No comments about Anderl Heckmair: My Life : Eiger North Face, Grand Jorasses, & Other Adventures.

No comments about Pirates: Scourge of the Seas.

No comments about Thanks for the Laughs.

3 comments about IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ADAM.

1. To use Thor's own words...
   "There is nothing for modern man to return to. Our wonderful time in the wilderness had given us a taste of what man had abandoned and what mankind was still trying to get even further away from. Progress today can be defined as man's ability to complicate simplicity. Nothing in all the procedure that modern man , helped by all his modern middlemen, goes through before he earns money to buy a fish or a potato will ever be as simple as pulling it out of the water or soil. Without the farmer and the fisherman, modern society would collapse., with all its shops and pipes and wires. The farmers and the fishermen represent the nobility of modern society; they share their crumbs with the rest of us, who run about with papers and screwdrivers attempting to build a better world without a bluprint."

   All this author's books are GREAT reads! If you are a city dweller you will especially appreciate his adventures as he asks the question- "Were we meant to live in jungles made of plants or concrete?




2. This is a greatly written book. For all Thor's sense of humor and eye for the paradox often shines through. We hear a lot about his obstacles getting his travel adventures accepted in scientific circles as real research and also get a side of Thor indicating that he is a very determined man. We hear about his romantic life and philosophy about he important things in life. A great book that will teach you not only about geography and archeology but will make you laugh and think deeper about life.



3. The Norwegian born Mr Heyerdahl was an
   athlete, explorer and writer par excellance,
   who wroter twenty very good to great books
   and this is his best. The greatest explorer
   in our cultures history, I highly also rec-
   ommend the books, 'On the Seventh Day' and
   'Kon-Tiki'. Actually all his book s are worth
   getting, provided the price is right here on
   amazon.com or alibris.com.

3 comments about William Dunbar: Scientific Pioneer of the Old Southwest.

1. Without DeRosier's work Dunbar would have been lost. This is a most engaging and remarkable book about a fascinating figure in American history. Highly recommend this text!



2. William Dunbar was a talented man whose accomplishments have long been in need of professional assessment. Arthur DeRosier has responded to this need in the first full-scale investigation of available sources, beginning in Scotland, where Dunbar was born. The author's effort has cleared up numerous misunderstandings--such as whether William Dunbar inherited his father's title--and has detailed some of William Dunbar's accomplishments in the New World, the best known of which was his 1804-05 expedition with George Hunter to explore the land drained by the Red and Ouachita Rivers as far as the Hot Springs in what became central Arkansas. This exploration was followed by another Red River expedition in 1806, which Dunbar ably coordinated. Eclipsed in public interest by the 1804-06 Lewis and Clark expedition whose route lay to the north, Dunbar's first attempt to ascertain what the nation had gained by the Louisiana Purchase has now been given the attention it deserves.
   
   Among other national contributions was Dunbar's collaboration with the astronomer Andrew Ellicott to survey the boundary between Spanish West Florida and the United States. Through Ellicott he became known to prominent members of the American Philosophical Society, who welcomed for publication his astronomical and meteorological observations. These in turn had been made possible by the scientific instruments he was able to import as a result of his financial success in growing indigo and cotton. He contributed to the rise of cotton culture in the South by experimenting with improved seeds and by improvements on the cotton gin and on methods of baling cotton for shipment.
   
   Despite the book's subtitle it scants Dunbar's scientific work, however, and has little to say about such pioneering investigations as his study of Indian sign language, his attempt to solve the problem of finding longitude by astronomical methods, his contributions to meteorological record-keeping at a time when the nation lacked a weather bureau, his use of chemical analysis in geology, his good fortune in being the southernmost observer to study the 1806 solar eclipse, etc. These shortcomings may result from the author's heavy reliance on the printed Dunbar letters and papers edited by Eron Rowland and published in 1930--a book notorious for the editor's misreading of the manuscripts and an editor having little understanding of things scientific.
   
   DeRosier says that he hopes his book will "challenge" other scholars to take up aspects of Dunbar's career "that deserve further study and reflection." Perhaps it will.



