鈥溾€� he had planted a tiny little seed of possibility in my mind that day. I desperately wanted a way to fix my life.鈥�
鈥淭hings had gotten out of control 鈥溾€� he had planted a tiny little seed of possibility in my mind that day. I desperately wanted a way to fix my life.鈥�
鈥淭hings had gotten out of control Every day was never-ending pain. I had to find a way out.鈥�
And that way out? 鈥淚f I could somehow hike 2,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail, then my leg will have to be better.鈥� A dubious assumption with no basis beyond hope and a refusal to believe the incurable alternative but Peter Conti was determined.
No question that the resulting book ONLY WHEN I STEP ON IT earns top marks as an awesome, impressive, and inspirational memoir of dogged determination in the face of a debilitating injury and chronic pain. Indeed, the injuries and the likelihood of a permanent non-recovery (notwithstanding the fact that the injury was self-inflicted by virtue of macho stupidity) might have led a weaker individual to such outcomes as drug addiction or, God forbid, even suicide.
From this reader鈥檚 point of view as an experienced outdoorsperson with many, many years of wilderness camping, canoeing, and hiking under his belt, ONLY WHEN I STEP ON IT succeeds well as a guide to the mechanics and logistics of what has to be characterized as difficult and physically (and mentally) demanding long-distance thru-hiking on the AT.
鈥淚 made my way through the roller coaster section, which has about ten significant climbs ranging from 250 to 450 feet in elevation. It was quite rocky in a few areas where I had to pick my way through slowly because of my foot.鈥�
WTF - 10 hills? 450 feet!? rocky? There is one relatively steep hill in our town that climbs about 300 feet. Ten years ago, when I was training to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, I reached the point where I would go up and down that hill about 5 to 6 times 鈥� on the street, sidewalk, no rocks AND, of course, no debilitating injury. So Conti鈥檚 grit to tackle such a hike deserves all the admiration I鈥檝e got in me.
That said, the trail is long, the experience demands a large investment of time, and Conti鈥檚 narrative fell into the literary muck of matching that length and becoming more than a little repetitive. First half, excellent and even gripping 鈥� second half, predictable and far less entertaining!
On a purely personal note, I have to confess that I found Conti鈥檚 discussions of cost and money somewhat disconcerting and off-putting. Unlike more 鈥渘ormal鈥� Joe Outdoorsmen, Conti seemed to have a virtually endless pit of wealth to draw on. He would buy outdoor equipment (which at the level of quality this hike demands is FAR from inexpensive) and discard it at the drop of a pin in favour of something that he thought might be more suitable or utilitarian. He would fly back and forth from his location on the hike to visit his family on any number of occasions. He would pay for shuttles, motels, hotels, equipment transfers, food drops, and restaurant meals at any time the urge hit him 鈥� once again without any apparent reference to the cost involved. AND, of course, all of this was done on existing wealth, the entire hike having to be completed without any new income. I鈥檓 glad for him that he had the resources to undertake such a lengthy (and expensive) challenge but it was depressing to know that, even if I was mentally and physically up to it, the finances involved would be forever beyond my pocketbook. Sigh!
Final recommendation? A 3-star rating for outdoors folk with any amount of camping experience but ONLY WHEN I STEP ON IT is not likely to be of much interest to those not inclined in that direction.
鈥淎 classic adventure story of single-minded obsession鈥�
Shoalt鈥檚 luscious but chilling opening paragraph of the prologue will give an adventurous, o鈥淎 classic adventure story of single-minded obsession鈥�
Shoalt鈥檚 luscious but chilling opening paragraph of the prologue will give an adventurous, outdoor-minded (and jealous, if I may say so) reader an excellent idea of the treats in store in ALONE AGAINST THE NORTH:
鈥淎head of us lay the pitiless expanse of frigid ocean known as Hudson Bay. Behind us lay countless miles of windswept tundra, trackless swamp, and impassable muskeg. Half-famished polar bears roamed the desolate coastline. It wasn鈥檛 a place one should travel alone 鈥� or at all, really.鈥�
ALONE AGAINST THE NORTH is a gripping story that discloses the heart, the mind, the obsession, the adventures, the exploits, the skills, the determination, the courage, and the achievements of a single-minded explorer determined to chart the length of an unknown river in the James Bay lowlands of Arctic Canada. The Again River was a route which might have been traveled on extremely rare occasions at some point in Canada鈥檚 past but that had never been documented or mapped in any way. It was also a river that would mercilessly eat up a canoeist with the temerity to attempt to do so who made so much as the slightest error in judgment.
