Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review: The Man Who Walked Through Time, by Colin Fletcher

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Yesterday I posted a book review of The Thousand Mile Summer the first book written by Colin Fletcher. In that post I shared that three books influenced me to consider venturing into deserts and I moved to a desert in 1977, where I still live. Each of these books have stood the test of time, and I have read them several times over the decades. Over this time I have changed as I matured, society has changed. The deserts have changed too. Deserts are constantly changing.

In Colin Fletcher’s second book, The Man Who Walked Through Time, we get a close up view of a changing desert as viewed through his eyes. The geological record in the canyon walls, abandoned ruins of cliff side houses built centuries ago, a river that has been tamed by man, invasive species such has equines introduced by early European adventurers, and more.

Just like Thousand Mile Summer, this book reflects an inner transformation of the author that comes with being immersed in nature.

The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher and published in 1968 is a thoughtful and skillfully crafted account of his 1963 journey through the Grand Canyon.

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Book Review: The Thousand Mile Summer, by Colin Fletcher

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Over 50 years ago, on a hot summer day, I helped one of my brothers move to the Mojave Desert where he was starting college. The heat was like a blast furnance. His car overheated several times, resulting in a blown head gasket. After unloading his belongings and a fitful night of sleep, I left, hitch-hiking back to LA.

I vowed to never enter a desert again.

Six years later, I moved to the desert. A different desert. A hotter desert. Why would I do such a crazy thing?

In the time, between my vow to never visit a desert again and my relocation to the desert, I read three of my now favorite books. They piqued my interest, and I began to visit, hike, and backpack in desert environs. The first book I read was, The Thousand Mile Summer, by Colin Fletcher.

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Book Review — How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild: Backpacking for Beginners

Backpacking, Book Review,

As the title states, this is a guide for beginners. Given this, the author accomplishes this goal in an easy to read, compact package.

In this age of Internet experts, we often are bombarded with information from dubious sources and of questionable expertise. So the first place to start with this review is the author’s credentials as a backpacker and expert. Continue reading Book Review — How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild: Backpacking for Beginners →

Book Review: The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide, 2nd Edition

Backpacking, Backpacking Gear, Book Review

This is a review of The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools and Techniques to Hit the Trail, by Andrew Skurka, published by National Geographic. I don’t do many book reviews. I have uploaded close to 700 posts and pages to this site and I think there are only 5 or 6 book reviews.

There was a time when book reviews were the domain of newspapers and magazines with full time writers who reviewed books for their readership. The purpose of the reviews was to recommend good books and to warn readers about the poor ones, while at the same time providing feedback to the author.

Today this has changed. Retail websites, especially Amazon, allow their customers to post reviews and then the website calculates an overall rating base on customer feedback (i.e. 4.2 out of 5). Unfortunately on these websites, it is the rare reviewer who has any stated qualifications to provide a book review of value or worthy of consideration.

The other thing that has changed is the blogs (like this one) that post book reviews. How this usually works, is the publisher or author offers a free book in exchange for a review.  There is no requirement for a positive review, but in my opinion a free item in exchange for a review makes an objective review very difficult for most people; although there are some folks who are completely truthful in their reviews.

Last month I received an email that National Geographic was looking to provide advance copies of The Ultimate Hiker’s Guide to some bloggers in exchange for a review and would I be interested. Well, I don’t do quid pro quo. So I wasn’t interested in a free advance copy. The book won’t be available until March 7th. However, I was planning on purchasing the book, having read the first edition several years ago. Based of this offer for a review, I was able to purchase a copy in advance, and I paid the full retail price.  So let’s get on with the review.

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Walking Man: The Secret Life of Colin Fletcher (a biography)

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THIS IS A BOOK I WON’T BE READING

walking-man

 

 

Colin Fletcher is known as the “Father of Backpacking” and Robert Wehman has just published the only biography of the reclusive man.

You can purchase the book from Amazon as a Kindle version for $9.99 or paperback for $18.53. I have never heard of the author but the reviews have generally been very good.

I did buy it for a friend, but will pass on reading it myself.

WHY?

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Rabid, the book

Backpacking, Book Review, General Talk,

Rabid the book cover

In 2013, during a 5 month period, Libby Zangle hiked all 2,663 miles of the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail. In 2014 she published Rabid: The Pacific Crest Tail. ‘Cause Therapy Ain’t Working. There was no endorsement from Oprah; Rabid is not on any best seller list. Libby isn’t famous. She isn’t a hero.

If this paragraph sounds familiar to you, then you read my post Wild, the book, where I wrote:

In 1995, during a 3 month period, Cheryl Strayed hiked 1,100 miles of the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail. In 2012 she published Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. After an endorsement from Oprah, Wild topped the best seller lists. Cheryl became famous. She is a hero to many people.

There is no similarity between either women or either book.

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Wild, the book

Backpacking, Book Review

wild

In 1995, during a 3 month period, Cheryl Strayed hiked 1,100 miles of the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail. In 2012 she published Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. After an endorsement from Oprah, Wild topped the best seller lists. Cheryl became famous. She is a hero to many people.

In 2014 Wild was released as a motion picture, starring Reese Weatherspoon as Cheryl Strayed.

The online backpacking community (whatever that is) has been less than enthusiastic about Wild. Normally I don’t read these kinds of books – you know, the journey of self-discovery where nature solves all of a person’s problems.

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Book Review: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk

Backpacking, Book Review,

A Good Read

grandma gatewood's walkIn 1955, at the age of 67, Emma Gatewood walked the entire 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail (AT). This is a quick review of the book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery.

What makes this book a good read isn’t necessarily Mr. Montgomery’s writing ability, but that Emma Gatewood was such an incredible person. Before her through-hike of the AT, not many people had heard of the trail that runs from Georgia north to Maine, and only a handful had hiked it in its entirety. Emma would become the first woman to complete it. No one before or after her did more to popularize the trail.

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