Travel Books

Tim Severin and his intrepid crew recreate Brendan and his fellow monks' voyage in the 6th century from Ireland to North America in a small ox-hide boat (curragh). The natural materials and traditional techniques that Brendan used are authentically utilized to make the Brendan voyage a successful historical re-creation and a thrilling sea adventure.

Tim Severin is a born storyteller. As far as a historical re-creation event, this voyage has some parallels to the Kon-Tiki expedition. The reason for making the Brendan voyage was to answer the question: Did Irish monks sail across the Atlantic centuries before the Vikings?

This book relates an amazing seafaring adventure. There is one scene where the sea is calm when a pod of orcas spot the Brendan (boat's name). The orca alpha bull comes full tilt at the boat, dorsal fin eight feet above the water line. The crew holds their breath as the bull whale swims under the boat, checking out this strange thing. After an eternal minute of silence, they watch the bull surface and swim back to the pod. High drama indeed.

Tim Severin and his crew are the very definition of intrepid. Severin's level of enthusiasm is amazing; it is never diminished by the cold, wet, and treacherous sailing conditions. His composure as the captain of this little boat is compelling and inspirational.

I would also suggest getting a copy of the hardbound edition, which unfortunately is out of print. The photos of this voyage tell every bit as much of this story as does the text.

Highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

I almost put the book down while reading the first half, but stuck with it, and was rewarded in the second half. I wasn't interested in hearing about the cultures of the places where the boat crew came ashore. Actually, I wasn't interested in reading about anything but the "voyage" proper. And, in this book, you'll get info about the history of some of the places they landed and other "side info". As a result, I found the first half of the book slow and boring.

Nonetheless, once they began the largest leg of the journey, and couldn't land anywhwere, the book picked up pace and held my interest. It turned out to be quite a voyage and a heck of a feat. In the end, I'm glad I read it. But, with that said, I'd have been disappointed had I paid full price for the book.

The Brendan Voyage is the true-life story of what has been called the greatest epic voyage in modern Irish history. Author Tim Severin and his friends built a boat using only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century A.D., when St. Brendan allegedly sailed to America. The vessel consisted of forty-nine ox hides stitched together and stretched over a wooden frame, yet it was a seaworthy creation capable of withstanding storms and a puncture from pack ice during its voyage from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland. Now in a new edition, The Brendan Voyage has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and proves that St. Brendan could have indeed reached America - though whether he actually did is a conundrum left to historians. Written with narrative skill, and illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs The Brendan an exciting true nautical tale of courage, adventure, and accomplishment.

This is a book that unfortunately can be read very quickly.
The author sets out to prove that the journal of St.Brenden is not
as always susposed,alogorical, but a very real tale.With painstaking authenticity he seeks out old timers on the west coast of Ireland who still know how to make boats from bull hide,and sets them the task of building to spec the boat of St.Brenden.The rest is as you might imagine; a voyage to America in a 6th century leather boat.Magnificient story of courage and man against the sea.

Tim Severin has organised several voyages in part to prove that ancient peoples could travel far greater distances than previously thought. In this story he builds a traditional leather boat or 'curragh' to show that monks could have sailed from Ireland to Newfoundland around the seventh century. There is an ancient book called the 'Navagatio' (one old copy is in the British Library) which St Brendan wrote about his voyages around the Atlantic Ocean. It is thought from Brendan's descriptions that he island-hopped via the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to get to America, and Severin follows this route in a dangerous and interesting adventure taking many weeks. There is much detail on how he built the boat using only traditional methods and materials which was no mean feat in itself despite their still being used in the south-west of Ireland for fishing. The book contains colour photos of the boat's construction and of the diverse and colourful crew who sailed her. The book reminded me of the 'Kon-Tiki' book by Thor Hayerdahl. Also, the pictures are brilliant - and Tim's descriptions of the ports of call such as Iceland and the Faroes are very vivid and realistic. It's a well-written, interesting book and well worth a read.

Constellations covered in volume 1:
Andromeda
Antlia
Apus
Aquarius
Aquila
Ara
Aries
Auriga
Bootes
Caelum
Camelopardalis
Cancer
Canes Venatici
Canis Major
Canis Minor
Capricornus
Carina
Cassiopeia
Centaurus
Cepheus
Cetus

... AND probably one of the best intros to astronomy in any book I've seen. The other two volumes are also organized alphabetically.

Yes, the coordinates are badly outdated. But anybody can get updated coordinates for any of the many thousands of astronomical objects described in this encyclopedia of observing. What's totally irreplaceable are the descriptions and star lore associated with all the objects.

What Burnham has compiled here is nothing short of miraculous. I know of no serious amateur astronomers who doesn't hold these three volumes dear to their heart. If you are a serious amateur and you don't own them, you are missing out. If you are a beginner, the introduction to Volume 1 is alone worth the purchase.

No, they are not pretty, and the typesetting is straight out of the Jurassic, but once one realizes just how much information is here, one realizes that there are no substitutes.

