Book Talk - Adventure

Great places of history: civilization's 100 most important sites

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 06:23:00 -0800

Great places of history: [civilization's 100 most important sites: an illustrated journey]

You're no doubt familiar with those 'who-done-it' mysteries -- call this a 'where-done-it' -- with big glossy photos of 100 classic sites around the globe. You need no passport: just sit down and become engrossed by all these amazing places around the planet.

All the obvious choices are here, from Egypt's pyramids to Easter Island, Shakespeare's Globe theatre & China's Forbidden City, Angkor Wat to Gettysburg. But there are more unusual choices too, because, think about it: these choices are not made according to the prettiest or most amazing sites, but simply civilization's MOST Important! What sites would YOU choose?

Time magazine has, thus, picked such non-obvious sites as Jefferson's Virginia, Antarctica's McMurdo Station, the Bauhaus school in Germany and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the far northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, which shelters samples of seeds from plants around the world!

And these are broken down into distinctive categories, such as: Cultures, Religion, Politics, Battles, Inquiry, Innovation and Arts.

Oh, and what is the latest and last on this global list of 100?!

Why, how about Nevada's annual gathering of crazies at Burning Man?!

Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:24:16 -0800

From the scorching desert valleys of Southern California to the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,650 mile zigzag through the mountains of the western U.S. Authorized by Congress as a national scenic trail in 1968, the trail was designated in 1993. Two years later, Cheryl Strayed started out on the 1,100 mile hike she describes in her memoir, Wild: from lost to found on the the Pacific Crest Trail.

Cheryl was only 22 when her mother died, much too quickly, of a fast-growing form of cancer. Cheryl had been very close to her mom, and the loss caused her life to unravel. Her stepfather remarried; her brother and sister grew distant; and her own marriage began to disintegrate as she began casual affairs with other men. Four years later, her downward spiral brought her to the depths of drug abuse, when she made an impulsive decision. Despite little hiking and no backpacking experience, she planned a solo hike of the PCT from Mojave, California to the Oregon-Washington border.

Strayed's memoir is a highly revealing and intimate account of her solo odyssey. Her lack of preparedness resulted in a back-breakingly heavy pack, too-small hiking boots that caused her feet to blister and bleed constantly, and near-disastrous lack of water and food. Her story is told with humor, grit, and suspense as she encounters snow, cold, hunger, fellow hikers, and creatures of the wild. She even lost her boots down a mountainside and hiked for miles with flimsy sandals duct-taped to her feet.

Cheryl does indeed get lost, but always ends up found, due to the kindness of strangers and to her own intrepid nature, forging ahead despite setbacks. Her journey is a personal odyssey to pull herself from the depths of drugs and despair to find new strength. The exhilarating experience of the wilderness, the beauty and loneliness of the trail, are able to heal her and bring her back to the true self she had lost.

The Black Stiletto; The First Diary 1958

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:00:00 -0800

The Black Stiletto: The First Diary 1958 by Raymond Benson

Martin Talbot just discovered that his mother was one of the most famous vigilantes in the 1950's and '60s--the Black Stiletto. Books, comic books, a movie, toys, games, even action figures were made about her. But no one knew who she was until Martin opened the strong box in his Uncle Thomas' law office. The sad thing now, she does not know who she was. She is seventy-two years old and has Alzheimer's and has had to be put in a care facility. Martin is not doing too well himself, he is about to be laid off, he is divorced and his only child is angry with him. Martin cannot believe his eyes as he reads her diary and holds her mementos from the past. He realizes he never knew his mother, other than she was a Chicago housewife who had an inheritance from his father, who, she said, was killed in Vietnam.

Raymond Benson starts The Black Stiletto in the present, and then goes back in time as Martin reads his Mother's first diary from 1958. (I think this is a clever set-up for the series to come). The diary explains how and why she became the Black Stiletto. Judy Cooper, Martin discovers that Talbot isn't even her last name, had a rough start in life, she runs away from home, lies about her age and begins working as a waitress and as a janitor at a karate studio.

