Reviews (2)

Sierra Club Award
The Angeles Chapter Executive Committee has voted to honor you with the highest award for nature interpretation the Angeles Chapter can give, the ELNA BAKKER NATURE INTERPRETATION AWARD. You are honored for your book WILD HEART OF LOS ANGELES - THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS published in 1998 by Roberts Rinehart Publishers.
This delightful book is written as a first-person narrative of a naturalist's view of the wilderness - from spring wildloowers to rampant wildfires - at the back door of America's largest metropolitan area. You have devoted thirty years to studying and photographing the Santa Monica Mountains. You inspire the need for preservation of the Santa Monicas in this lavishly illustrated book with color and black-and-white photographs (most by the author), maps, and drawings. You show how the plants and animals, climate, geography, and humans interact in this unusual ecosystem with the hope that this remarkable natural habitat can survive further human encroachment.
Also, you are an active member of the California Native Plant Society, the National Audubon Society and the current chair of the LA Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association. You are a member of the Chapter's Natural Science Section.

Is it a story book, a picture book, or a serious study?
Even if it's difficult to catergorize, at a steep enough discount, this book can be nice addition to a wide range of libraries. While likable, this book is also somewhat disappointing. The author's talents as a local naturalist make Wild Heart of Los Angeles a good primer on the Santa Monica Mountains, and it's written with plenty of genuine enthusiasm, but the subject matter comes off as too large a scope for less than 200 pages. Perhaps a more professional overall approach to references and citations would have been helpful to readers. Overall, the author's goal to "encourage people to love the Santa Monica Mountains" seems to have been attained. ... Read more

Book Description

"Stop the car, I mean, slow down, please. Do you think there might be any work around here, Mister?" Steve Jonas is 19 years old in the summer of 1957, riding his thumb north and west. He hitches into the two-horse town of Jackson, Wyoming in a June snowstorm, and comes face to face with the Grand Teton Range, the "peaks that shine by night as by day." Jonas finds work in the National Park, building the mountain trail that is to shape the course of his coming-of-age. It is the late 1950s, a more innocent and sweeter time than the turbulent decades to come, but the realities and aspirations of a young man in summer are as always: work, adventure, romance, conflict.

Characters larger than life fill his days and nights: Dick Robbins, the backcountry expert who can do absolutely anything, including fly; Nebraska cowboy Jim Burdock, with the trick of looking fast, but actually moving slow; the haunting, enigmatic Kitty, just out of reach. And towering above the others, Billy Jiggs from Driggs, Idaho, profane master of men, and timber, and (surprisingly) music. In the background are the ghosts of two free-trapping Mountain Men from the 1830s, still on the move.

As Jonas finds (and occasionally loses) his way in this country of the heart, as the trail moves forward yard by yard, the seeds of his future life-trail take fire, root, and blossom. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Adventurous Journey Back in Time
How wonderful an experience to go back to the days of innocence and adventure. Meet a superb story teller and fine writer in Stephen Joseph who takes us through his coming of age story to meet Jim Billy, Dick, and especially those old spirits of the West. All names that shaped a deep part of who he grew to be. This book has it all--romance, adventure, nature,and of course humor--all told with remarkable descriptions. And most of all you will be surprised with the author's revealing himself to us. Don't think this is a guy's book; any woman will enjoy the women characters that play an important part in the stories. Must read for anyone who grew up in those days; and a delightful longing might await those of you who didn't. Must read! ... Read more

Book Description

The Lyons Press is proud to announce the third book in its series of nature anthologies in partnership with The Nature Conservancy - the renowned conservation organization over 900,000 members strong, whose protection efforts span the globe. In this volume we celebrate the mountains of the world with twenty-two literary works that range over three continents and two hundred years, including: John Muir on crossing the Cumberland Mountains; Henry David Thoreau on Maine's Ktaadn; Rob Schultheis on the Colorado Plateau: Isabella Byrd's bold ascent in the Rocky Mountains in the 1870s; David Rains Wallace on the Central American mountain ranges; a Denali rescue mission recounted by Jonathan Waterman; and Jon Krakauer on climbing Devil's Thumb. The mystical powers of mountains inspire writers to heights of clarity and insight. Share the experiences of William Bartram, Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver, William O. Douglas, Rick Bass, Dave Petersen, A. B. Guthrie Jr., and a host of the finest nature writers past and present. For anyone who loves the mountains, for appreciators of fine natural history as well as those who love climbing literature, The Mountain Reader will be an exhilarating experience. (6 x 9, 312 pages) ... Read more

