinkowitzes rely heavily on old newspaper clippings; we don't feel we really know the subjects in any intimate way. But perhaps that's to be expected in writing about the Lambs, a public couple who gauged themselves by their reflections in the media's eye.



2. Dana and Ginger Lamb were adventurers, Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz and Jerome Klinkowits are academics. Like blind people describing an elephant ,the authors told us about it's foot. An elephant is more than a foot. The Enchanted Quest of Dana And Ginger Lamb was researched in libraries. There is no indications that the authors ever so much as visited Mexico on a Club Med Tour. The book is an opportunity lost. For those who are hungry for Lamb information the book has value. If one has not read the Lamb books, there is no reason to read



3. Based on the foregoing reviews, I almost did not order the book. However, I knew that if there was more to be learned about the Lambs, I had to get it. Although I was fully prepared to hate the book, this did not happen. I had read both Enchanted Vagabonds and Quest for the Lost City in my earliest days of reading about the Maya and it was in the latter where I first read about the fascinating, but ill-starred Carlos Frey.
   
   I don't normally read introductions to books, but I read this one and the preface as well. As I progressed and had to pause to do other things from time to time, I kept coming back to to it, whenever I could and I began it yesterday and finished it today. It was especially intriguing how the authors kept finding instances of duplicity in the accounts by the Lambs, but managed to end the book still obviously liking them.
   
   Contrary to what was implied in a previous post, referring to newspaper accounts was not a rote effort. Instead it provided some contrast to what later appeared in the books. News accounts during the period of the first one showed them being towed across the sea from Baja to the mainland, but in the actual book, they suffered and were in great danger while paddling across.
   
   In crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec, the first book also does not mirror the news accounts, which told of them using a motor. Although the authors here gave no credence, because the vessel, the Vagabunda was a canoe, such a craft can be modified by people to use a motor. One can also place it on the side of a canoe, especially if one uses a paddle as rudder to compensate.
   
   Newspaper accounts and other evidence show that Quest for the Lost City was interrupted by no less than eight returns to the US, but far fewer make their way into the book itself.
   
   One of the delays involved them getting hired to be spies in Northern Mexico in early WWII, based on Dana's recollections of possible evidence. Based in Baja, they got great salaries and expenses until the FBI realized it was being duped and Hoover fired them. Then began the Lambs' slow last report, the turning in of which would stop the money flow. Oddly enough, they were on good terms with FDR, who was a fan, which was apparently the cause of the actual delay in getting rid of them.
   
   In the past, I was in contact with a fellow who had been researching the Lambs for a book, but he had become dismayed with them. Not having an innate appreciation of grand showmanship and chutzpa, such as these authors do, he just stopped the effort.
   
   I don't agree with all the authors wrote. I don't think that Yaxchilán was entirely the origin of the photos the Lambs used in the Quest book to show the "Lost City". They also fail to show that the Lambs' photographed stela had been there at some point, before it went missing. Apparently it was unique.
   
   I wish I had known of this when it was just an intended book. I could have sent them copies of a couple letters back home from Carlos Frey, calling the Lambs phony and telling how they set up scenes to make themselves look brave. As it was, the authors apparently did hear about the Frans Blom diatribe against them that I had run across in the Na Bolom library.
   
   However, this is a fascinating read about two huckster adventurers and it tells far more than one would guess from a cynical reading of their books. I think that the real story of Dana and Ginger Lamb would make a great movie as well.