What would you do if you discovered your mother had been a very famous masked "caped crusader?" If you are like Martin, first you don't believe any of it, then you start to believe, then you are angry that she has kept these secrets from you for all these years, (for Martin
forty-eight years to be exact). Then you accept what she did and simply love her and protect her. Now I wondered, and it wasn't really mentioned in the book-- it's just me--think of all the money from the books, movie, toys etc., which she never collected because she kept her life a secret. If you like a gritty fun fast read you will like The Black Stiletto.

Indiana Honigsbaum

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:25:09 -0800

Valverde's Gold: In Search of the Last Great Inca Treasure by Mark Honigsbaum

Ever since the conquest of the Inca empire, tales of hidden Inca gold have tempted all manner of treasure seekers to risk their lives in Ecuador's forbidding Llanganati mountains. Most people think it's just a fool's errand, even though scholarship points to the fact that there really is likely a gold hoard stashed somewhere.

Mark Honigsbaum is not a treasure hunter - in fact, he is a scholar/journalist who previously wrote a history of malaria. Or rather, he wasn't a treasure hunter until he happened upon documents long forgotten in the UK Royal Botanic Gardens archive. The guide and map he uncovered seemed to fill an important gap in existing clues about gold hidden after the murder of the Inca king Atahualpa.

Honigsbaum was hooked, and the game afoot, complete with a Swiss German gun runner, a former Ecuadorian track star, the requisite native guide who seems to know more than he lets on, and lots of miserable trekking through shrouded icy windswept bogs.

Your Last Breath? Let's Hope It's Not Like This

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:27:55 -0800

One thing I've noticed in my many years as a librarian is that people love survival stories. The enduring popularity of titles like Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer or Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing make it clear that people can't get enough stories about the doomed fates of people crazy enough to do things like climb Mt. Everest or cross Antarctica. In general terms, we understand that the ones who didn't survive perished because their bodies were pushed too far, but did you ever stop to wonder just what, exactly, what happening during those final moments before they died? Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance is a macabre but utterly fascinating book that examines the physiological and psychological things a person experiences as they push themselves to, and beyond, the absolute brink of what the human body can handle.

Author Peter Stark has a long history of adventure travel and journalistic sports writing, creating a perfect foundation for the collection of stories that illustrate what happens to the mind and body as they experience hypothermia, drowning, or heatstroke, to name just a few. The chapters read like a short stories, but woven into each is a scientific narrative explaining what is happening to the mind and body as the odds of survival grow increasingly small. The scenarios are realistic and believable, and it's far too easy to imagine yourself as one of the main characters: a cross-country skier finds himself making a series of increasingly poor choices that become even more erratic as his temperature drops; a climber survives a fall, only to succumb to internal injuries; a snowboarder does everything he can to keep from panicking after being buried in an avalanche. While not everyone survives in this book, some do - just barely. The difference between them? Sometimes it's knowledge and preparedness, but sometimes it's just plain luck.

Unbroken

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:01 -0800

Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit) is proving that she is one of the best nonfiction writers around with her newest work, Unbroken: A World War II Story Of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. This is one of those times when you say "truth is stranger than fiction." The title for this book is spot on: Louis Zamperini will not be broken.

Zamperini is a small town California troublemaker who figures out early that if he doesn't change his ways, all he has to look forward to is prison. He takes to the track and becomes an Olympic distance runner where he receives a request for a meet-and-greet from Hitler after he takes the Munich Olympics by storm. He is on his way to becoming an athletic legend, and then WWII happens.

He serves as a bombardier and begins his military career at Pearl Harbor. He survives only to experience being shot down, drifting in a life raft in shark infested waters with two others who are in critical condition, landing in enemy territory where he is captured. The rest of his military career is horrific as he is brutalized and tortured from one Japanese POW camp to another while everyone at home assumes he is dead. He returns home and faces the demons of post-traumatic stress. How one man can survive this is unbelievable, and yet he never gave up: he even took up skate boarding at 81.

The life of Louis Zamperini is one of the most inspirational stories I have ever read. I rarely cry when reading a book, but this one had me in tears. I could not put this book down. This is a story about a hero and a survivor that needed to be told.

Issac's Storm

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:01 -0800

We are all aware of the damage and destruction a hurricane can bring even with all the advanced warnings and media coverage technology allows. But can you imagine what it would be like if there was absolutely no warning?

