Recreation Books

As everyone has stated, this is a good book with lots of good information. One thing to know about it, however is that the information is presented more in a 'conversational' style than an 'encylopedia' style. If you are looking for a traditional 'field guide' type style with color-coded cross-references and the like, you may want to look elsewhere. However, if you don't mind a more casual presentation of the information - and it is that way in this book - then this one is for you. In other words, you'd be more inclined to pick up this book for some casual reading than you would a traditional field guide.

I live in southeast Alaska and this is the book I have been looking for years. I love it! It goes into such depth, but it is simple to understand.
I enjoy hiking and like being more informed of who/what has also pased this way before me. Great Resource for anybody who enjoys hiking. The photo's are excellent.

I usually check out tracking and reading sign books from the library because I would rather spend my hard cash on backpacking gear, fuel, and tires to get up and down those rocky roads, but this book was one that I had to buy. Most tracking guides have sketches and if they have photos they usually are not very good quality. This book has amazing photos that will aid you in scat and sign identifying. It is a great book for begginers and just a pleasant read. I would have to agree with another reviewer that he does tend to focus on northern or eastern animals. Learning about Mule Deer sign would be more pertinent than learning how to read Moose sign. There is also another book on Amazon that is PACKED with photos and has more photos of dens, tracks and sign. I would have to rate that book higher than this one, if I had to choose one, but this book definately earns 5 STARS!

This book provides an excellent introduction to reading animal tracks. In the first chapter the author explains why we should try to understand the tracks around us in the forest, and what we might see. He then delves into the kinds of observations we need to make, such as trail widths and trail patterns and scat. The rest of the book is divided into chapters by animal family, including chapters for rodents, rabbits, weasels, dogs, cats, bears, and hoofed animals. There is also an extensive bibliography and index.

Each chapter is comprised of short articles about the specifics of tracking the individual animals that make up the family covered in the chapter. Rezendes provides a short informative description of the animal with a color photograph. The descriptions cover behavior, range, and diet. Rezendes also includes black and white photos of the animal's feet, both front and back. The next section of the article covers tracks and trail patterns, and it includes illustrations or diagrams, photographs, and typical trail width and stride measurements, as well as a lot of information to help you sort out this critter's tracks from all the others out there. He also includes short sections on signs, such as dens, food caches, kill sites, and scat, also with photographs or illustrations.

I purchased this book after moving out into the country because I wanted to identify the critters that visited at night leaving their tracks in the snow around our house. I found Rezendes' approach captivating and easy to understand, even as a beginner. Rezendes explains how tracks can tell us much more than just the identity of an animal- -through a careful study of tracks, you can determine how fast the animal was moving, whether it was browsing, being chased, or chasing another. This book is a highly informative reference; it's also a delightful read on a blustery winter afternoon.

I am an old guy-pushing 60-and have examined books on tracking ever since I was a child. No other book compares to this one. I purchased it based on the positive Amazon reviews and on this book they were right on the mark. I mean, this guy not only provides excellent photos of tracks, he has photos of the ANIMALS' FEET! What a simple yet sensible idea! I very much like his philosophy of tracking, his emphasis on looking at the whole picture of the impact an animal makes on its environment. Good job, Mr. Rezendes.

Zirin was an important discovery for me. As a kid, I followed professional baseball and basketball with a very childlike passion. Later I got disgusted with the general state of the corporate franchises and drifted away from any interest in watching sports in any form. After being assigned as a teaching assistant to a course on the history of sports in the modern world, I picked up Zirin's first book and this one to help me appreciate the political side of professional sports. I'm of the audience Dave Marsh of XM Radio had in mind when he wrote that "the people who need to read Dave Zirin most are people who don't think sports is important at all. Zirin knows it is and he continually shows how it fits into the rest of our world."
I believe Zirin also has much to say to those who already understand the importance of sports. The debates over race, class, business, jingoism, steroids, and so on, that rage within the world of sports bear directly or indirectly on just about every area of politics and public life. In all of these essays -- which explore the political underbelly of major league baseball, the NBA, the Olympics, soccer, and more -- he shows a fine understanding of the precisely these kinds of connections and the ways people with political influence routinely use sports for their own ends.
Zirin has strong opinions, and that in itself is not unique. But he expresses his arguments more cogently and supports them more effectively than any other opinionated sports commentator I've ever heard. This is what enables him to engage and challenge the preconceived beliefs of every one of his readers. Furthermore, he's an outstanding writer. Welcome to the Terrordome frequently had me outraged over a fact or quoted statement and then, sometimes on the same page, I'd be laughing out loud at a particularly funny or audacious turn of phrase. Whether or not we agree with Zirin should not make or break the book's significance. If we really want to challenge our sometimes ossified views of the world, we've got to seek out writers like Zirin, who offer perspectives entirely lacking in the weak analysis, calculated outrage, and narrow political perspective on offer in the overwhelming majority of mainstream political commentary.
My only complaint is that there should have been some endnotes, not just to document the quotes he uses but also to help orient the book in relation to other writings on sports with which Zirin is in dialogue in his essays.