As an experienced (and, I dare say, somewhat accomplished) outdoorsman, hiker, canoeist and camper in all four seasons, I can attest to the awesome difficulty of Shoalts鈥� achievements on this first-time descent of a terrifying river. Part biography, part adventure story, part environmental diatribe, and part natural science essay, ALONE AGAINST THE NORTH is all a page-turning and completely compelling story. Congratulations to Adam Shoalts on the outcome and the completion of a book that is easy to heartily recommend to both experienced and wannabe outdoor adventure lovers.
鈥淟emon blossom and olive trees, whitewashed villages in ochre hills鈥�
鈥淭he brilliance of the Spring Fair in Seville. The Moorish beauty of the Alhambra 鈥淟emon blossom and olive trees, whitewashed villages in ochre hills鈥�
鈥淭he brilliance of the Spring Fair in Seville. The Moorish beauty of the Alhambra or the timeless elegance of the great mosque at C贸rdoba.鈥�
I鈥檇 be very hard-pressed to find a more eloquent summary of Nicholas Luard鈥檚 brilliant portrait of short period he spent living with his family in a valley close to Tarifa, a fishing port on the Mediterranean coast, than the back cover marketing blurb:
鈥溾€� a vivid record of his journeys through southern Spain 鈥� Nicholas describes all the great cities, meets with bullfighters, sherry growers, noblemen and gypsies, and reports on the delights of Andaluz food and wine.鈥�
Just one extended sample paragraph to whet your whistle:
鈥淲hen I first saw the Andalucian landscape along the straits of Gibraltar on that bright summer morning in 1963 with caravans of eagles migrating overhead and dolphins leaping in the sea below, the Guadalmesi valley was an almost untouched scoop of green cork forest in the hilly shoreline. The coastal road that crossed it was narrow, cratered with potholes, and largely deserted apart from the occasional mule-train or an ancient grinding fish truck which left a snail's track of slime and melting ice in its wake. At one end of the sea-lane Algeciras with its neighbour across, the bay, the sleeping British lion of Gibraltar, selling reliable kippers and echoing to the sound of military bugle calls. At the other the walled town of Tarifa, 'most loyal and most noble', was a little lost enclave, half Moorish and half Andaluz, where the older women wore Arab veils, [and] the windy streets smelled of coriander and sea-salt ..."
This gorgeous, mellifluous, and poetic description of one of the most gorgeous chunks of the world that I鈥檝e ever had the pleasure to visit is a must read for armchair travelers, real travelers, lovers of history and geography, students of the Spanish language and culture, and, perhaps most particularly, any wannabe expats considering a full- or part-time retirement home in the sunny hills of Spanish Andaluc铆a.
He had talents, a gift even, for a job he didn鈥檛 particularly like and didn鈥檛 want to do!
Enter stage left: Dominic Jejeune is a Canadian expat, a skilHe had talents, a gift even, for a job he didn鈥檛 particularly like and didn鈥檛 want to do!
Enter stage left: Dominic Jejeune is a Canadian expat, a skilled (no, make that extraordinarily gifted) homicide detective, fresh off the solution of a puzzling London murder and recently posted to the rank of DCI in the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh. He also happens to be an avid birder who, with little provocation, would be willing to drop the day to day tribulations of the police force and become a full-time hobbyist and avian researcher.
You have to hand it to author Steve Burrows. He has certainly mastered the author鈥檚 dictum of 鈥淪how, don鈥檛 tell鈥�. The personality of every single member of the cast of A SIEGE OF BITTERNS is developed in exquisite detail through the tool of dialogue and allowing readers to watch how they conduct themselves and how they respond to events in the story. Bravo indeed!
However, for my money, notwithstanding how well the story was executed, the idea of a plot for a murder mystery and indeed, an entire series being based on the theme of birding is stretching a point. Well, at least I think so. It doesn鈥檛 take a detective reader to imagine that there would be much said about ecology, birds, their habitats, and environmental activism but, as supportive as I felt and as much as I agreed, the story never managed to reach the level of compelling or gripping.