September 8,1900: Isaac Cline woke up to a hot but glorious day in Galveston Texas where he served as an agent for the U.S. Weather Bureau. Isaac received telegrams from the bureau telling of a tropical storm that hit Cuba and would cause heavy rains in Galveston-- nothing to be alarmed about. But the day felt wrong and Isaac worried that something was brewing. He was concerned for his pregnant bed-ridden wife and his three little daughters. As he glanced from the roof of his house towards the Gulf of Mexico, he knew something bad was coming. He alerted the Weather Bureau, but they told him not to worry, it was just a storm and Galveston was safe from hurricanes anyhow. Isaac did not agree and ran down the beach alerting as many people as he could before heading home.

Hours later the town was hit by torrential rain and winds clocked at up to 145 miles/hour. It was as if Galveston was placed in a plugged bathtub in a wind tunnel with the faucets turned on full. By the end of that day, an estimated 6 to 12 thousand people were dead. It is to date the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The town was completely destroyed. Railroads and trains where washed to sea, ships landed where homes used to be, and homes became life-rafts if the occupants were lucky.

Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, And The Deadliest Hurricane In History

is a fascinating look at a very frightening and dark day.

Who The Heck Was Everett Ruess?

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:02:38 -0800

John Krakauer's Into The Wild, and especially the subsequent film, turned Chris McCandless into a folk hero of sorts. But long before he withered in the Alaskan bush, Everett Ruess blazed a mystifying and equally tragic trail through the Southwest's deserts and canyons.

David Roberts is a favorite of mine, and if you are a Krakauer fan, but haven't heard of Roberts, you are lucky to have many many adventure literature treats awaiting you. He seems to divide his interests between mountaineering (he's an accomplished climber and co-authored Ed Viestur's autobiography) and the Southwest.

Ruess began his first artist/poet/vagabond trek when he was just 16 years old, in 1930. By the time he was 20, he had traveled alone through thousands of miles of isolated, dangerous wilderness. Ruess disappeared without a trace in 1934, sparking a cult following and no end of speculation. He wrote diligently in diaries (one each year but only 2 of the 5 survived) and letters, but most of the tantalizing contradictions in his life have been left unresolved: death by suicide, foul play, accident? Was he bipolar? Gay? An insufferable puffed-up punk, freeloading on his parents' love and goodwill? Or a younger version of Thoreau and Muir?

The best conclusion may be the one etched onto a trailhead sign: "Everett lives"

Sex On The Moon

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:01:47 -0800

Why would a brilliant young scientist with an internship for NASA and bright future which includes the promise of being an astronaut throw it all away by stealing moon rocks to sell via the internet? Well partly for that crazy little thing called love (thus the catchy title-- Sex On The Moon) and mostly to prove that he could get away with anything. This true story is again stranger than fiction. It hardly seems that the $100,000.00 pay-off was worth the risk. But there was a girl, his mistress, and Thad Roberts wanted to give her the moon. So he contacts his stoner friend who sends out spam emails looking for an international buyer for Thad's stolen moon rocks using the name Orb Robinson. It doesn't take the FBI long to figure out this one. I guess Thad was blinded by his own brilliance. His greediness bought him years in prison, cost him his stellar future, his wife, the girl, and leaves you asking "Why, why, and why?"

Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down The House, gives another look into another's life. He finds the best stories and is such a good storyteller. Look for the movie which will feature Aaron Sorkin's, The Social Network, brilliant screenwriting to be coming in the future.

Vampires, Werewolves, And Parasols

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:05:36 -0800

Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Everybody agrees that vampires and werewolves have an overabundance of soul, which is why they can survive the potentially deadly transformations to supernatural creatures. But how much soul do ordinary people have, and what of those with none? Alexia Tarabotti is one such person. Told at age six that she had no soul, Alexia strove to overcome the obstacle by building her intuitive and intellectual powers, her practical manner, and her strength of personality. In polite Victorian society it just doesn't do for a spinster of Italian extract to also be a twittering ninny.