I enjoyed the book. I am glad to know about the authors website to get his new writing. I thought the book was insightful and great for a fan like me.

Sports are the world's great distraction, especially in the United
States. To really understand American culture, and other cultures too,
you have to understand sports to get why people get so very fanatical
about them. In a sense, they are a form of reality TV, except they
envelope so much more. It is very easy for radicals to dismiss sports
as a distraction from more important things, like changing the world,
but in a sense, by dismissing sports, they also dismiss sports fans,
which is a great deal of people. It's also important to understand how
sports is used to distract people, and why athletes are told to shut
up and be good soldiers. So having said all that, when Dave Zirin put
out a sequel to his first book, "What's My Name Fool?", I read it as
fast as I could.

Much like his first book, "Welcome to the Terrordome", (Chuck D
does the introduction, since the title is taken from a Public Enemy
song), the book is broken down into chapters exploring different parts, exploring
politics in the sports world. Roberto Clemente was a Hall of Fame
right-fielder for the Pittsburg Pirates from 1955 to 1972. He is often
described as baseball's Latino Jackie Robinson, in that he never shut
up and never backed down from disrespect. He was outspoken on issues
of the day, like racism, segregation, colonialism in Latin America,
civil rights, the war in Vietnam, and media mockery of minority
players. Clemente was instrumental in winning a World Series for the
Pirates in 1960, yet finished 8th in MVP voting because of his Puerto
Rican heritage. When non-white baseball players had to eat in the bus
while in the South, he led a protest against segregation and demanded
that all players be treated the same. He died in a plane crash on his
way to deliver relief supplies to victims of an earthquake in
Nicaragua a year after his retirement and remains one of the best players to ever play the game..

Another topic is how Major League Baseball sets up minimum wage
baseball sweatshops in the Caribbean and Central America, where the
only options are the army, the factory, or baseball. In the so-called
"America's Game", baseball, nearly a fourth of the league are foreign
born Latinos. During the World Baseball Classic, sponsored by MLB in
an effort to show-case homegrown talent, the Team USA was trounced by
Latin American teams. Interesting statistics like how 6 of the last 10
American League MVPs have been Latino, and here's why. In the
Dominican Republic, US teams run "baseball academies", where young
boys who have dropped out of school attend to get trained how to play
baseball, some coming with soapboxes for shoes and tattered clothing.
99 out of 100 don't make it to the MLB who attend these academies

Around the world, soccer, or football as it's known outside of
the States, is by far the most popular sport. It's famous by soccer
hooligans in Europe, full-scale riots in Latin America, and national
pride all over. Players like Diego Maradona are heroes in the third
world, for standing against corporate globalization, war, and famously
"avenging" the Falkland War in 1986 World Cup against England. In
2002, he attends the protests against the Summit of the Americas,
where he says that Argentina will never enjoy the fruits of corporate
control. Another famous player, Ronaldo of the powerful Brazil team,
goes to Palestine to meet with a Palestinian boy who wrote him a
letter asking him to meet with him, and brings international attention
to Israel's travel bans when he is stopped from meeting with him.

Most famously, Zirin goes into the famous head-butt incident at the
France-Italy World Cup when France's Zidane headbutted Italy's
Materazzi. Materazzi comes from an Italian fascist club, and Zidane
instantly becomes a hero in much of the Third World for responding to
Materazzi's racist taunting. It follows a culture of right-wing and
left-wing organizing in soccer fans, where political parties and other
organizations try to recruit fans at matchs and brawls often break out
over politics. (I've often wondered why there wasn't much organizing
at sporting events in the US when it seems so obvious.) The Prime
Minister of Italy even comments that "The French team is made up of
Negroes, Islamists, and Communists." In effect, people of the Third
World root to beat First World teams because of the history, and cling
to the ideals of hope and pride and dignity through them.

