1 comments about Count of Alaska.

1. This book is a very good account of the gold rush of alaska. The hard ships and great riches are found and lost. If you want to exprience what the gold rush was like and if you have what it takes to walk in their steps read this book.
   Brenda

1 comments about Dersu Uzala.

1. This book reads like a wilderness adventure novel that Jack London only wishes he could write. The author's efforts to explore and map the Mongolian taiga in themselves make you feel like you're travelling to this far land and experiencing the lifestyle with him. The star of the book, however, is not the author and main character. Instead, it is the fur trapper and guide Dersu, who has lived in the wilderness for so long he understands it on a level that you, as the reader, will slowly come to appreciate and even to partially share.

   Akira Kurosawa (of Seven Samurai fame) directed the movie version of Dersu Usala, and that movie is also well worth watching.

3 comments about To Africa with Love.

1. This book really inspires me to be a better person for Christ by helping others. I won't ever be a doctor and probably can't ever visit Africa, but this book takes you there without ever leaving your home. What Dr. Foulkes has been through losing some of his family and staying in Africa to make sure the people were brought the message of Christ is truly heart touching. I think this is a wonderful book and recommend it others.



2. This account of a mission established, accomplished and continuing is not only inspiring but dynamic in overcoming obstacles and rejoicing in successes. It challenges one's faith
   to endure and soar through Christ's help. Difficult to lay the
   book down!



3. "Passion" is the best word to describe the level of commitment of the Foulkes family to serve as medical missionaries in Zambia. The depth of their sacrifice, the length of their desire to reach people with the Truth, the height of their faith in God, and the width of their love for God's people were passionate. I could not put the book down, and when I had finished, wanted to share the book and its message with others. This family touched my family deeply, even before the book, as my grandmother had been a prayer warrior for them while they were on the mission field.

No comments about North to the Orient.

1 comments about On to the Alamo: Colonel Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas (Penguin Classics).

1. This book is a novel, or historical fiction as the long introduction will point out. The author Smith wrote this and had the publishers say it was the journal of Davy Crockett. It isn't. Smith read some books ghost written by Crockett, and then wrote this story in a similar fashion. That being said, it is a good and entertaining read. However, it is not true, so fellow historians beware.
   Crockett is a colorful figure in American history. I can't say I know much about him, but this story places him in a very favorable light. The saying much attributed to Crockett about the voters of Tennessee going to hell, but he was going to Texas is one of my favorites. This is a great short read and I much recommend it.

5 comments about Jim Corbett, Master of the Jungle: A Biography of India's Most Famous Hunter of Man-Eating Tigers and Leopards.

1. This true-life story on Jim Corbett's man-eater hunting adventures was one of the best I've ever read. I couldn't put the book down until I read the entire story. I was captivated by Corbett's bravery and the photos of Corbett, his family, man-eaters that he killed, and places in India where he hunted these beasts definitely helped put the story into perspective. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a taste for wild-life adventure.



2. If I could give this book "No Star," I would. This is a badly written and shamefully fictionalized re-hash of the career of a true hero. It does Jim Corbett a real disservice. To anyone interested in Corbett's career, I strongly recommend you read instead Corbett's own accounts, Man-Eater of Kumaon, The Temple Tiger and the Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. All are easy to obtain if not new then second-hand. They are much better written, much more exciting, and true. The author of this book should be ashamed of himself for defacing a legend.



3. I am a long-time follower of Jim Corbett and have read everything Corbett wrote and everything others have written about him. I found Werling's account of Corbett's life and adventures to be extremely exciting and enjoyable. The story plot is fast moving and made it difficult to put the book down. It's quite apparent that the author holds Corbett in high esteem, judging from the manner in which he describes Corbett's boundless courage, love of wildlife, and strong bond with the native population. Who among us would not like to have such a wonderful biography written about our life? Also, I believe the critics are being short-sighted in their reviews. Although the story is dramatized, it successfully brings Corbett to life, which is something woefully lacking in other biographies. Hopefully, this book will introduce Corbett to others who have never heard of him or his remarkable deeds. For that alone we should be thankful. Safari Press and the author should be lauded for taking such a risk in publishing a story that was bound to be controversial among Corbett followers. As for me, I highly recommend the book. I think it will help keep the name and reputation of Jim Corbett alive.