Book Description

Ridge after mountain ridge, blanketed with forest to the horizon's edge, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a unique ecosystem and one of the largest protected areas in the Eastern United States.More than 500,000 acres of tree-covered mountains span the states of North Carolina and Tennessee, creating a natural setting so appealing it has become the nation's most frequently visited national park.Great Smoky Mountains; Natural Wonder, National Park explores the ecosystem of mountain and forest, the animals that inhabit it, and the Appalachian pioneers who came here to build a new life through essays by Steve Kemp.The essays are accompanied by 150 photographs that bring the Great Smoky Mountains vividly to life.Created by Adam Jones, this extraordinary photographic collection combines grand mountaintop landscapes and intimate details of flora and fauna that together give this book an exceptional sense of place. ... Read more

Book Description

Chris Czajkowski chose to build her life and small ecotourism businesson the shore of a high-altitude lake near the southern tip of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. It is a formidable landscape of lake-dotted alpine plateaus abutting the glacier-swathed backbone of the central Coast Range.Snowshoes and Spotted Dick describes Czajkowski's experiences as she builds her fourth cabin in the wilderness with hand tools, two chainsaws, an Alaskan Mill and some helpful friends. One of her helpers is Nick Berwain, a quiet but literary young German who corresponds with Czajkowski long after his return home.In these fascinating letters to Berwain, Czajkowski details her often solitary life: how she breaks trails by snowshoe with her two pack dogs, encounters grizzly bears, builds a custom stone oven and learns how to use it to bake bread -and spotted dick, a traditional English steamed pudding. The letters also chronicle Czajkowski's challenges and triumphs as she tries to finish her cabin. Food and building supplies must be flown in and Czajkowski must hike more than 30 kilometres to the nearest road to lead guiding trips and to attend craft fairs and book promotions to supplement her income.Lyrically written, Snowshoes and Spotted Dick provides a close look at a simpler way of life that most of us only dream about, one that cleaves to nature with beauty, resilience and independence. ... Read more

Book Description

In far northern California, one of the southernmost Cascade Range volcanoes rises above the valley floor, its glittering white flanks flashing like a signal beacon to residents and travelers. Mount Shasta, towering 14,162 feet, has drawn spiritual seekers, recreation enthusiasts, and leisure travelers since the late 1800s and serves as an anchor for residents who make their homes around it.

Mount Shasta Reflections is a keepsake for visitors, an invitation to strangers, and a memoir for people who live near the mountain. It replaces the out-of-print Mount Shasta: Where Heaven and Earth Meet.Ms. English's photographs, supplemented by those of Larry Turner and John Jackson, showcase brilliant sunny days, cool mornings, dark storms, and a variety of wildflowers that grow on the flanks of the mountain and in the surrounding valleys. There are bold close-ups, sweeping vistas, and shots that suggest the intimacy that comes with studying the mountain through a lens.

The stories of residents share the spirit of the community that surrounds this mountain and the common threads held by those who have chosen to live here. Some interviewees tell stories of how and why they came to live near the mountain, while others share stories of growing up in its environs.

Mount Shasta has been compared to Japan's Mount Fujiyama and many consider it to be one of the great sacred mountains of the world. Through photos and words, those who hold this book in their hands will get a sense for how deeply this mountain is cherished. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Wonderful Story !!!
This short account of a true story of two young men and their quest to have a first summit attached to their names is wonderful. Their undaunted courage and lasting friendship make this a great story to hand down to your children.

Not quite an epic but a good read.
For anyone who is an armchair adventurist (like me), this is a fun read. Roberts creates a smooth story and actually downplays what were really dangerous acts.

The highlight of the book for me was the picture of Bob and Brad on the back cover and in a picture inside. Here are two people who are completely immersed in life. They have just summited Lucania and they know they have 80+ miles of hard hiking in any direction with a limited amount of food. Their smiles warm us through miles of mountain air and decades of time. Ahhh, to be 20 again with the world under your feet.

Good story
This is just a story of two friends. It is not complex but it is a very fun read. It is not written as a catharsis, like into thin air was, it's basically the coolest story your grandpa ever told you.

A little-known survival story comes to life
Perhaps in the dual wakes of the Shackleton phenomenon and the tragic events on Mount Everest in 1996, books in the survival/mountaineering genre have seen renewed popularity. With the entry of "Escape From Lucania", a little-known - yet epic - story of survival immediately shows it will be one of the top books of the genre.

Author David Roberts provides a written account - taken from extensive interviews - of two men and their quest to climb one of the highest North American peaks in what was then quite literally an unknown wilderness. Mount Lucania had been attempted only once prior to this expedition, but its summit remained out of reach. These two friends, both members of the Harvard Mountaineering Club, took on the risk of attaining Lucania's summit. The climb, it turned out, was perhaps the most uneventful of the entire expedition.

Mr. Roberts somehow manages to pack a great deal of background information and detailing of the events into about 200 pages. This was remarkable, considering this could have been the type of story to fill several hundred more pages. He introduces the reader to the collection of characters: the two men who survived this trek, the two who were slated to climb with them but didn't due to problems at the base camp landing site, and the gruff bush pilot who flew the two men and their gear into the wilderness. Mr. Roberts then dives into a recount of the harrowing attempts to get the bush plane freed from the glacial morass and airborne, the decision to travel as light as possible, the successful summit push, and then the amazing 100+ mile journey out to the nearest civilization.