The world of sports is not a separate world, nor is it just for men,
and nor is a perfect world of saints. Just like all aspects of the
world we live in, the best thing to do is to understand it and
understand the people who follow it. I think I've just about always
fit into my work situations pretty fast by being a die-hard
Philadelphia sports fan, particularly the Eagles, as well as just about
everyone in this city is as well. When Donovan McNabb says that black
quarterbacks are criticized different than white quarterbacks and that
there's racism in the league, I applaud him for stating the obvious
when others are afraid to do even that. Left-wing sports fans might be
few and far between because of many on the left's complete rejection
of sports fans in general, but sports writers like Dave Zirin remind
us that the there's social justice in everything in life, if you look
behind the scenes a little bit.

The politically charged sports book Welcome to the Terrordome by Dave Zirin. The book covers the connection between social and cultural issues and sports, and it's really a great read. Among the topics Zirin connects are race relations in baseball thru Roberto Clemente, public financing of stadiums and how politicians often exploit sports figures.

While the title suggests a book about public financing battles of sports arenas, it really is suggestive of a broader context of sports and poltics. If you are reading only for the stadium connection this book might be a disappointment, but otherwise it was a delightful bonus as Zirin hits many aspects of sports, sports figures and sports coverage in the context of politics and life.

Not a book for a sports fan, but more for politically aware and interested people who enjoy sports or understand the large role it plays in our society.

A very interesting book that will leave you thinking, observing and expanding how you see the sports world....and isn't that pretty much why you would read in the first place?

-Cudo

Additional comments related to sports entertainment and operation in the Gameops.com Editor's Blog, www.blog.gameops.com.

Amongst sports writers David Zirin is a man among boys. He hasn't just mastered a single aspect of the genre; he has reinvented it with the complete package, which is showcased in Welcome to the Terrordome. Zirin combines acerbic wit, original insights (which is rare in sports journalism), a higher understanding of 20th century social history and an infallible drive to deliver "untouched" goods (partly allowed I suspect by the nature of the non-profit publishing company of the book). It's a breath of fresh air as his motives are only to inform and influence and not to sell anything or apologize for anyone.

The best part of Zirin of course is his ability to recognize and extrapolate on sports as a microcosm for important societal issues such as race, social and economic inequality. While I don't necessarily agree with all of Zirin's opinions, I found myself often putting the book down just to logically think through his positions and how they refute or support my own beliefs. I consider myself well versed in both sports history and social history yet I constantly was introduced to new events, people and history within the varied topics Zirin covers (Bonds, Olympics, Ali, Cycling, Clemente, etc.). To top it off Zirin has a great sense of sarcasm and I laughed out loud numerous times throughout.

This book is important because it has a potential to reach an audience not normally associated with higher-level intellectualism; namely sports fanatics. This is part of Zirin's overall argument in the sense that he criticizes modern sports athletes for not using their leverage to tackle social issues but are instead highly paid slaves of the corporate world.

Bottom Line: Full of energy and insight and should be read by anyone (including non-sports fan) who are interested in how the sports world is interconnected and related to various aspects of social justice. Genre defining.

This is one of the most beautiful books I've read (that has pictures). Maybe I just have a thing for the outdoors, but this packs a punch of warmth and nostalgia that will heat up a chill mountain night. The story is simple and heartfelt, and the illustrations are gorgeous. In a world where everyone is so obsessed with the metro, this has a beautiful flavor that keeps us focused on those down-home wonders of life.

This is an excellent book to use to teach students to write their biographies no matter what their age!

I read When I was young in the mountains, then took it to my father, who read it. Rylant is slightly older than me, but she grew up near where my dad was born and raised. My father said after reading that he'd pretty much grown up the same way. He left the poverty of Appalachia as a teenager via the poor man's college-- the service. I was born and raised in Utah. Books such as When I was young in the Mountains were a way for me to connect with a way of life I knew very little about, and I am very thankful for Rylant's work, especially since Dad died recently.

Growing up in West Virginia myself, I relate to to this book. Although I'm now 20 and currently attending college, I still love to read it. It is something I plan to read to my children.

This work is rather realistic. For anyone who grew up in similiar surroundings, it brings on waves of nostalgia. Growing up in the Ozark Mountains was quite similar to the setting of this story. These were simpler times, for good and bad, and it is good that we have something like this to pass on to our children. The illustrations in this book are soft and wonderful. The text is quite to the point and quite readable and understandable. The book leaves much room for open discussion, although it helps a lot if you actually grew up in these conditions, when discussing it with the young ones. I find that the simple fact there there was no electricity, no T.V., no radios, no running water, etc. quite difficult for children to understand and grasp. This book helps a lot. Recommend this one highly.

Like many others, I too stumbled across this book almost 30 years ago as an 8 or 9 year old and have never forgotten it. It strikes the perfect mix of imagination and word fun. I'm ordering a copy now in hopes my six year old daughter will enjoy it as much as I did.