4. Being somewhat of a student of Corbetts writing, I was really looking forward to the first new book written about him in some time. Jim Corbetts own writing is full of moment by moment, edge of your seat type of adventure. I was hoping this book would dig more deeply into Corbett the man. Overall I was very disappointed. The book is shallow, inaccurate, and in places dramatized. For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would think they could add to the story as written by Corbett himself. Worst of all some events where altered from what Corbett wrote. If you have never read one of Corbetts own accounts this one might be okay. If you have read the real thing, then don't bother with this book.



5. I have read many of these kinds of books. However, I was not able to finish reading this book. WERLING lacks the writing skills of the greats in this line of true-life adventures. He could not get me to "feel" for or with the characters, nor re-create the carousel of emotions that you would experience if you were actually there. His book did not bring his subject to life, and it was not interesting to read. Sorry, Tim.

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

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

1 comments about Sweet Teeth and Loose Bowels: The Adventures of an International Aid Worker.

1. If you ever find yourself seated next to Mike Gerber at a dinner party, you should count yourself fortunate. You would soon be caught up in a series of true tales that span the globe and a lifetime of dedication to the pressing problems confronting the world's most disadvantaged persons. These fascinating tales would only be enhanced by an unrivalled storytelling ability coupled with a personality of genuine warmth and thoughtfulness.
   
   If you never find yourself fortunate enough to be seated by Mike Gerber at a dinner party, this book is the next best thing. It reads like a conversation about a life lived well, and takes experiences interesting in their own right to the next level by reflecting on them and drawing important insights that should inform the actions and policies of those who are concerned about improving the plight of persons living in poverty in Africa and Asia. Sweet Teeth and Loose Bowels: The Adventures of an International Aid Worker is recommended reading.

4 comments about Shackleton's Captain: A Biography of Frank Worsley.

1. Frank Worsley is best known as the captain of the Endurance on Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914, but he led a full and very interesting life that included searching for treasure and sinking a German U-boat during WWI. Anyone who has read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" will want to know more about Worsley, and this book will fill many of the gaps.



2. Frank Worsley was Ernest Shackleton's captain, so he is a name that is not commonly known. A common mistake for so many biographers of secondary expeditionary characters is that they get caught up in the relationship to the major character and the biography turns out to be about them. That was my main concern when I first picked up this biograpy of Frank Worsley - that his personality and achievements would be overshadowed by those of Shackleton. Not in this biograpy though - Thomson keeps his story firmly about Worsley, and this story is every bit as interesting as Shackleton's.

   Worsley, you see, was Shackleton's captain in the Antarctic expedition that almost ended in disaster in 1914/15. A dreadful summer in the south meant that their boat, the Endurance, was trapped inescapably in pack ice and so began one of the most incredible, courageous and stoic journeys in all polar exploration history. Shackleton's story has been told many times - how the men survived on Elephant Island, and how, with Worsley and some others they sailed across the wildest ocean in the world in a tiny boat to South Georgia to get a rescue craft for the rest of the crew. Even then disaster after disaster struck, they were almost smashed on the rocky coast of South Georgia, once ashore they had to cross the mountainous and glacier ridden interior to reach help on the other coast, and then they had to endure several failed attempts to reach the rest of the survivors back on Elephant Island. This story is told again, but teasing out Worsley's perspective and contributions.

   Worsley's story isn't solely about this one incident, dramatic as it is. His life from his childhood to his further expeditions to the Arctic with Shackleton and his first and second world war experiences are all here. I think Thomson really gets inside the man in this book. There are numerous photos and illustrations - most of the Endurance and Quest photos of Shackelton's are widely available in other publications though. There is also a good index and a good appendix if you want to read further information on Worsley or his companions.




3. This book was great. Finally some one has given the credit to Frank Worsley that he deserves. The book tells everything from his days as a boy to the Trans-Arctic Expedition to his death. Read this book, it's great!



4. This is my favourite book about Antarctic exploration - even surpassing Mawson's 'Home of the Blizzard'. The book captures the humour, insight and stubbornness of Frank Worsley from his upbringing in Akaroa, New Zealand, to his adventures with Shackleton and maritime career.

   Worsley's skills as a sailor, navigator and writer made Shackleton's story possible and the book gives a clear insight into the personal qualities of heroic era adventurers 'when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel'.

   A facinating and exciting book, well written and researched, with excellent photographs - this is my most frequently loaned book! [Incidentally, Frank Worsley's diaries can be seen at NZ's Canterbury Museum.]

3 comments about Pioneer in Tibet: The Life and Perils of Dr. Albert Shelton.

