Fav Reads- limit to nature/Adventure

[dougb]

The Earth is Enough by Harry Middleton - not quite hiking, but it gets to the point of what people can get out of nature.

I also like reading guidebooks, even if I never will hike in the areas.

Anything by Berd Heinrich. John McPhee's "Controling Nature."

And of course, "A Walk in the Woods." Little Debbie has never looked the same since.

 

[Woody]

As BOB mentioned previously - On The Ridge Between Life and Death by David Roberts is a good read, especially if you are interested in Mountaineering. Another book that I just read is The Last Season by Eric Blehm. It is very well researched and written.

 

[Puck]

Aren't threads like this great? It is like grabbing the book review section from the sunday paper...It good to see what everryone is reading now and then. so different then the Dan Brown type lists.

 

[Toe Cozy]

Tom Wessels "Reading the Forested Landscape"

For anyone who hikes in New England, I think this is a fantastic book. It has really given me a greater appreciation of the landscape that some of the lower trails cover. I second this as a good New England read.

 

[Artex]

Long Live Bernd Heinrich!

"A Year in the Maine Woods" by Bernd Heinrich. Nature observations made from the University of Vermont zoology professor in the woods surrounding his cabin in western Maine.

"One Man's Owl" by Bernd Heinrich. Author chronicles his adventures raising a rescued great horned owl.

"Why We Run: A Natural History" by Bernd Heinrich. A look at the evolution of running in humans and how we compare to other species in nature.

"The Long Walk" By Slavomir Rawicz. Poison Ivy also recommended this book... it is a great tale!

"Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic" by Jennifer Nevin. An Inuit woman is hired to help an expedition out on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia, and ends up being the sole survivor.

"Into The Thin Air" by John Krakauer. I don't think a synopsis is needed, but it's one of my favorites.

"Into the Wild" by John Krakauer. Haunting tale of an idealistic young man who dies trying to survive in the Alaskan wilderness.

 

[Raymond]

I recently read ‘‘Wandering Home’’ by Bill McKibben. It’s earned 4-and-a-half stars on Amazon, but I found it dull, dull, dreadfully dull. It is short, just 160 pages. The Adirondack section was better than the Vermont part.

‘‘Deborah and The Mountain of My Fear,’’ by David Roberts.

How about ‘‘The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’’ and its (so far) six sequels, by Alexander McCall Smith? They’re not about hiking, but they are set in Botswana, so that counts for something, and they’re wonderful books.

 

[Neil]

"Wilderness and the American Mind" - Roderick Nash
An in depth history of the evolution of attitudes towards wilderness. Fascinating . Should be required reading for anyone who steps on (or off) a trail.

 

[sleeping bear]

"Wilderness and the American Mind" - Roderick Nash
An in depth history of the evolution of attitudes towards wilderness. Fascinating . Should be required reading for anyone who steps on (or off) a trail.

I'll second this one.

 

[chuck]

I second Artex on anything by Bernd Heinrich I really like the way he writes he is obviously very smart and scientifical but brings you along on his discoveries making you feel like you could find the same things out yourself just by spending some time a wood. After reading him I look at my surroundings differently. I think I have figured out some things about tent caterpilers I watched devouring a beech sapling I transplanted that I would not have noticed if I did not read him (he is also a ultra? long distance runner).

Was lucky enough to find a copy of Paul Doherty's "Smoke of a Thousand Campfires" through the library system very interesting about Northern NH life, game wardens, hiking and rescues. Believe its out of print.

King Phillips War the one by Eric Shultz and ???Tougias. part of the book is history and the other part maps out where everything in the book took place you can go and find these mostly forgotten sites mainly in southeastern MA funny to find 3 great great great etc.. grandfathers in the index. More Americans died in this war Per Capita than any other (per capita is the key).
I put it here in hiking as the part of book on the sites caused me to do some local hiking.

1491- by Charles Mann fascinating - if much of what he writes is true then it it will change my thinking of the "Forest Primeval" in this area as being untouched until the Europeans got here. (great title too)

Oak - The Frame work of Civilization by William Bryant - this one is also and eye opener and a bit overwhelming on how important oak is to everything..... but is seems to be part of what I think is a new Genre of books about a Thing like "Cod" or "Olives" etc... and how they changed the world etc.... etc... there are so many of them out there now. But I can't seem to resist them . I think they all need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Lastly, Waterman's "Forest and Crag" This is a important(to Northeast hiking) book I think if they did not make this a lot of the info in it would have been lost forever.

 

[coldfeet]

Great thread, I need to read more....