Alexia's lack of soul is a secret to most since she can negate vampire and werewolf powers, which causes consternation amongst the supernatural set and would create a pall of embarrassment difficult for her family to overcome. But it's a handy skill she uses to good advantage when attacked by a gauche young vampire while avoiding a tiresome party. The poor thing actually tried to bite her and she had no choice but to kill him with her wooden hair pin and sturdy parasol. This created tiring unpleasantness that needs must be covered up by the loud and Scottish Lord Maccon, vulgar werewolf and head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry, or BUR.

But soon more ill-mannered vampires appear, and properly registered vampires and well-behaved lone werewolves begin to disappear. The mystery deepens and Alexia's determination to get to the bottom of it soon puts her in quite a dangerous spot of bother. But she's hopeful it will work out as long as she has her trusty steel-tipped parasol, and that messy and gorgeous Lord Maccon can always be counted on to rescue her.

Join Alexia and Lord Maccon in this rollicking Victorian Steampunk adventure, full of supernatural mystery and scientific discovery in an age of adventure, genteel society, and lovely afternoon tea.

Pawn Of Prophecy

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:19:09 -0800

Pawn of Prophecy, by David Eddings
The Belgariad, Book 1

Garion is a typical young boy growing up on Faldor's prosperous farm in Sendaria. His lovely and forbidding Aunt Polgara, or Pol, runs the kitchen with an iron fist, and Garion avoids her attention by making mischief with his three best friends. Occasionally the grumpy old bard, Wolf, comes to visit and to sneak ale and food from Pol's tidy kitchen, regale the farm folk with epic tales of gods and heroes, and disappear for another year or two.

But when Garion turns 14 a crafty Murgo trader appears at the farm, looking for more than the hams he says he desires. He triggers a memory in Garion of a cloaked man who has always watched him on the farm; a man nobody else sees and of whom Garion is unable to speak, his tongue quelled by a commanding voice in his head. Soon after the Murgo leaves, Wolf reappears and tells Pol that something of great value has been stolen by their enemy, the Apostate; something they must drop everything to regain. Pol refuses to leave Garion at the farm, and she, the boy, Wolf, and the steady blacksmith, Durnik, are quickly on the road in pursuit of the Enemy and the treasure.

Thus begins an epic five book journey through the magical Kingdoms of the West. As Garion learns more about his Aunt Polgara and the mysterious Wolf he begins to question his own identity and family. Is his Aunt who she says she is, and who does that make him? Why does it seem the missing treasure is somehow connected to him, and what would the shady Murgo want with a young farm boy? Eddings has created a vibrant world of magic, adventure, and intrigue you won't want to miss.

West Of Here

Sat, 28 May 2011 10:00:00 -0800

Inthis moderntwenty-first century, it's hard to imagine that the Pacific Northwest was stilla rugged wildernessas recently as the 1880's. The Olympic peninsula was the "last frontier" of western expansion by white settlers in their advance across the American continent. In West of Here Jonathan Evison brings the characters and conquests of that era to life.

In 1889 in the fictional town of Port Bonita, based on Port Angeles, we meet a varied cast: explorer James Mather, aspiring journalist andutopian Eva Lambert, entrepreneur Ethan Thornburgh, and members of the local Klallam tribe. The Klallam, increasingly surrounded by white settlers who seek to change the landscape, find themselves losing their old ways.Thornburgh arrives in Port Bonita in pursuit of Eva, and stakes a claim on land on the Elwha River, where he dreams up a plan to dam its mighty waters and bring industry to the area.Mather puts together an expedition toconquer the Olympics and soon finds his band may instead be conquered bythe fierce wilderness. Eva seeks to stop theconstruction of the dam but finds her journalistic efforts thwarted by thecapitalist investors who back the project.

Fast forward to 2006, and we meet a new cast of characters. Jared Thornburgh, the great great grandson of the dam's creator,now is faced with aiding the effort to tear down the dam in order to restore the salmon population.Fish processingplant manager, Dave Krigstad, who spends his free time searching for Sasquatch in the Olympic forests, takes a young Klallam teen under his wing as a job intern.His efforts to help lead him to a friendship with his mom, Rita, who's in an abusive realtionship. Tillman Timmon, a recently released convict, takesa job at the plant, only to break parole and escape into the wilderness to try to survive alone.His parole officer, who hates the outdoors,sets off on a trek to find Timmon and bring him back.The lives of these characters intertwine and are uncannily shaped byforces in theirancestral past.