In the course of this story, I found that the actual climb and descent from Lucania seemed to be the least difficult of their entire trip. That in itself is stunning, since they traveled with very little in the way of cold-weather - much less climbing - gear. I was left amazed that the bush pilot was able to take off from the glacier and return to Valdez, and was equally amazed at their decision to "escape" over such a long route that wound up being a treacherous trek with limited food and included fording of swollen rivers.

In terms of the modern mountaineering book, the natural comparison would be to works such as Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air". "Escape From Lucania" doesn't match up well with Mr. Krakauer's, mostly because of the stunningly tragic circumstances surrounding that story. But "Escape From Lucania" is unique in that the people conquered uncharted territories and lived to tell about it. This book is also well-served by the fact that in subject terms - in this case, Mount Lucania - it is virtually unheard of in most popular circles. Most readers think immediately of the Himalayas and Alps when it comes to extraordinary mountaineering feats. Mr. Roberts manages to remind us that there are, and have been, similar legends made in our own backyard.

At times, Mr. Roberts seems to be trying to write for a more intellectually elite audience, which is a bit of a criticism I had with the book. But overall, the book is well-written and a fascinating read. It isn't the best of its genre, but it ranks among the best. I give it four stars out of five, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced, exciting piece of non-fiction.

A First Ascent, an Impossible Location, Two Friends...
In the current age of high tech gear, millionaire adventurers, and an every-man-for-himself attitude, it's easy to forget that there was, not so very long ago, an era when relatively modest people of the highest character took on first ascents with little more than wool sweaters on their backs. Escape From Lucania is not only a window into this era, but also a look at the men themselves, men of decency, honor, ambition, character, honesty, immense skill, intelligence, and an "aw, shucks" attitude. These are men who would abandon their own ambitions on a moment's notice to save a friend. These are men I would want to have with me when the going gets tough. And the going does get tough in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

Stimulate your gray matter and chuckle...
Larry Swan was a born naturalist, an original thinker, and an inspiring teacher. He was also a fascinating character and a raconteur of the first order. When I was an undergraduate in the 1960s, his courses at San Francisco State College were legendary. His lectures were like savory curries. He served up meaty ideas in a rich masala of entertaining and sometimes bawdy stories. "Tales of the Himalaya" is a collection of Swan's adventures and the discoveries and ideas that emanated from them. The chapters stand by themselves. There are chapters on debunking the yeti, his discovery of the Aeolian Biome, a theory of high altitude bird migration, an amusing exploration of leeches and lice, and a wonderful chapter about his beloved Sherpas. (All who took his course in Zoogeography ended up loving Sherpas.) And there is much more. Like Doc Ricketts of Cannery Row, Larry Swan was the kind of person who turned John Steinbeck on to biologists, and made his students want to climb mountains. This is a book about science, exploration and travel, imbued with an infectious personality. If you have ever looked up at a lofty range of mountains and wondered, then this is a book worth reading.

Peace Corps Volunteers find "Tales...."
I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Northwestern corner of Bangladesh. Although my job keeps me busy I still seem to have large amounts of free time for reading. As there are not many outlets for books in English where we are, my fellow PCV's and I have learned to read almost anything. In a rare and exciting care package from home, my father sent me this fantastic book. Dr.Swan's adventures are so full of excitment and humor that you wish they were your own. They can compel even the most diehard homebody to think of packing a bag and heading to the mountians. Dr.Swan writes of the Himalaya and it's people with respect and admiration that could only come from someone who knew and loved them well. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a little adventure or some very truthful information. As soon as i finished it I sent it off to a friend in the neighboring town. I have yet to see it show up back at the Peace Corps library, which means it is still floating around somewhere amongst the PCV's of Bangladesh.

A must for those who dream of adventure!
I am one of the lucky ones who actually knew Prof. Larry Swan, the author of this remarkable book, and I was privileged to have heard all of these stories recounted by the man himself in the classroom and at his home. Although I miss his voice and grand gestures, I am delighted to report that the stories in his book, from his boyhood in Darjeeling, to high altitude spiders, Yetis and the great Indian monsoon, are as engrossing on the printed page as they were to hear! Professor Swan was a remarkable biologist, a master teacher and a creative, gifted man who lived a full and amazing life. This excellent volume of his adventures and thoughts is a reminder to us that great lives can be led, and great mentors can be found. It is a must for all inquiring minds and adventurous spirits!!