I too stumbled upon this book as a child and was completely enchanted by the story and characters. I hadn't read it for more than 30 years, but recently bought a copy to read to my children (girl 9, boy 7, girl 4) It hasn't lost any of its magic - I'm enjoying it as much as they are. It includes so many of their favorite things, magic, witches, mermaids, babies - and it blends real and imaginary worlds in the same way that they are blended in the minds of children.

One of my favorite childhood books. I bought this for my niece. I'm sure she will love it as much as I did. A perfect book for young girls with big imaginations!

The Witch Family is nice, non-scary magical tale with more heft than contemporary "Color Fairies"-type books. It's a sweet, old-fashioned book -- but heavy emphasis on the sweet. It's the sort of book where things get called by kiddie mis-pronounced names like "noo-doos" for noodles, over and over again. When you're reading to yourself, or reading aloud, that can be part of the charm. But when your kids are listening to 5 hours of audio book on a long car trip, you have to hope that the narrator doesn't lay it on too thick.

As it happens, this narrator lays it on triple-thick: syrup on top of honey on top of sugar. Every single sentence, happy or not, is pronounced with a huge, honey-dripping smile...for 5 hours straight. I grudgingly gave it 4 stars because my girls did enjoy it, and they're the target audience in the end. But as an adult, it was flat-out excruciating.

The Witch Family is about two girls who while drawing witches pretend to banish the head witch, also known as Old Witch, to a glass hill because she is very wicked. If you multiply the "Old" with one million, you get some idea of how old she was! The girls also let Old Witch do her abracadabra so that she can have a witch girl named Hannah and a witch baby. Old Witch gets to be wicked only on Halloween. At the end, the two girls take pity on Old Witch and turn the glass hill into a real hill with grass. After that, Old Witch is not wicked anymore except on Halloween. I think this is a good book to read on Halloween.

Really better than 6th edition. I hardly encourage anyone interested in wines to buy it

This seems to be truly a complete Atlas on wine and locations for
finding anything you might desire in wines.

I am a Master of Wine Student. I have own 5 editions of this atlas during my wine career. I thought I wouldn't need to upgrade to this new edition because, well, honestly, I didn't think this book could tell me any more than I already knew. Wow, I was wrong. The details of New World regions alone is reason to buy this book. The maps are always the BEST, but now they are more informative and more realistic of the wine world at large. You can also see the maps on the [...] site, but the book is still a great reference.

Great update to a reference work well-known among wine educators and consumers. The geographical context of the knowledge base about wine and winemaking is exceptionally well done and informative.

This is my third copy of World Atlas. Each one has been such a substantial improvement over the previous one that its purchase was inevitable. Great maps, witty, relevant text and the usual breath-taking photographs of wine country. (did you ever notice that no body grows wine in ugly places?)

I used it teaching beginner lessons. It really helped me come up with new and creative exercises for the kids to do. You replace the jumps for rails on the ground for students that do not jump yet. I love it and use the exercises in this book all the time.

Brilliant diagrams, excellent keys, simply mapped out and laid out information for difficult and also the easiest of dressage manoevres. It's bound at the top for a vertical flip, with a hole punched down near the bottom so you can hang the book on a nail on your bulletin board or at home and keep it open while you study it. It has handy hints how to achieve positions and gives you ideas to improve certain flaws. It is by far the best book on jumping exercises I have read so far that is dedicated purely to jumping exercises.

Just about EVERY page has another full A4 riding arena on it showing the pattern where the horse is going, it shows crossbars and it shows trotting poles, verticals, gymnastics and where to place them, it shows where you should be directing your horse and what way to approach with an excellent use of diagrams and patterns which have a key right next to it so the design remains uncluttered and simple to read. It even gives you cheap alternatives to make some jumps yourselves and offers quick solutions. A best buy for anyone serious about jumping - or even dressage - to keep their horse supple and to keep their horse (and themselves!) from boredom. Brilliant.

The best how to book on ground poles and jumping that I have experienced. It's a great tool by an expert to keep your horses (young and old) interested as well as the rider thinking. Linda laid out the book very well. Good illustrations and great explanations accompany each exercise. The ground pole exercises are very helpful to use between jumping lessons. This one is a book to keep and give as a gift to a riding friend!

This book has so much info on different exercises and each exercises has little hits about when to use this exercise and what to watch out for while riding it.

This book breaks the demands or jumping down into a logical progression of skills until it takes the insecure beginning rider into a confident partner to the jumping horse. If these lessons are followed correctly, it can also take a training level horse into a skilled show jumper. This book is a must for anyone interested int he discipline of jumping.