1. Well, people didn't like my review, so I guess I'll just have to rewrite it. :P Here goes:
   
   In response to the other reviewer's comments, this is a book about a man's life in a place and a time. It's not a book about the political climate of a land during a certain span of years (though I thought the author did include enough information to paint a sense of context). Take this excerpt for example:
   
   "countless goods made their way via this route, but by far the most important was tea. Tea was China's most valuable export to the Tibetan, Turkic, and Mongolian peoples who formed an arc at the periphery of the Celestial Kingdom. The brick tea trade was integral to Chinese-Tibetan commerce, politics, military history, and social intercourse. The trade dated back to the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), when the first loads of tea..."
   
   You make the call. I know a good amount about Tibet, it's height, and its history already. Like I said before, if you want to know more about Younghusband's violent push into Tibet's interior, well sorry, that's not the focus of this book--It's about Albert Shelton. But if you don't know anything about Tibet, maybe you'll feel as the other reviewer did--fair warning (though I do disagree with him). I myself would have liked to seen more detailed maps of the cities and routes that Shelton traveled along (though there are maps, they're just not thorough enough).
   
   I thought that Wissing's account did a good job of displaying what a certain missionary's life was like in Tibet during the early 1900's. Far from painting the picture of an altruistic superchristian, at times Wissings account left me lamenting Albert's poor choices. In the beginning he seems to be an adventure hungry, inexperienced person. It take him and his family years to even like the Tibetan culture and not to look down ethnocentric noses at it. Thankfully it isn't as prevalent today in missionary circles, but back then people were often ignorant of other cultures and at times horribly nationalistic. It is really sad to hear accounts of those who never really got the Apostle Paul when he said "I become all things to all people, that I might win some to Christ". I personally found it intriguing to see this change in Shelton.
   
   The book also has many interesting accounts of exchanges between Shelton and the Tibetans. The meeting of two cultures, and two faiths, had amazing results at times. With Tibet's relcutance to change in general, I wouldn't be surprised if these were things one could still experience if they went to the right places. There is also an interesting look through Albert's journal into a Christian man's dealing with imminent death and intense pain while he was being hauled around by bandits who kidnapped him. That is a personal account that you won't find the likes of most places and the worth of the book could be found alone in that.
   
   I refuse to go into a detailed account of Shelton's general life because I believe the "book description" above does a well enough job, and you can read that.
   
   Lastly, Wissing is a journalist. He writes well, and the book is pleasing to read (as far as biographies go--if you not a biography person, why are you even bothering?). Like any biography it has its share of facts and the recalling of accounts, but I think Wissing did a good job of balancing everything out in a way that rarely overwhelms the reader.



2. Wissing accomplished the task of flattening the Himalayas with his two dimensional portrayal of the Sheltons, the Chinese, the Tibetans, and the continent of Asia. He glossed over the Unequal Treaties, Opium War, or any other conflicts with the West that would cast doubt on the altruistic motives of the missionaries and ruin his "feel good" story. The book lacked any perspective to place the Sheltons in, and thereby deprived a lot of their work of meaning. I was left with no clue that they rode out a two revolutions, that Dr. Shelton was a great diplomat, or even how high up Tibet is, other than an occasional sideways reference. There was a lot of potential for a very good and interesting book about Dr. Shelton, but either by accident or intent it was left with the substance of a "Chicken Soup" book.



3. The author says it best. "Shelton was a complex creature, a man who craved both adventure and social esteem, a doctor who practice medicine intermittently, a missionary who seldom preached, a devout family man who endangered himself and his family in a perilous post" (page 214)
   
   Wissing has written a fine biography of Albert Shelton, a frontiersman from Kansas and the founder of the first missionary station in Batang, Tibet in 1908. The borderlands between Tibet and China in those days were a battleground and Shelton entered into the fray as a missionary, hunter, collector and seller of Tibetan antiquities, interpreter, and advisor to Tibetan rebels. He became famous in America, especially after being held captive by Chinese bandits for more than a month.
   
   The author covers the complex politics of both the Tibetan marches and the missionary establishment. Shelton is not altogether an admirable character; he seems more interested in constant exploration and collecting art treasures than he does in spreading the Gospel, and he obviously basks in his fame. His dream was to be the first Protestant missionary in Lhasa and he was on the road to achieving that when he met his dramatic end in 1922, an end that befitted the character of the man.
   
   If you're interested in Tibet, missionaries, and China this is an excellent book to read. Shelton could be a prototype for a somewhat more pious version of Indiana Jones.
   
   Smallchief