4. Just by chance I came accross a copy of a 1938 book, "Enchanted Vagabonds", by Dana Lamb. The book is really fresh, although one can't help wondering if the author is not inventing half of what he writes. Even though, with just a tenth of the book being true it would equally deserve a place among adventure books.
   Then I managed to get a copy of the other book by Dana and Ginger Lamb, "Quest for the Lost City", this time I got it in Spanish. Mention of their 16000 mile canoe trip of Enchanted Vagabonds made me think of a transcription error as no matter how I measured it, the Vagabunda trip could not have been much more than 6000 miles. This second book is to the first what "Robin and Marian" would be to "Breakfast at Tiffanys". I was astonished to see an extremely aged Ginger, looking like 30 years older than the nice girl of the previous book.
   So to know more I ordered "The Enchanted Quest". If you have read the Lambs' books and want to keep the image you have don't buy this book and stop reading this review here.
   "The Enchanted Quest" does not solve the doubts one can have about the Lambs' adventures being true or grossly exaggerated. In fact the authors have not visited Mexico nor researched there. My only explanation for this lack of research is that they don't speak Spanish. The chapters devoted to the Lambs' books are simply a summary of these books with some critical notes (specially for "Quest for the Lost City"), mostly taken from newspaper articles.
   But what saves this book and sinks the Lambs is the research the authors made of the FBI files. The Lambs were "secret agents" in Mexico during WWII. One can't help thinking that either they were fools or they were trying to fool the FBI in a foolish way. Once released the bomb, the authors try to save the Lambs by considering them ahead of their time and by many other positive things they achieved. But for me their honesty is gone forever. It is obvious from the early ageing of Ginger that they really went through difficult tests and that they must have thought they deserved paid holidays or paid exploration in Mexico. But judging by their reports to FBI they really were "phoney" as I read elsewhere the true Maya lost city discoverer Carlos Frey said. What is true and what is false in their books?
   The Lambs managed to enjoy life, which is more than most people can achieve, most important they managed to enchant people. "The enchanted quest" will only break this enchantment not providing anything to back the parts of the story that are true (there must be parts that are true). Sometimes it is better not knowing at all the truth.

1 comments about The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Penguin Classics).

1. This journal, which is co-edited by the author of the bestselling account of the U.S. Exploring Expedition 1838-1842, Nathaniel Philbrick, is a very useful adjunct to the book. Reynolds is an interesting and racy writer, and it is a definite plus that his journal has not been cut, or that there is an overwhelming amount of subtext. I would have given it a higher rating if there had been an index.

1 comments about Voices: African American and Latina Women Share Their Stories of Success.

1. This book looks like a coffee-table book...it is just gorgeous and the photo-portraits by Darcy Padilla are quite beautiful, but its purpose is much deeper. When I saw Oprah and a panel of minority men and women discussing the "Imus" controversy, the unanimous conclusion was that minority girls are in dire need of role models...I thought Oprah should hold up this book and say "Here are 50 amazing role models and they're not all 'celebrities' and one of the women profiled, C Delores Tucker, fought until her last breath to free girls from some of the ugly misogynistic, sexist messages of popular culture...every African American and Latina teenage girl in America should be given a copy of this book...what a PERFECT gift it would provide...role models, hope, mentors, positive messages in a beautiful volume. Hats off to the author and publisher!"

3 comments about Dark Sister: A Sorcerer's Love Story.

1. Dark Sister is another winner for Lynne Andrews. Lynne and her teachers, Agnes and Ruby, explore the dark mysteries of the soul. I enjoyed this tale of a fallen sister, Sin Corazon and her powerful journey from the dark side of sorcery to the light of the Sisterhood of the Shields. Lynne has shown us that through love a person can conquer the darkness we all carry within us. Lynne also explains that we all can find and peace and tranquillity we search for through love. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for the key that will open the door that leads to greater self knowledge and inner tranquillity.



2. This book was an amazing discovery of spiritual forces which even though can commence from the place of power and wisdom can if not vigilant become a force of darkness and sorcery. It is a lesson in forgiveness and the importance of protecting your spirit self from the dangers of evil forces which disguise themselves well. This book was particularly relevant in my work with others and a timely reminder that sometimes not all things are as they seem and that spirituality has two directions and not all spiritual people are working towards light. I found the writing visionary as are all Lynn's books but also show us her vulnerable and sometimes niave nature in her belief that we are all here to serve for the greater goodness. Could not put the book down until it was finished and recommend it to anyone who is in the healing or spiritual realm.



3. I am a 4th year student at Lynn Andrews' school and I am living in Germany. I read all of Lynn's books that are very precious and important to me. The books and the school led me to a completely new and sacred vision of life. I am very grateful for my experiences with Lynn's and the Sisterhood of the Shields' work.

5 comments about A Promise to Persevere: It's not where you start, it's where you finish!.

