Random Book Reviews

Splitfire · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:26 pm

I won't give reviews,cause they're pretty much all just books on Traveling abroad or at home, but i'll add my .02

All the Bill Bryson books-Neither Here nor There, I'm a Stranger Here Myself,Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country. I like this book cause I love to read about peoples travels into the Bush of Australia. :lol:

The book that i'm reading now,about Outback travels,which may be better than Bryson's-Sunburned Country, is One for the Road.

Other books include-

Into the Wild(obviously)
The Last Season
Touching the Void
There's this River

Gunnar · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:33 pm

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer is a must read! A collection of amazing short storys...

jbaysurfer · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:23 pm

UTAH wrote:

I appreciate the reviews too. I read Mark Twight's book as well it was an interesting perspective, not one I share. My two favorite books, everyone must read:

In Search of Captain Zero-an adventure surf novel about a guy who surfs his way down the west coast to Central America in search of an old friend who disapeared down there looking for the perfect wave. Throughout the whole novel the author reflects on his adventures as a drug runner and his crazy stories. He also reflects on the spiritual aspect of surfing which any bc snowboarder can relate perfectly too.

Stephen Koch's book (forget the title)- about when he rode his bike carrying all his climbing gear from switzerland to everest and then climbed everest. It's insane, his passion is unmatched and it's a good mix of climbing adventure and bike touring adventure. He goes through some crazy places in the world.

I just finished Cap. zero over New-Years, what an outstanding storyteller Allan Weisbecker is!

jbaysurfer · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:27 pm

utasidian wrote:

ha, Cosmic Banditos I thought I'd never run into anyone else who read that book. I'm waiting for In Search of Captain Zero form the library. Can't wait to read it.

I'd swap a copy of Capt. zero for cosmic banditos if anyones interested.

jbaysurfer · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:30 pm

old skool wrote:

I've read Cosmic Banditos and In Search of Captain Zero, but my all time favorite surf read is Daniel Duane's, Caught Inside. I've read it a dozen times and always find something new. It is an autobiography of a Fella who spends a whole year surfing an off-the-beaten-path break in the Santa Cruz area. Talks about surfing roots, culture, and thoughts relating to waiting for the next wave of life. I also dig that Alone in the Wilderness stuff. That Dick guy is amazing. There is also a companion DVD that he filmed himself on an old tripod. Check it out from PBS, or your local library. I use it as a read and lesson in my 7th and 8th grade classrooms. These kids are tough to please but they ate this stuff up.

I'm gonna check this out. In the spirit of the surfing/short-story genre I really enjoyed "Good things love water" by Chris Ahrens, and "The Big Drop" by John Lang. Both outstanding reads.

Ecobrad · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:44 pm

jbaysurfer wrote:

old skool wrote:

I've read Cosmic Banditos and In Search of Captain Zero, but my all time favorite surf read is Daniel Duane's, Caught Inside. I've read it a dozen times and always find something new. It is an autobiography of a Fella who spends a whole year surfing an off-the-beaten-path break in the Santa Cruz area. Talks about surfing roots, culture, and thoughts relating to waiting for the next wave of life. I also dig that Alone in the Wilderness stuff. That Dick guy is amazing. There is also a companion DVD that he filmed himself on an old tripod. Check it out from PBS, or your local library. I use it as a read and lesson in my 7th and 8th grade classrooms. These kids are tough to please but they ate this stuff up.

I'm gonna check this out. In the spirit of the surfing/short-story genre I really enjoyed "Good things love water" by Chris Ahrens, and "The Big Drop" by John Lang. Both outstanding reads.

I just read Cosmic Banditos and Caught Inside too. Cosmic Banditios was pretty funny. I'm now reading In Search of Captian Zero for the potential humor as well.

Caught Inside was awesome. The dude is a real writer, no ifs ands or buts about it. He's got several other books out that I'm going to find. Very good book.

Another good book that I loved was Merle's Door. I finished a week or two ago and I think I read it in just a couple days cause I couldn't put it down. If you own a dog and love to hike, ski, bike etc with him/her it's a must read. Great book.

I also read Snowstruck a bit ago. Not great but no bad either. It's by an avalanche forecaster from Alaska. Her husband's a forecaster as well. Mainly just stories from her long history. Decent read.

lewmt · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:31 am

One Mans Wilderness - thanks Eco - great book! Just finished - now what?

sneeky jesus · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:07 pm

Move to Alaska and get off the grid?

Ecobrad · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:32 pm

I finished In Search of Captain Zero the other night. Better than I expected. I recommend it. Check out Mountain Rescue Doctor too. Very cool.

mtnrider · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:41 pm

I'm going over to buy Ice Cream Man From Hell About biker lifestyle I think.

Ecobrad · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:42 pm

Ok, I know I've recommended a lot of books now but this one tops them all. You'll must read ENDURANCE, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. Absolutely amazing read and story. Oh fuck it was good.

SanFrantastico · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:20 am

I read a kooky one in the non-fiction department recently:

My lovely wife got it for me used. It was written in 1979 shortly after revolutionary design changes to the ice axe made it possible to climb vertical ice. It's kind of an interesting time capsule. You learn lots of technique for using ice axe and crampons and for climbing snowy and icy slopes. You learn lots of french words. That's mixed in with stories of climbing in the Sierra and around the world plus big pictures of Chouinard and crew climbing in their knickers and stripey Patagonia hats. It's interesting to see the genius mind at work. In the equipment chapter he talks about recent advances in synthetic fibers and how they could possibly surpass wool as an outdoor fabric. Some advice is outdated though. Still a fun read.

Shep · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:45 am

Wow, I've been looking for a copy of that book since it was on the recommended reading list for my NOLS course back in '01. Never have seen a copy first hand.

Very cool find. I need to start looking again, cause I know there have got to be some old-school climbers in Boston that bought a first edition. One great thing about Eastern MA, there are some amazing old book stores that have everything from first editions of famous authors to complete sets of popular science from 1972.

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