One word review: "Essential"

There isn't too much this book has left out when it comes to information about stars, galaxies, clusters, nebula etc... These 3 volumes are more like an enclyclopedia set. Any star or other celestial object you want to know more about will probably be here. In fact it would take you more than a lifetime to study and find all of the different wonders of the galaxy and universe that are listed in these volumes. I never realized just how many galaxies had been documented along with variables, eclipsing binaries, star clusters, double stars etc... If you see a star in the heavens that has a certain luster or location or interests you in some way just look it up in this guide and you will find out all kinds of things about it that other books don't delve into.

Robert Burnham, Jr., spent twenty years at Lowell Observatory participating in a proper motion survey. During his tenure, he wrote this mammoth 3-volume work covering nearly every object visible in 2- to 12-inch telescopes. Each chapter, covering one constellation (both northern and southern hemispheres), begins with a detailed list of all stellar objects (double stars, variable stars, and deep sky objects). Then, he delves, sometimes rather deeply, into the more significant objects of that constellation, bringing together history, philosophy, and science to describe each one. His chapter on Sagittarius, for example, includes a 25-page section on the dense portion of the Milky Way blending current 1970s science with wonderful passages from Greek and Eastern philosophies, Native American legends, and the history of science. His prose for each chapter reflects the content he covers: lyrical prose when describing the "personal" aspects of observing objects, and readable, accessible language to delineate the science behind what we know about objects in the heavens. Moreover, each chapter has photographs of many of the stars and nebulae with telescopes and cameras ranging from a 5-inch astrograph to the 200-inch Hale telescope of Palomar Observatory.

Yes, the book is thirty years old and a little out-of-date. And, the typewritten font looks homely. But that's part of its charm. Burnham initially self-published this very personal book from his kitchen table. Literally. (Astronomy magazine published a very interesting "self-interview" by Burnham in March, 1982 which provides some background on his struggles to get it published.) From a small-press run of looseleaf copies in binders, it became somewhat of a cult classic among amateurs because nothing as detailed like this had been published before. (True, T.W. Webb's "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes" was available, but it was last published in 1917.)

I know of no other book that combines personal, reflective commentary on "mundane" objects like the Big Dipper (officially, the Ursa Major Moving Cluster), and clear, concise descriptions of variable stars, Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, and finder charts for objects like 3C273, the brightest quasar visible to amateur-sized scopes. (Trust me: spend the 30-minutes or so tracking this last one down at a star party and you'll have a line of folks waiting to look at a faint star-like object, the light of which left 3C273 long before the earth was even formed.)

One side note: if you're interested in the rather tragic life of Burnham, search for "Sky Writer", an article by Tony Ortega, published in the Phoenix, AZ "New Times" newspaper for September 25-October 1, 1997. All readers of Celestial Handbook owe Ortega a nod for the herculean task of piecing together Burnham's life.

Robert Burnham (NOT the former Editor of Sky and Telescope, BTW) from the 50's to the late 60's spent many years working for an observatory on the tedious project of "blink comparing" countless photographic plates. In his spare time, he made and recorded observations of thousands of the most interesting objects in the deep sky. In addition he compiled a library of observations from other great observers, as well as star lore, scientific data, and personal refleciton. The result is a hodge-podge, somewhat out of date, collection that nonethless facinates.

Thousands of objects are cataloged by constellation, and hundreds are described in detail. When arriving at an object that seems to be the most familliar of its class (M13 for globular clusters, Sirius B for white dwarfs etc,.) Burham provides an essay on that class of objects (state of the art for its time, usually the 1970s)- often including very useful cross-references to other objects in that class.

Most useful to the observer are the countless orbital charts of double stars.

These books are an addictive way to pass the time. Most of the essays on featured objects are a few pages long, and can be read in the short "in between" moments that life is filled with. For two years I had one or more volumes of this series of three books in my bathroom, so as to pass the time a bit more productively learning about the sky. Needless to say, some of my bathroom trips grew a bit lengthy as I found myself plowing through Burnham's collection of personal observations, scientific data, and historical tales.

i read a few of the other reviews for this book and i was really suprised that so many other people have such a similar memory of it. i too read it a while back, but somehow the story has had a haunting effect on my memory. i used to read a lot of "horsey" books but this one is somehow different. i find my mind still wandering back to it more than ten years later. i would definitely recomend it, either to a young reader or an anyone who i just looking for a good book.

I have had the book since I was a kid and I will keep it in my collection. It's wonderfully written and has a great ending. It really takes a reader through a full range of feelings, happy, dreamy, sad and at times it's a little spooky. I've read it over and over, along with Doty's Summer Pony and Winter Pony (both great reads also) The first time I read this book I couldn't put it down. It will always be a favorite!

I read this book because it had horses in it (back then, I read ANYTHING with horses), but I ended up being blown away with just how good it was. This is a beautiful, haunting book that I still remember clearly more than 15 years later. I hated sad endings then, but this book was wonderful and satisfying. Buy it for any little girl who likes horses.

***The following is from the Scholastic 1980 version of the book; I DID NOT write it****

"Come on, Candy," says Gail, leading her horse, Candlelight. "Let's go exploring."

Gail's parents have just rented a carriage house, about all that's left of an old country estate. The big house was torn down long ago, and woods have sprung up where the lawns and gardens grew. Beyond the woods, fields stretch for miles - perfect for riding.

But when Gail steps through the iron gate near the edge of the woods, she has a shock. Instead of fields, she looks across a wide lawn to an enormous house! And running toward her is a girl wearing a dress from a hundred years ago!