A REAL GEM!
Written in a casual, funny and lively style, this book is chock full of fascinating nuggets about the critters and people that populate the Himalayas. Lawrence Swan was an excellent writer and a renowned authority on Himalayan wildlife. A must read for anyone interested in wildlife, The Himalayas, and/or the rigors of field work.

Great Book!
Hello...I'm a 13 year old girl, and I knew Dr. Swan quite well. He was a great, full of energy, brilliant person. This book is wonderful, and the life of him is very interesting, even to me. I would definately something i would recommend to anyone and everyone. I will prolly read this a million times, and I will never get sick of it, ever. ... Read more

Book Description

Exploring the great wilderness of Alaska's Brooks Range wasRobert Marshall's joy and delight during the decade between1929 and 1939. Marshall traveled this spectacular country, from the Upper Koyukuk drainage to the Arctic Divide, makingmaps, recording scientific data, and exalting in the beauty of that incredibly pristine landscape. Although his early death at thirty-eight ended an exceptional life too early, he left journals and letters to describe his favorite place on earth. These were edited by his brother George Marshall and were compiledto create this classic of environmental literature, now in its third edition after nearly fifty years in print and with a new foreword by Rick Bass. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An Unreal Remoteness
Robert Marshall explored unmapped Alaska during the years of the Great Depression and World War II, going where no man (at least of the white variety) had gone before. Despite a few scraggly settlers and pioneers in the area, most of the central region of the Brooks mountain range was unmapped at the time, making it one of the last remaining unknown areas in the US. Marshall describes his various journeys of great hardship with a cool understated style that makes the whole endeavor look like a piece of cake, despite navigating treacherous rivers (including one near-death experience in a flood), climbing countless mountains, confronting grizzly bears and other predators (he describes one bear as being big as "two elephants plus a rhinoceros"), and generally sojourning with just a few partners for weeks at a time and hundreds of miles from the nearest civilization. Unlike some modern "adventure" writers, Marshall steers clear of bombast and extreme sports boasting, and describes the amazing scenery and thrill of discovering new geography with unassuming and occasionally moving prose such as "an unpeopled universe where only the laws of nature held sway." He's not afraid to dig deeper either, occasionally giving shocking details of the hard life of the local settlers, and the feeling of natural isolation from the unhappy outside world of the time. This is a great read for anyone who loves the exploration and thrill of discovery that are increasingly rare in modern times. [~doomsdayer520~]

Honest and plain-spoken
It seems hard to believe that as recently as the 1930s large chunks of American territory were completely unexplored. These uncharted regions were in northern Alaska, and for Robert Marshall the chance to be the first to set foot in them was irresistable.

"Alaska Wilderness" is the surprisingly engaging story of Marshall's visits into the unknown reaches of the Alaska's Brooks Range.

On the face of it, this book doesn't seem to have a whole lot going for it. There are only a few moments of peril and drama, and just a sprinking of humor.Marshall's descriptions of the people he meets and travels with are fairly one-dimensional. Mostly, the book is a chronological account of Marshall's hikes and boat trips, with the author spending a lot of time describing in detail the mountains and landscape he discovers.It seems like this should be dull.

But Marshall is such a likeable guy and his enthusiasm for nature is so genuine that you can't help but enjoy going along with him on his explorations.Before long, the reader is just as eager as Marshall to find out what is over the next ridge or around the next bend. The book's good maps help the reader follow Marshall's travels.

Marshall valued exploration just for the sake of exploration and his plain-spoken opinions on the subject are refreshing.For example:

"There is something glorious is traveling beyong the ends of the earth, in cutting loose from the bonds of world-wide civilization. Such life holds a joy and an exhilaration which most explorers today cannot understand, with their radios and aeroplanes which make the remotest corners of the world just a few days or even hours away in distance. Modern mechanical ingenuity has brought many good things to the world, but in the long list of high values which it has ruined, one of the greatest is the value of isolation."

Or:

"As I see it, Peary's discovery of the North Pole, Amundsen's journey to the South Pole, Byrd's junketing in Antarctica, or the impending ascent of Mount Everest do not make the road of humanity as a whole the least bit happier. In fact, one could argue, the net result of these activities is to make mankind a little poorer because when an exploration is made there is that much less possibility left in the world for others to experience the joy of exploration in hitherto unknown regions. The justification, if one is needed, for present-day exploration, therefore is almost exclusively the selfish one of giving oneself the exhiliration of that most glorious of all pastimes, setting foot where nohuman being has ever trod before."

We are lucky that one of the first men to explore the Brooks Range was such an able writer as Robert Marshall, and that he so honestly shares the experience with us.

An essential description of the region
This is Marshall's account of exploring the area which is now Gates of the Arctic National Park. Marshall was the first to systematically explore and describe it, in the 1930s. Introductions by his brother George update theinformation to 1970. There are wonderful, hilarious anecdotes. I read thisto help plan my first trip there (summer 2000); can't imagine going withoutit. ... Read more