3. Finally a history book that is more than a never ending sequence of historical facts. I was pleasantly surprised by the way DeRosier was able to weave together historical facts into a delightful novel about a facinating, historically important figure. I felt history come alive as I read Dunbar. Thank you.

1 comments about Bradford Washburn: An Extraordinary Life: The Autobiography of a Mountaineering Icon.

1. Bradford Washburn led a super extra-extraordinary life as one of America's greatest mountain photographers, cartographers, scientists and mountaineers. Its not every kid who climbed three highest peaks in the Alps in a two weeks period like he did while in his teens.
   
   The book is an autobiography written by Washburn with help from Lew Freedman. Its a well written account, highly interesting, highly informative and many gripping accounts of many of his "extraordinary" adventures. He wastes no word in this book, every passage, every sentence say something about his life. Although 314 pages appears to be too short to write a life about one of the "extraordinary" Americans of our lifetime, I thought the book accomplished its purpose. If you want more detail on Washburn, you can read many of his books he wrote over the years including ones that he wrote while as a teenager.
   
   The book reflect his accomplishments, his deeds and his desire to explore. Ironically, one of his greatest accomplishments appears to be marrying his wife, Barbara, who proves to be extraordinary person herself, a soul mate who shared in her husband's passion that very few men are lucky to have. The book reflects his pride in having such a wife and sharing his life with her.
   
   If there was a downside to this book, it doesn't reflect a lot regarding his children and his other aspects of his personal life. The book seem to be centered around his life of adventure. I would like to have known if he was ever an avid Red Sox fan since he was born and rise in the New England area where he also lived through out his life. Or if he had other quirky interests beside what he is well known for. The book also don't reflect much on some of the disagreements he have known to have with other folks in his fields. It could be that the book wasn't gear toward such matter and it might be left to future biographers to figure all that out.
   
   The book comes well illustrated with photographs of Washburn's many adventures. They are all in black and white and many reflects the passages in the book very well. However, on page 231, he wrote about posing for photographs with other veterans of earlier McKinley climbs. I would have like to have seen one of these "one in the lifetime" photos.
   
   Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in mountaineering, photography or just like reading about adventuresome people. Bradford Washburn definitely led a very interesting and adventuresome life and this book is well worth the effort to read.

1 comments about My First Years in the Fur Trade: The Journals of 1802-1804 (Wisconsin).

1. While the introduction and footnotes were very well edited, I did struggle through the actual journals themselves. This could be attributed to Nelson's writing style, my unfamiliarity with Lake Superior geography and/or the plethora of French nomenclature (which can generate confusion for some). Overall, the journals are insightful of survival strategies and day to day existence in the fur trade years of 1802-04 in northern Wisconsin. Nelson, who was only fifteen when joining the XY Company, was a keen observer of Ojibwa Indian customs, the interrelationships between company men and his immediate surroundings. If the writing of the journals had more continuity, it would have been an enjoyable read.

1 comments about 5 Giants of Advertising.

1. If you love advertising and are looking for a basic and simple read... this is the one! The book breaks down into five sections covering the beginnings of the five greatest ad-man of all time - founders of Lord & Thomas (Lasker), Leo Burnett (Leo Burnett), O&M (Ogilvy), Publicis (Bleustein-Blanchet) and DDB (Bernbach). The book basically covers simple facts about their lives and how the business began, what clients they served and the famous campaigns they did. The book did not however, go into the full details on how the campaigns were conducted, why they did what they did, etc, etc... It's not a heavy read and took me just a few hours... interesting as I did not know much about Lasker, Bleistein-Blanchet and Bernbach. In terms of personal enhancement... the book will not make you a better ad-man nor copywriter... just an interesting read... recommended for the starters...

No comments about Hydro to Navoceano.

5 comments about The Bear's Embrace: A True Story of Survival.

1. With heartrending honesty, Patricia Van Tighem invites the reader into her nightmare of physical and emotional disabilities and the struggle to put her life back together after the brutal attack she experienced. Having experienced PTSD after the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, I could relate to her stress and confusion. Factor in her unending pain, the loss of her appearance, people's stares, and the callous, judgmental treatment she received at a hospital, and you have a woman who had overwhelming issues to deal with.