1. What a powerful story! This book has truly inspired me to finish what I've started. It is defintely a page turner! Since the first day I've read A Promise to Persevere, I have been on a emotional roller coaster ride. It will make you laugh out loud, cry, excited, touched, and become inspired and motivated all at the same time. What amazes me so much is how he is able to paint of the picture of the scenes with his writing. I mean, I felt like I was there withhim the entire time. This is truly the best book I've ever read! It was so good that I've read it 3 times.



2. A Promise to Persevere is a must read for of all ages. Miller is transparent and motivating throughout the entire book. From the first chapter, Miller challenges the reader to look within and reflect upon goals while also making it clear that success can become a reality. Further, A Promise to Persevere proves that forgiveness is one of the necessary steps to experience greatness and success.



3. I heard about Michael Miller thorugh my sister-in-law. She went to a graduation at Oxon Hill High School. She was so touched by his speech, she told me about it. I was so touch I got on line to check him out. I found the book and read it. What a wonderful testamony. It has changed my life, big time. I've been wanting to lose weight for so long, I have tried everything on earth. After reading his book I know I will get to the finish line. With this as an insparation and my Lord Jesus Christ I can't and won't lose. Everyone should have a copy of this wonderful book. I just mailed my copy to my sister-in-law for her and my nephew to read. I am tellling everyone that I know to read this wonderful book. Thank you Michael



4. This book is absolutely inspirational. I look forward to what is sure to come next - Part II.



5. I think this story sends a terrible message to children. Michael Miller bullies his way through the court system and vilifies the multitudes of professionals that attempt to help him on his path. One of my favorite negative blanket statements that he makes is on page 110 when he states that many social workers just "seem to be lazy or they have too many cases to manage". Wow that is a powerful statement coming from someone without a job who decided after 6 years that he felt like finding all the children he fathered and ignored while he was selling drugs on the street. I also enjoyed the part where he glorified his drunk aunt "cursing out a police officer" that pulled him over.
   However, my favorite inspirational lesson came in chapter 9 when Mr. Miller claims that he drove to Morehouse college, told the secretary to the Dean of Admissions that he would not take no for an answer, only to be welcomed to an unscheduled meeting with the Dean. During this interview, Mr. Miller claims that he told the Dean that Morehouse college would be funding his tuition in its entirety simply because he didn't want to stress about it anymore. Here's the excerpt...
   He said, "Okay. Well, how do you plan on paying a hundred thousand dollars to go to Morehouse College, Mr. Miller?"
   I said, "Now, that's a good question! Well, I guess Moorehouse is going to pay for it. I know this college doesn't offer transfer scholarships, but I'd love to have my matriculation funded by a scholarship from Morehouse College. I can't go back to Baltimore to finish my last semester and worry about paying for Morehouse College. Now, I think you think I'm crazy. That's because I am. Now, what's it going to be?"
   He Said, "Okay, I'll tell you what; give me some time next week and we'll see."
   I said, "Ah, ah, no no. I need to know this right now. I've been stressed out over this for too long, and I don't want to be just another phone call. Can we make this happen? Do we have a deal?"
   
   After which of course the dean tells him he likes his style and gives him a full ride.
   I don't know what world he is living in, but I work with at-risk children, and this is not what I would recommend for them to try in order to work towards their dreams. If this did happen, which I question, it does not happen normally, and this book that is supposed to be inspirational gives terrible messages about the means by which this man reached his goals. I commend him for getting his education, but there are multitudes of people who have turned their lives around in this country who came from atrocious childhoods, who chose not to ignore their many illegitimate children, sell drugs, curse out cops, judges, college counselors, and secretaries to achieve their goals. I'd rather read their books.

1 comments about Captain Cook's World: Maps of the Life and Voyages of James Cook R. N..

1. This book caught my eye at Pearl Harbor on my first significant visit to Hawaii a few weeks ago. Had to order it as soon as I got home. Outstanding digest of Cook's lifetime of exploration. Excellent format with its mixture of concise narrative and outstanding maps. Fascinating "read", I couldn't put it down. Excellent level of detail -- enough to be truly educational -- not so much as to overload. Emotionally moving to recall standing on Hawaiian soil and try to imagine the worlds meeting in the explorations of Cook's time. This book helped stitch my own experience to the history of the explorations.