This is a sprawling, ambitious novel, multi-layered and complex, spanning two alternating time periods.Throughwell-written characters and realistic dialogue, Evison draws a pictureofthedamage caused by the settlers' ambitionsas they soughtto shape the natural environment to their own needs. The long-lasting impact on the native Klallam people issadly evident. Yet in the end,these various storiescome together ina satisfying and hopeful conclusion.

The Classic That Started It All

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:10:12 -0800

The Hobbit, Or There And Back Again, by J. R. R. Tolkien

This month director Peter Jackson and crew finally began filming The Hobbit in New Zealand. Those of us who love a great fantasy, and who love the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, are excited and looking forward to next year when the first of the two movies is released. But if you haven't yet experienced the joy of adventures with halflings and dwarves, read The Hobbit and immerse yourself in a grand story.

Bilbo is a respectable and unassuming hobbit living happily in the Shire. His cozy hobbit hole is filled with good books and comfortable furniture, bountiful food and hearty drink. The Bagginses are from a family well thought of in the region and only those pesky Tooks bring shame to their name by taking part in dangerous escapades, such as when Bullroarer Took knocked the head clean off goblin King Golfimbul in the Battle of the Green Fields. But that's a story for another day. Our tale begins one lovely spring morning when Gandalf the Wizard darkens Bilbo's door and makes him an offer of travel and excitement. Bilbo hastily refuses, as all wise hobbits should, but quickly finds himself drawn in to the dreams and aspirations of Thorin Oakenshield, a dwarf king set on retaking his mountain home from a truly monstrous enemy. And thus begins Bilbo's adventure of a lifetime.

Travel with Bilbo and his band of dwarves as they make their harrowing way through the goblin-infested Misty Mountains, the creepy dangers of deep, dark Mirkwood, and on beyond prosperous Lake Town, to their long lost Lonely Mountain. It's a fabulous tale of battles and treasure, of friendship and heroics, and the meaning of loyalty in the magical and beautiful world of Tolkien's Middle Earth.

Vision Without Sight

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 01:01:01 -0800

A Sense Of The World: How A Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler By Jason Roberts.

A minor consequence of the fall of Napoleon in 1815 was that Europe, particularly France, was open to tourism for the first time since the French Revolution. Among the hordes of British travelers who took advantage of this was James Holman. Like many of the others he had a pent up desire for travel and adventure. Like many others he was charming and made friends wherever he went. One thing did set him apart - he was totally blind.

As a youth, before he lost his sight, Holman longed to see the world. He managed to get a Midshipman's berth in the Royal Navy, and won promotion to lieutenant. But the cold wet of a Halifax posting destroyed his health and vision. When travel to the south of France was suggested as beneficial, he set out alone through necessity, and found that he throve on it. Over the next 27 years his journeys, by boat, carriage, horse and foot, always taken on his own, included most of Europe, and extended as far as Siberia, Africa, South America and Asia.

Roberts clearly admires the man and his exploits. He often lets Holman speak for himself, quoting from his books and diaries. But Holman kept his privacy even in his diaries, so we see the deeds, and need to extrapolate the inner thoughts of this extraordinary man. These deeds are impressive in themselves and well told in this engrossing book.

Bears: A Brief History

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 09:39:12 -0800

A fascinating and short history about bears and the relationship between bears and man by Bernd Brunner. Throughout history a love/hate relationship with bears has been recorded and continues. We fear them;i.e., The Edge; and yet have turned them into our favorite child's toy--the beloved Teddy Bear. And why is it called a Teddy Bear? Are bears endangered? Are they predators? How many people have they killed? Which is the most vicious? Are they intelligent? Do they smile? Are they familiar or loners? Can they live as man's companion? How can you protect yourself from them?

Bernd answers all these questions precisely and concisely. There are many great illustrations too. Whether you like or fear bears or are just looking for an informative and interesting read, this book will captivate you. Bears: A Brief History should be on your reading list.