Somehow, Gail has gone back in time. Can she return to the present? Or will she and Candy be caught in the past forever?

*****
My review:
Jean Slaughter Doty, talented author of books like "Summer Pony," "Winter Pony," "The Monday Horses," and "Dark Horse" is an incredibly good crafter of horse books. She continues her legacy of moving and detailed horse stories with "Can I Get There by Candlelight?" a tale of friednship that is ultimately doomed to fail. Overall an extremely good read that will stay with you for weeks after you read it.

I read this book when I was about 11 years old. I'm 33 now and still remember it. It's one of the few books from my youth that I'll pick up and re-read every now and again. This book is the first one that introduced me to fantasy. But it's also mystery, supernatural, and historical as well as a great horse story. When I think of the top ten books that influenced me to become a writer, this is one of them that always comes to mind. I really think they should do a reprint. If you can find it, I highly recommend it for horse crazy girls aged 8-14, but it's still a nice story regardless of age.

This story is about two high school boys who decided to take a canoe trip during the summer of 1930. Not only is it an adventurous tale but it is a lesson about survival and the determination to accomplish a goal. It is well written and very descriptive making the journey very realistic. This is a must read especially for teenagers who love the sport of canoeing.

These young fellas took the plunge on a grand voyage way, way before the existence of a GPS device could guide them. There was no heated SUV to retreat to at day's end, nor a support team to hand the paddlers hot coffee and sandwiches at pre-planned meeting points along the way. Instead, their experience was a spontaneous, grab-the-paddles-and-go surge into the wilderness, powered by naivete and the invincibility of youth. Follow the true account as the travelers, continuing by the seat of their pants and helped only by capable Cree Indians at one point, journey up the Minnesota River all the way to Hudson Bay, enduring the elements and close calls the whole time. Canoeing With The Cree is an unforgettable adventure which I highly recommend.

First of all, the title of the audio book "Canoeing With The Cree" is misleading. This work is not about Cree Indian canoeing style. Nor is it about a trip taken with Cree Indians. It is about two boys, Eric Sevareid (later a famous journalist and TV reporter) and Walter Port aged 17 and 19 respectively, who take the trip of a lifetime canoeing some 2200 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay over the course of one summer. Although they do occasionally paddle with or get assistance from both Indians and whites alike, they are pretty much on their own in the world of 1930- No GPS, no satellite phones and a route with long undeveloped stretches between towns and eventually trading posts. The route was incompletely mapped, and nobody could find record of this route having been used before. A better title might be "A Summer Canoe Adventure; Triumph Over Adversity" or just "From Minneapolis to Hudson Bay By Canoe".

Eric and Walter managed to obtain sponsorship from a local newspaper before they asked their parents for permission to take the trip. The parents reluctantly agreed... The boys quickly obtained a used canoe and christened it "Sans Souci". They packed a non-useful pup tent, mosquito netting, a .22 rifle, fishing gear, food, $5 and some traveler's checks and they were off!

From the beginning, they were doubted by nay-sayers who didn't believe they could do it. Even well into the trip, their final destination raised eyebrows. Indeed, it was a daunting task, and many miles had to be covered before the early winter freeze-up in the north country. In addition to pressure to beat the weather, Walter found out he was offered a college scholarship that would only be valid if he showed up at school in late September. The boys risked their futures and their lives by undertaking this trip.
Along the way they encounter blistering heat, and freezing cold, illness, injuries, doldrums and windy weather, flat water, rapids, and wind-blown whitecaps. At one point, they cheat a little and ride aboard a ship when they were wind-bound on Lake Winnipeg, but the majority of the trip was just the two boys paddling through wilderness, even many miles going upstream! There were many miles of portaging their boat and gear between waterways, only occasionally aided by a friendly passerby. Most meals they cooked themselves- Even a dinner of (ugh) carp! You can almost feel their struggle as the cover mile after mile, hour after hour racing towards the saltwater of Hudson Bay.

Their struggles were not always against the elements. Sometimes they got bad directions, including instructions to run the rapids on the right side of the river, when the safer course was belatedly found to be the left side. They made it through, but it was pointed out that the local Indians sometimes didn't... Another struggle they faced was a result of stress due to the elements arduous journey, when they briefly came to blows. Fortunately, they got past their fight and continued on their journey and remained lifelong friends.

This audio-book is highly recommended, and is worthy of repeated listenings.

The late CBS News Correspondent Eric Sevareid's highly regarded adventure chronicle Canoeing With The Cree has been given new life in an enjoyable audiobook production released by Holton House Audio. The story, as written by the late Mr. Sevareid, is one of an epic journey through the Canadian wilderness during the summer and fall of 1930. Sevareid and his friend Walter Port, both just teenagers, set out from Minneapolis, Minnesota, in an attempt to do what no one else had ever done before: canoe over 2,200 miles north to the Atlantic Ocean.

Holton House Audio chose Mr. John Farrell to record Sevareid's epic tale, and it has chosen well. Mr. Farrell's pleasant baritone displays a wide range of emotion that consistently matches both the intensity and innocence of Mr. Sevareid's story, and Farrell's reading style adds what almost seems like visual and sensory components to the recording. At times, as I listened, I could see and sense the stillness of the Canadian wilderness that Mr. Sevareid experienced, while at other times, the tone in Farrell's voice led me to imagine the deafening roar of crashing rapids. I could sense the perils that Sevareid and his friend faced on many occasions. Also, Mr. Farrell's ability to give characters in the story their own unique voices added yet another enjoyable aspect to this quality recording.