   I have nothing but praise for Patricia's willingness to candidly share her struggle with others. I hope she continues to write.




2. PTSD is a wickedly subtle thing that can creep into your life without you having the slightest clue what it is or what the far reaching effects may be. It can be the result of a pointed trauma or something smaller, such as an adverse emotional experience. Ms. Van Tighem seems to have no interest in exploiting her drama for the sake of attention, but perhaps seeks validation for her experience exactly how it happened- a few hours of horrifying excitement during and immediately after the attack, and more pointedly, the reality of the long term effects of this life altering incident to herself and her family over the following seventeen years. It is something that is often missing in the bear attack story compilations on bookshelves today. Kudos to this author for finding the bravery and the shameless audacity to actually write a true story, as is.



3. I picked up this book for resale, and I leafed through it. I was caught at page 16 and sat down to read it all. I did. The attack, the recovery, the emotions, and finally the resolve. This woman has been through hell and lived to tell the tale. The life we all have, or will, experience: Marriage, love, accident, loss of a loved parent/child. A less than perfect life. I hope you will never know the sorrow this woman has been through, but I hope her story will enlighten you to be strong, and deal with your demons before they bring you down. And, by the way, she is an excellent writer.



4. First, the book. It is sometimes hard going to read about such a horrific experience as a grizzly bear attack and its excruciating aftermath, but believe me, it is worth it. This is a book that will exhaust your emotions, it will make you FEEL and marvel at how much one human being can endure. It will do that, unless you are a relatively shallow human being, uninterested in the human condition and emotions, as some of the reviewers of this book are. So "The Bear's Embrace" has "very little action", is "boring" and describes "pointless suffering"? Oh, please God help me! A story about a grizzly bear attack and the frantic attempts to save the victims has "very little action"? A woman's attempt to cope with the disfigurement of her face and the ensuing torture of constant pain and infection is "boring"? Her severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, her forever-changed relationship with her husband, their Down's syndrome baby, the loss of an eye, the incredible pain from her injuries and infection that just seemed to go on and on is "POINTLESS SUFFERING"? Well, let me tell you something. NO suffering is "pointless". You poor readers, having to read such a "boring" book; no murders or sex or car explosions, WAAAHHH! This is an incredible book about an incredible quirk of fate that changes a woman's life forever; it is a tale of endurance and survival that will move you deeply. You wonder "how could anybody STAND this"? Ms. Tighem did...for a long time. But it got to a point where she simply could stand no more. She committed suicide on Dec. 17, 2005. She was 47. I hope that she is now at peace, without any pain at last. She was a courageous, remarkable woman...rest in peace, dear lady.



5. Patricia "Trish" van Tighem - a vicacious, pretty young nurse and her pediatric resident husband of three years are out hiking when they are mauled by a grizzly bear. This is the story of the ensuing 15 years including the many surgeries Patricia went through and her depression that ensued as a result of the pain she has had to endure along with the disfiguration caused by the attack.
   
   Trish and Trevor had everything going for them when they, two experienced backpackers, took a well-deserved weekend off to do something they enjoyed. They took all the necessary precautions but the couldn't escape a particularly aggressive female grizzly one fall day in Waterton Lakes National Park south of their home in Calgary, Alberta. Trevor was attacked first and Trish was torn between helping him or climbing a tree to save herself-she had always been told grizzlies couldn't climb trees. But due to their experience, the cold weather, and two hikers who find them soon after the attack, they both survive. This book is less about the attack itself than the years afterwards including quite a bit about their initial time in the hospital, Trish's many surgeries, and their life in rural Canada with (eventually) four children.
   
   This book was a bittersweet read for me as I read it after hearing of Trish's death by suicide in December of 2005 at the age of 47. So I knew that although the book ended on an upbeat note, that the real story hadn't ended and it didn't end happily. I also knew that at the time of her death Trish and Trevor were separated. That may have colored my opinion of Trevor from the very beginning, but I did find him a bit selfish throughout the entire book and even though he seemed to try to accept Trish after her injuries, I don't think he ever truly could deal with her disfigurement. All in all though the book was a mesmerizing read. Trish was a talented writer and this is a stunning story. I highly recommend it.