Being an elementary teacher a friend gave me a short 5th grade book (130 pages)...called "Hatchet"...written by Gary Paulsen....it's about a young boy app 13 who survives a plane crash and ends up in the Canadian woods....it's a survival story.....the author wrote a series about this boy wanting to return back to the woods and he does....The author has experienced so many things in the outdoor he includes them into the series, moose, bear, blackflies....

Since i'm new to the great outdoors it kept me very interested and wanting to read more, guess that's what the author hopes for...

Guess it's time for me to pick up a 6th grade level soon

ps...my daughter likes it when i read it to her, me too!

 

[cp2000]

"The Monkey Wrench Gang" and many other books/essays by Ed Abbey
.

I second that.

 

[jjo]

This is a GREAT thread....

 

[chuck]

Forgot to mention "Killing Dragons" The conquest of the Alps by Fergus Fleming its a history of mountaineering in the alps but is also the start of climbing and hiking mountains as a past time.

 

[Jay H]

Might as well post some kayaking/sailing related ones:

On Celtic Tides by Chris Duff, about a circunnavigation of Ireland by a kayak

To further the Jon Waterman list (no relationship to Guy), I've read:

Arctic Crossing: A very good book on the northwest passage by kayak

A Most Hostile Mountain: Waterman's book on an attempt at sailing the inner passage and then climbing Mt Elias in Alaska.

Where Mountains are Nameless: About the whole ANWR thing. (not kayak related)


I'm currently reading The Only Kayak by Kim Heacox

This is somewhat kayak related and about Glacier Bay, however, it seems more like Alaska conservation more than about kayaking itself. An interesting read so far, though the writing style is about average.

 

[Amicus]

A. Boukreev's "The Climb" - counterpoint to Krakauer

Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" - his account of the tragic May 1996 Everest expeditions that killed 8 - seems to be about the most cited book and that's understandable - I couldn't put it down when it came out. A year or two later, however, someone gave me a copy of "The Climb," based mainly on the notes and journals of that expedition by Anatoli Boukreev, the Russian climber who was a guide for one of the expeditions and features prominently but not very creditably in the Krakauer book.

Boukreev himself died within a few years on a different peak in the Himalayas, and the book is supplemented with remarks from other expedition members that lend some support to "his version." I'm in no position to judge. I'm not a mountaineer and suspect this topic has been much debated by them in their own forums, but after reading "The Climb" my attitude toward "Thin Air" and to Krakauer is not the same (and I see that JBrown made a similar comment on a prior thread). The book is a good read in its own right.

 

[Pat T]

Another good book

An Adirondack Passage: The Cruise of the Canoe Sairy Gamp by Christine Jerome is a beautifully written book--part history and part contemporary. Jerome and her husband retraced the canoe route of "Nessmuk", George Washington Sears, in the late 19th century. Theirs was not a death-defying adventure but it was a thoughtful one and she moves back and forth in the book between describing her trip and recreating for us a picture of what early Adirondack guides experienced. This is a great book to take on a trip to the ADKs this summer.

And I second the recommendation of Minus 148. Read this one if you plan to travel to Alaska.

Pat T

 

[poison ivy]

Might as well post some kayaking/sailing related ones

I'll just add one more sailing book to Jay's excellent suggestions: "The Stange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst" by Nicholas Tomalin & Ron Hall -- about a man who participated in the race to be the first person to sail around the world solo and disappeared off his boat. It's a really interesting read.

- Ivy

 

[Hampshire]

Coincidentally, I'm rereading "A Voyage for Madmen" by Peter Nichols, which chronicles the race. This is a great book as well.

 

[Pucknuts61]

I'm surprised it took until the second page of these posting's to find Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods", and Watermans' "Forest and Crag"

For those that are into the 96 Everest tragedy check out Beck Weathers "Left for Dead" and Brashears "High Exposure". Both good reads with yet another perspective of the tragedy vs Krakuaer and Boukreev's back and forth blame game.

Right now I'm reading "Blessing on the Winds" by Tad Wise....very dry history of prayer flags but includes a cool set of 5 in the cover!

 

[Danielle]

I agree with Michelle, I've been obsessed with AT books for the past few years too! I think I mentioned this in another thread, but "Walking on the Happy Side of Misery" by ModelT is a great read. Well written and very funny too

My most recent read was "Seven Years in Tibet." Fascinating!

I've read many of the other books mentioned in the above posts, but I've also started a list of books to find in the library! I am always looking for good mountaineering/hiking/adventure books, so thanks for the recommendations everyone!