I found it refreshing that Canoeing With The Cree was exciting, and yet profanity-free. The recording would be a great addition to any public library's audio collection, and it would also be appropriate for use in High School English classrooms. I intend to start using it in my own Alternative Education High School class this fall, and will make this wholesome and engaging story a regular part of my curriculum for many years to come.

Eric Sevareid's Canoeing With The Cree is a great story, and it's been well told by Mr. John Farrell. I highly recommend this new Holton House Audio recording.

Canoeing with the Cree by Eric Sevareid is one of the more unique works I have had the pleasure of reading over the past several years. In 1930, Sevareid (Yes, the famous news man), and his good friend and school mate, Walter C. Port, set out on an adventure that few of us could ever dream. They traveled by canoe from Minneapolis all the way to Hudson Bay! This journey covered 2,250 miles and went through some of the harshest wilderness in North America. There are several facts that make this adventure even more unique (as if the simple trip was not enough). First, Sevareid was only 17 years old at the time and his friend, Walter was only 19. Both boys were what would be classified a "city boys," in that they had never experienced the out of doors, nor had they any experience in canoeing. Secondly, they had a very limited budget, even for that time. Third; they did not have maps, GPSs, high tech camping gear or supplies. Forth, the area they traveled, in particular the last half of the journey, was almost completely isolated and still in the frontier stage of development.

This book is the telling of the trip these two young men undertook. We get a first hand account of the hardships, toil, hazards, and landscape they encountered. Each page is a further marvel. When you consider the primitive state of their equipment, there lack of maps and direction, lack of our modern prepackaged camping food and even their clothing, it is an absolute miracle they survived this trip.

This of course is Sevareid's first book. The reader must remember that he was seventeen years old when he wrote this book. Sevareid used a combination of his journal he kept and the articles he wrote for a local paper to use is creating this work. If I can remember correctly, when I was seventeen, I had difficulty trying to figure out which shoe went on which foot, much less write a book. That the author was able to plan and complete this journey is quite remarkable; that he was able to write a very readable account of the journey is just as remarkable, as far as I am concerned.

The reader must also remember that this work is far more than a good story though. It is actually one of the few published works, descriptions and accounts of the land which was explored (and indeed, exploited) by the Hudson Bay Company. That entire wilderness in now gone or at the very least altered beyond recognition in this day and age. The author's description of the Cree Indians, Mounties, Hudson Bay Company employees and folks met on the way constitute a very remarkable source document.

I must say I enjoyed every page of this book. As a matter of fact, once I started, I could not put it down and read it from cover to cover in one setting. Yes, it was that good! Fortunately this book is back in print after a number of years being out. The old copy I have here was a 1968 edition, but I see now that there is a newer addition available. This is a good thing as this is one of those reads you really should treat yourself to.

Highly recommend this one. I doubt if you will be sorry you gave it a read

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

This is a beautiful book, with beautiful images. It is entirely worth it, to get a glimpse of the people of Africa. Excellent.

I found this one of the most beautiful representations of the continent that I have seen to date. Instead of animals and Egyptian ruins the photographers have taken a diverse array of photographs that potray the people. In addition, the representation of even the least renowned countries in Africa is accurate.

I am also partial to this book, because the proceeds go towards AIDS prevention in Africa.

Ahhh. This book, obviously, is many things to many people; not unlike its bountiful subject matter--- the original mother, Africa.

It is also many things to me, each equally beautiful. Most important, it is a powerfully evocative visual link to the 3 years of memories I carry of my life in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. The photographers saw and captured a lot of what I deeply love about the peoples, the land and the life of Africa. The simple and complex beauty; the extraordinary and the mundane; the joy and the frustrations, the good and the bad. It's just life as it is lived everywhere else on the planet, and how good it is to see it presented from a part of the world that is not often shown much appreciation.

While I appreciate another reviewer's criticism of the book's failure to show more modern infrastructure of urban areas, I disagree that the omission is a disservice. True, there is a great deal of development in Africa, but what is shown in this book is still a good and true representation of the vast majority of people and their lives. Far from being stereotyped shots of suffering and drudgery, I find the photos varied and well beyond cliché as they take us into the rhythm of the lives of everyday people. It is a beautiful book. Place it on your coffee table , but keep it in your heart.

This is an absolutely heartstopping collection of photographs from everyday African scenes. I have to disagree with the reviewer who said that it only presented stereotypical portraits of African life. I agree that the collection would have been enriched with more portraits of urban life, but I don't think that this was a typical "National Geographic" variety volume.

It did have diversity, and it did show that many Africans live in modern homes. However, the sensitivity of the portraits was so deep, and their beauty so stunning, it certainly transcended "look at the natives starving/doing something weird/suffering from disease" type photography. Rather, it showed many of the marvels of Africa-from the artwork thriving in so many areas, to areas where ingenuity and industry thrive against all odds, from the thriving markets of Lagos, to the beauty of the desert. This book is so gorgeous that it is rather a testimony of love for Africa and its people-not in some patronizing way, but a true celebration of its spirit. It shows tragedy, but it shows beauty and people loving life and affirming it as well. Isn't that a balanced and fair picture?