Your mileage may vary, of course. A SIEGE of BITTERNS was certainly good enough to warrant the recommendation that you give it a try and see for yourself. Kudos to another Canadian author entering the mystery and police procedural market. I'll give #2 in the series, A PITYING OF DOVES, a try to see how Burrows has chosen to continue with his theme.
A fascinating look at an impossibly alien lifestyle!
Heimo Korth has lived in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for nearly thirty years, eking oA fascinating look at an impossibly alien lifestyle!
Heimo Korth has lived in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for nearly thirty years, eking out a subsistence living some 250 miles from the nearest road. He moved to Alaska at twenty, eager to escape an abusive father and unwilling to submit to the yoke of a nine-to-five job. For six years Heimo ("HI-mow") lived alone, trapping and hunting and flying out occasionally with bush pilots to sell his furs. But in 1982 Heimo married Edna, whom he met while walrus hunting on St. Lawrence Island, and she followed her husband to the wilderness. They have lived together since in this desolate place where the sun dips below the horizon in November and isn't seen again until January, where temperatures range from a balmy 80 degrees to 50 below. They and their daughters live a semi-nomadic life, moving each spring from one of their three cabins to another so as not to deplete the animal populations in any one area. Every summer they spend six weeks in Fort Yukon, population 750, stocking up on supplies and getting a small taste of civilization.
James Campbell, who happens to be Heimo's cousin, visited the Korths several times beginning in 2002. In telling Heimo's story Campbell juxtaposes descriptions of life in the Arctic--the logistics of carving up a dead moose, the efficient reuse of toilet paper as a firestarter--with stories of Heimo's boyhood in Wisconsin and discussion of the politics of land apportionment in Alaska. The result is a fascinating look at a lifestyle that is impossibly alien yet unexpectedly familiar: Heimo's teenagers tack Britney Spears posters to the walls of their cabin.
One begins reading Campbell's account with incredulity, wondering why anyone would choose to live in such an extreme environment and whether the Korths were wise to raise their children there. But reading the fascinating, sometimes heartrending story of Heimo and Edna's life one comes to respect them and their decisions. We are left hoping that Heimo manages to live out his days as he wishes, growing old in a wilderness few men before him have experienced....more
The Sixth Extinction is well underway ... and it comes in a wide variety of flavours!
Animals of every imaginable zoological stripe, deforestation, losThe Sixth Extinction is well underway ... and it comes in a wide variety of flavours!
Animals of every imaginable zoological stripe, deforestation, loss of ecosystems and specific ecological niches, trees, legumes, fruits and grasses, cultures and languages 鈥� so much of our world is under assault and treading a fine line on the edge of complete and final disappearance. Agricultural diversity is being replaced around the world with vulnerable monocultures. WAITING FOR THE MACAWS does not presume to take a hard core left wing stance and suggest that all extinctions are the result of intentional human predation or thoughtless activity. Instead, in a series of thoughtful, provocative essays, it presents a series of 鈥渃atastrophes of the human spirit and imagination鈥� and it asks us to care, to do everything we can to strengthen 鈥渢he conditions that allow the flourishing of a diversity of living things, a diversity of ideas and a diversity of choices鈥�.
A small example will serve to illustrate the depth of Glavin鈥檚 examination of the phenomenon of extinction:
鈥淚t was the Romans who spread the apple throughout Europe, and by the close of the nineteenth century, more than 7000 commercial varieties of apple were being cultivated throughout North America. A century later, almost all of those varieties had disappeared. A mere 15 apple varieties account for more than 90 percent of all North American production. In Canada, two-thirds of the apple crop is made up of only 3 varieties: McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Spartan. Two-thirds of the American crop is made up of Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith鈥�.
And, of course, it is this singular (and all too common) lack of diversity that makes the entire apple species subject to loss by weather calamity, insects infestation or some biological blight.
WAITING FOR THE MACAWS is not lightweight, easy reading. But it is certainly provocative, informative, educational and profoundly disturbing. If you care about the world around you, WAITING FOR THE MACAWS is something you should be reading.
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