Africa is a beautiful continent with immense potential, and it never looked better. The 100 or so photographers who took the pictures did an outstanding job. The pictures are the highest quality I have ever seen ...digital technology, I suppose. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this books value is in millions.
The first few pages feature full page pictures breathtaking scenery. One shows a lone teacher under the shade of a tree, a dog sits at some distance. Another show the Victoria falls in its full splendor and the there that magnificent mountain peak. Well by this time if your aren't seated, I suggest you do so for and stop operating heavy machinery. Across from cape to Cairo and across the Sahara these talented photographer have captured the wonderful essence of Africa.
Having in mind the much maligned western Medias portrayal of Africa and it on the tragic. In my opinion this book treats the subjects, e.g. Pictures of HIV sufferers, with adequate sensitivity.
Lastly I would like to salute the producers and sponsors of the project. It's a noble gesture.

I usually pass on my romance novels... not this one. It's dog eared, well read many times over, and the spine cracked beyond recognition. I pop on here every few months hoping to find that she has started writing again. This book is just so good!!

When I know I am getting to the part about the rabbits, I make sure there are tissues close at hand... because I laugh so hard, I cry.

I do hope she starts to write again. What a wonderful story. I hated for it to end.

This book was excellent. It kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter" all night long!

Wonderful time-travel. Ivy is sent back in time by reading a book sold to her by an old lady. She arrives in England at the time of the Commonwealth, witch-hunting & Cromwell from her home & business Enchanted Time in Seattle.

My one hope is that Amy will write a sequel to it for Daisy & Suzanna. I'd love to see them in the 21st. century with their grandmother & Winston. And what about poor Josiah Feake (the witchfinder general) lost in the future. I loved the ending with Josiah ending up in a mental institution & the picture was perfect. Please Amy write us a sequel.

I read this one several months ago, and I dearly regret not reviewing it right after I read it. But, I can tell you, it
stuck with me, because of the plot, the charaters, the detail.
It was just awesome. It felt like it went up & beyond what is
required of a time travel, or even of just a great read! That's
how taken with it I was.

On the 1-10 scale, I would be a good solid 12.
On the star scale, 7 stars. This book was that outstanding.

If you're moving to a desert island or running from a burning house, be sure to grab this one on the way out. It's just totally awesome. It's too bad Amy Elizabeth doesn't appear to
be writing anymore. I haven't read much of her work (yet), but
what I have read is outstanding.

In Seattle, Ivy Raymond owns and operates an antique store, ENCHANTED TIME. She normally sees sellers by appointment or in bulk lots, but to rid herself of the pesky elderly woman, she agrees to look at the package. Inside is a book from the sixteenth century that obviously is worth a lot, but the woman insists on $100 or she will sell it to the nearby bookstore owner. A stunned Ivy feels some sort of weird inexplicable connection to the names inside the tome and buys the book.

Ivy reads some of the incantations only to find the spells work though she remains skeptical. However, the last spell she cites sends her back to the drafty abode of a seventeenth century gentleman, Julian Ramsden. As they fall in love, he wonders if she is a spy working for his enemy trying to stop Julian from regaining all he lost. Then there is the Witch Hunter General who will hang female family members of Julian including his beloved Ivy if he is not stopped in time.

This is a reprint of an enchanting mid 90s time travel romance that is one of the sub-genre's best. The story line is exciting due to a tremendous cast who will make moving back and forth in the time stream seem possible. Ivy is a wonderful heroine and her beloved is a delightful hunk struggling between love and desire vs. trust. The secondary characters provide depth to the mid-seventh century especially the Witch Hunter General. Readers will have an ENCHANTED TIME perusing Amy Elizabeth Saunders' appealing tale.

Harriet Klausner

Endurance: an Epic of Polar Adventure
By F.A. Worsley
W.W. Norton & Company, 1931
ISBN: 0-393-04684-2

They say that truth is stranger than fiction. Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure is a sterling example. This riveting first-person narrative of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 - 1916 recounts an extraordinary survival story replete with close calls, near misses, imminent disaster, and harrowing escapes. It's a true story "of invincible endurance and irrepressible humor through hardship and danger" in the face of overwhelming odds.

Sir Ernest Shackleton set off to cross Antarctica, a journey of more than 2,000 miles. Although his ship Endurance was wrecked before he set foot on the "most desolate, storm-swept place on earth," Shackleton and his men pulled off the greatest escape in the history of polar expedition. I've read and seen several accounts of this "bottom-of-the world" adventure, but none so detailed or compelling as the account of author Frank Arthur Worsley, commander of the doomed HMS Endurance.

Shackleton and his crew leave South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, in December 1914. While the ship makes good progress initially and pushes her way through thick pack ice off Antarctica, the wind shifts and closes the narrow channels or "leads", packing ice floes around the ship until she's stuck like a fly in honey. During the long winter the pack ice carries the Endurance almost 600 miles north.

In July 1915 Shackleton conferences with Worsley and Frank Wild, Shackleton's second in command. "The Boss" prophesies of the Endurance: "She's pretty near her end." He's right. A "splendid little ship," the plucky Endurance eventually succumbs to the enormous pressure of thousands of tons of ice and hoves onto her side. The crew salvages what supplies and stores they can just before she goes under, along with three life boats. The ship finally shatters and sinks, leaving twenty-eight members of the Expedition shelterless in the one of the harshest, most inhospitable regions imaginable.

At Shackleton's direction, the crew initially camps on drifting ice floes dubbed "Ocean Camp" and "Patience Camp" and allows the current to carry them north to safety. During this time Worsley recounts encounters with sea leopards, Emperor penguins, and deprivation - "we had been living for some weeks principally on seals and penguins" and when these migrated away, the men were reduced to "fourteen ounces of food a day" - which resulted not only in physical weakness but also a significantly reduced ability to fight the intense cold. Worsley recalls the "sad day" when all of the dogs, save one team, "had to be destroyed, to save food." Despite the omnipresent threat of exposure, frostbite, thirst, starvation and other adversities, Worsley dubs "the dreaded monotony" as the expedition's worst enemy. They are saved from starvation by a flock of migrating Adelie penguins.

After five months of drifting and countless dangers on the floes, the crew sights the Antarctic Continent in March 1916. Shackleton has brought them safely through two thousand miles of pack ice (p. 65). Deciding upon a safer but longer route to the nearest island to avoid more deadly pack ice, Shackleton orders the men to prepare to sail for the forbidding Elephant Island.

Worsley narrates the crew's reaction to Shackleton's decision, "... for most of us, I think our former lives had receded to that dim and shadowy vagueness usually associated with drams... I was unable to picture an existence in which a desert of ice and snow, battles with sea leopards, the dread killer whales, and a regard for penguins as almost personal friends did not play a part."
The floe cracks and the crew hurriedly launches the boats and embarks upon a hair-raising journey across the Southern Ocean to Elephant Island. On the stormy crossing the crews of the three boats - the Stancomb Wills, Dudley Docker and the James Caird - fight to stay together against blizzards, contrary currents, starvation, exhaustion and a voracious ocean that constantly threatens to swamp the small boats. Only the thinnest sliver of hope and a huge chunk of confidence in Sir Ernest keep his men going. Worsley describes the journey through "white hills of ice-clad sea, capricious currents, constant, unrelenting cold," sleep deprivation, exhaustion and exposure in an orderly, almost calm narrative without a trace of self-pity, panic, or despair. The men had such faith in their leader that the thought of failure never took hold. (See pages 83, 84, 86 and 88.)

Separated from the two other boats, Worsley and his men endure a hellacious night in the Dudley Docker before finally sighting the forbidding the coast of Elephant Island. Worsley and his crew eventually land on "a low, rocky beach" and are overjoyed to find the two other boats at the same location, which Worsley describes as "a gigantic mass of rock, carrying on its back a vast sheet of ice."

The full weight of responsibility for the safety and well-being of his men falls solely and wholly on Shackleton, whose self-sacrificing devotion to his men was legendary: "He was not only the leader of a great expedition but a true brother and shipmate to each one of us, thinking of us always before himself." In the wild, inhospitable, inaccessible environment of Elephant Island, this responsibility would have crushed a lesser man than the indomitable Shackleton:

- "It was due solely to Shackleton's care of the men in preparing ... hot meals and drinks every four hours day and night, and his general watchfulness in everything concerning the men's comfort, that no one died during the journey (to South Georgia)."

- "Shackleton's popularity among those he led was due to the fact that he was not the sort of man who could do only big and spectacular things. When occasion demanded he would attend personally to the smallest details, and he had unending patience and persistence which he would apply to all matters concerning the well-being of his men."

- "Shackleton had always insisted that the ultimate responsibility for anything that befell us was his and his only. ... My view was that we were all grown men, going of our own free wills on this expedition, and that it was up to us to bear whatever was coming to us. Not so Shackleton. His view was that we had trusted him, that we had placed ourselves in his hands, and that should anything happen to any one of us, he was morally responsible. His attitude was almost patriarchal. True, this may have accounted in some measure for the men's unquestioning devotion to him, and it always seemed to me that they bore toward him the love of sons for a singularly noble father..."


In the chapter entitled On Elephant Island, Worsley describes Shackleton's extraordinary leadership abilities. The Boss quickly discerns that a severe food shortage is imminent on Elephant Island. The consummate commander, Sir Ernest acts swiftly and decisively. He readies a twenty-two foot boot for the "forlorn hope" of sailing across "the most treacherous seas in the world" in the dead of an Antarctic winter to South Georgia Island, some eight hundred miles away. The odds of success are staggeringly slim, but Shackleton and five others remain undaunted and resolute. Reaching South Georgia Island and launching a rescue effort is the expedition's sole hope of survival.

Leaving Frank Wild in charge on Elephant Island, Worsley and Shackleton and five others set out. Worsley describes the scene the night before the leave: "It is a dreadful thing to face your shipmates, men who have been through thick and thin with you, and to realize that in all probability it is for the last time; nor does it add to your serenity of mind to know that if you fail to come back they will starve to death."

Worsley concludes On Elephant Island with thoughts of the men left behind: "...I felt that whatever hardships we might be called upon to face, we were the fortunate ones. Inactivity and uncertainty would come harder to men of the type of my shipmates than the unknown adventure that was before us." He adds pointedly, "We had in fact started on the greatest adventure of our career."

In chapter VI, The Boat Journey Begins, Worsley chronicles some of the challenges facing the determined little crew of the James Caird in their desperate attempt to sail north:

- Finding a way of breaking through the encircling line of pack-ice to north of Elephant Island so they can make for the open water
-Constant risk of being smashed by sea ice
-Being constantly wet for the duration of the journey
- Frozen reindeer skin sleeping bags
- Contaminated fresh water
- Being battered by blizzards and ferocious storms

Deciding upon the best point to make for, Shackleton emphasizes getting north as quickly as possible, "even though the route might be lengthened, so as to avoid all danger of ice and to relieve us from the almost overwhelming cold":

"What do you think of Cape Horn?" he asked, adding, "it's the nearest."
"Yes," I replied, "but we can never reach it. The westerly gales would blow us away. With luck, though, we might fetch the Falkland Islands."
"I am afraid that, although it is the longest run," he remarked, "we shall have to make for South Georgia, as you originally suggested. The gales will drive us leeward." And do they do, but not without incident on what Worsley understates as an"eventful and truly dreadful journey."
They finally land on South Georgia, but on the opposite side of the Norwegian whaling station and help. The boats isn't safe to put to sea again, nor are some members of the crew, who are too weak to continue. So Shackleton, Worsley and Tom Crean "rope up" and set out to cross the uncharted "impassable" interior of South Georgia Island. Worsley later records:

Without sleep, halting only for meals, we had crossed South Georgia in thirty six hours. Incidentally, he continues, "I learnt afterwards that we had crossed the island during the only interval of fine weather that occurred that winter. There was no doubt that Providence had been with us. There was indeed one curious thing about our crossing South Georgia... which I have never been able to explain. Whenever I reviewed the incidents of that march I had the sub-conscious feeling that there were four of us, instead of three. Moreover, this impression was shared by both Shackleton and Crean.

The exhausted trio stumbles into the whaling station on South Georgia on May 20. Three days later Shackleton and Worsley leave the island aboard a whaler bound for Elephant Island, determined to rescue their marooned shipmates. Weather forces them to turn back within sixty miles of Elephant Island. Heroic efforts to secure another vessel and safe passage finally pay off - on their fourth attempt. The strain of Shackleton and concern for his men is recorded by Worsley, who writes: "Lines scored themselves on his face more deeply day by day; his thick, dark, wavy hair was becoming silver. He had not a grey hair when we had started out to rescue our men the first time. Now, on the third return journey, he was grey-headed."

It is August 30, 1916. "One hundred and twenty-eight days since we had left them" writes Worsley, "days covering the worse of the Antarctic winter." One of the most poignant passages in this narrative appears on page 179 as Shackleton, on his fourth attempt at rescue, peers "with almost painful intensity through his binoculars" at the near coast of Elephant Island. He's counting: "There are only two, Skipper!" Then, `No, four!' A short pause followed and he exclaimed, `I see six-eight-` and at last, in a voice ringing with joy he cried, `They are all there! Every one of them! They are all saved!""

A boat is lowered and Shackleton leaps into it. "And as he drew close into the shore I hear him shout: `Are you all well?' Back came their answering yell, `All well!' followed by his wholehearted `Thank God!'

It is an historical fact that not a single man was ever lost in any expedition headed by Ernest Shackleton.

The narrative drops off precipitously following the Elephant Island rescue, but picks up steam on page 251, Southwards Again, when Worsley rejoins his old friend for another assault on the Antarctic. The year is 1922. Sadly, the return expedition isn't meant to be. The author's "best friend" dies of a massive heart attack in his cabin on South Georgia Island on January 5, days before his return to most desolate, storm-swept place on earth" that proved his mettle and made him a hero. Shackleton is buried on South Georgia Island.

Worsley's final chapter, The Death of A Hero, sensitively records the final scene with affection and admiration that shine through in every paragraph. "He had a way of compelling loyalty" writes one who sailed with him. "We would have gone anywhere without question just on his order." Asks Worsley rhetorically, "What more glowing tribute could any man wish for?"

Indeed, Endurance isn't just "a tale of unrelenting high adventure," but a tribute "to one of the most inspiring and courageous leaders of men in the history of exploration." This book is a compelling look into the heart and soul of a man whose extraordinary sagacity, capability, kindliness, courage and "wonderful capacity for self-sacrifice" set a standard for Leadership that still makes the world sit back and wonder. A great read.

I took a copy of this during an overseas military deployment, and in being reminded of the incredible conditions of the Endurance expedition, I found it hard to complain about some of the comparatively minor discomforts of being in the Army. This account by Worsley, the skipper of the Endurance and a lifelong friend of Shackleton, is a useful complement to other writings on the subject. The details of the Antarctic conditions, and particularly the section on the famous open-boat crossing to South Georgia Island, are described in way that no one but a participant could tell the tale. Worsley includes material about his WWI era experiences that doesn't appear in other works about the Endurance expedition. This is a recommended book for not just the Antarctic subject matter, but for its treatment of bravery, resourcefulness, survival, adventure, and leadership. This is a book that I will keep and re-read.

Endurance: An Epic of Polar AdventureI wanted to know something new, beyond the shackleton's book - south, but sometimes I think Worlsley had a great imagination.

Amongst all the books on Shackleton's voyage, this one provides the best insight into Shackleton as a man and as a leader. Due to his sense of humility and perhaps focus on the task at hand, Shackleton's own account of the voyage tends to dwell on the daily details of the group's struggles. Worsley's account on the other hand provides great insight into group dynamics and Shackleton's skill at maintaining unity under trying conditions. Shackleton's story needed someone other than Shackleton himself to tell it, Worsley being the expeditions captain and Shackleton's right-hand man, not to mention a masterful writer, is just the person. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone studying leadership and team building.

Now those were some tough adventurers back then...just solid outdoorsman and really strong willed and strong physically. This was outstanding to read and imagine what the human spirit can endure.

O'Neal has given the reader something pretty serious to think about.Final Conspiracy is a fascinating use of the issue of global warming,something Australians are really concerned about and the lust for power and greed to deliver a very entertaining and seemingly plausible story.It seems there is more to come from Caroline the story's main protagonist. I enjoyed the book, it was a great holiday read. I highly recommend it.

A.M. O'Donovan

New South Wales,Australia _

An exciting, stimulating and thought provoking story; the characters and events are intelligently woven into a fast moving political thriller about the very topical theme of global warming. I was hooked..., suspending other activities, reading eagerly and captivated to the end!
I can't wait for the next novel by Jim O'Neal.

travel to different continents, meet the characters, experience the intrigue...cannot wait to discover the ending...hoping for the next book already...there will be another?!?!

Wow! This book reads fast...I couldn't put it down. Engaging plot line and non-stop excitement. Timing couldn't be better either, now that people are becoming more and more aware to global climate change. Can't wait to read more from the author. New book coming soon???

Final Conspiracy is a great story that features a finely interwoven web of characters whose actions unfold in a powerful and intriguing story of deception, death, greed and lust for power. The story is however plot driven, but it is nonetheless refreshing to have the main character, Caroline, stand out in the way she does. She is a woman, who when faced with the unimagined threat of danger to her son, digs deep and finds the strength and courage to deal with the most unscrupulous and persistent of villains. All too often women in genre fiction--especially thrillers--are portrayed as weak, but Caroline is both feminine and strong. I also liked that the story is told in short concise chapters which lead you on to the next chapter at a fast pace. At the end of each chapter you find out more, which leaves you unable to put the book down until you have finished it. I enjoyed the story and the characters very, very much and look forward to more adventures for Caroline, assuming that she is returning!!!!

"It's a comprehensive and exhaustively researched offering and a fine addition to Wolf's career in helping Pennsylvania anglers better know and respect their home waters. With its detailed maps and hatch charts, it also will help traveling anglers find and fish their way around the Keystone State."

"Over the years, a number of books have been written offering insight to the best places where (fishing) opportunity can be found. However, none is as complete as recently released, Dave Wolf's, Flyfishers Guide to Pennsylvania. This book is complete and provides tidbits of information overlooked in the past, but not in this book. The book can not only serve as a fishing guide, but for travel as well, covering where to stay, restaurants, fly shops and much more."

"Wolf, although an ardent trout fisherman, includes in this book information for the ever-growing number of anglers that have taken to fishing for cool and warm-water species using buggy-whip techniques. And it doesn't end there. It is a great reference to the special waters of Pennsylvania even for bait and spinning tackle anglers....

If you are looking for a book to give you general knowledge on better known trout fishing streams in Pennsylvania, then this book will meet your needs. Unfortunately, the author does not do a good job of covering remote streams in many parts of the state that are excellent producing streams and beautiful places to fish. I was especially disappointed in his lack of coverage of streams in McKean and Warren County. I would not recommend this book to an avid Pennsylvania fisherman. The book is adequate for an out-of-state fisherman who is looking to fish some of the more popular streams in PA.

I've had this book for several years and I've found it to be a very useful resource. The hatch charts are extremely helpful, especially for trout anglers. While the author made a better than average attempt to cover the warmwater opportunities in the Keystone State, for the most part only the most well known sites were covered. Certainly Pennsylvania has some world famous trout streams, but the variety and quality of our warmwater fisheries is truly extraordinary. Some of the streams that were covered specifically for the trout they hold probably offer better bass fishing over most of their length. Trout centered thinking is far too prevalent in the fly fishing community and as a result this sort of overemphasis on trout is typical of many fly fishing guides. Indeed, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is guilty of killing thousands of trout annually by stocking them in waters so warm they are almost certain to all die by Memorial Day. I know that Mr. Wolf is a skilled and avid warmwater fly fisher. I hope in the future he will update this guide and give our warmwater fisheries the coverage they deserve.

This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is Ms. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is something else. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance....)

OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. Not good if you REALLY want the real thing...

This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling.

This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself.

Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. 172), and it was delectable. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. 73) and green beans with egg (p. 130). Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics.

_The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. This book is a real treasure.

I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste. I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that.

I gave this book to a Georgian and she loved it. It had all the dishes she had eatten as a child. If your looking for a book to fill in any missing recipes this is the book for you.

As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking.

More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).

I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book!