This book honors in simple verse and vivid picture, the triumph of the underdog. For young and old, it celebrates that persistence can materialize and that "losers" can win and that even odd-balls can overcome poor odds. Give this as a gift of encouragement to those (male and female) that may "think" there is no hope and let them witness that even when they feel as though they may "standing out in the field, alone and hopeless" the power of BELIEF can, will and does manifest into a life victory. A sweet story of success against all odds.

My husband and I are expecting our first child in June. I bought this as a gift for my husband to read to the baby. He was so excited to receive this! He read the book and immediately declared it, "Wicked Awesome." Get it! Every other line rhymes, and they are are not simplistic. We both have our degrees in education and feel this a good book to help develop children's personal histories.
Get it!

Our small grandson received one as he joined his dad and grandfathers (yes, one lives near Denver) for the current World Series. In his Red Sox regalia, he wanted it read to him again and again. His great-grandfather had seen the last Series before this one, just like the book talks about, and anyone with children who need to be raised as True Believers should make sure they have a copy to pass on to their children in the future.

Although this is a children's book, people of all ages will delight in it. The illustrations are genuine masterpieces.

The book warms up with a Red Sox game in 1918. Somebody's Great-Grandfather watches that game and celebrates the Red Sox' 2004 victory, poignantly reminicing about that 1918 victory. At the time of this review, Boston is celebrating the 2007 Sweep in the World Series against the Colorado Rockies! Go Boston!

Dirty Water was the anthem of the 2007 World Series. The Standells' classic was very a propos!

The illustrations bring history into the picture, literally with the Duck Float Parade; the 1918 lineup and the excitement of the game! Varitek, who helped the Red Sox barrel into victory in 2004 was also part of the Victory Team in 2007! Go, Boston!

I recommend this book for everyone. If you like good baseball and you love Boston, then you want this book. It will hit a home run into the hearts of all readers, just as Lowell hit that winning home run in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series! Go Boston!

Excellent book for any Red Sox fan young or old. Great story for the young, great nostalgia for the not-so-young! A must for any Bostonian!

This volume is an absolute must for those interested in baseball history from 1900 to 1991 or fans who want to see how the uniforms of their favorite teams have changed over the years.

The book was recommended to me - when it was initially published - by an artist who was working at that time for a major trading card company. You will notice that most of the current uniforms borrow style points from years past. I guess the "retro" look of stadiums led to a "retro" look in the home garb.

Since its publication, teams have literally flooded the market with variations of their standard home and away uniforms. An update of the book may not be cost efficient due to this situation, but I hope at some point a companion volume will be published to chronicle the years starting from 1992.

Extremely comprehensive for any baseball historian. Very informative and extremely interesting. Much like everyone else who submitted a review, I would love to see a revised edition of this book - especially with the onslaught of alternate jerseys and sleeve patches.

Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century is THE definitive reference on baseball uniforms. Nowhere will you find a more complete list illustrating every major league uniform used every single year. Do you know when the Astros introduced their "rainbow" uniforms? What year did the White Sox sport Bermuda shorts? Did you know that the New York Giants once wore plaid uniforms? It's all in this book. I find it odd that this book was written to represent the uniforms of the 20th century seven years before the century's end. This book is crying out for a second edition. There have already been dozens of uniform changes since 1993. Marc Okkonen, I'm beggin' ya. PLEASE!

When I discovered BASEBALL UNIFORMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, I was overjoyed. It is a true missing link of baseball information. Of all the pictures of ball players I poured over through the years, players who graced the diamonds during the first 50 years of this century, the one thing I could never discern was the COLOR of their uniforms. However hard you studied the permeations of gray and black in the photographs, you could not accurately guess the colors. Similarly, it was difficult to detect the exact year each major league uniform changed. This book solved those mysteries for me. I place it among my most valuable baseball books, a collection which encompasses maybe 80 books. I would love to see a similar book done on baseball uniforms of the 1870s-1890s, as well as a book on football uniforms of the 20th Century. Kudos to the author and publisher!

I have been collecting MLB replica/current baseball caps since the late sixties. I guess that makes me a fanatic. I received a postcard from Marc Okkonen a few years ago, and thought his 1991 volume was without sequel. Now I have heard that there is a 1993 revision of this fine book, with corrections. (Baseball lovers need this). I started getting serious about tracing the history of team caps in 1995, so I have a bit of a gap that a "new" Okkonen could help me fill. I have found a few errors in the book; in fact the author said there were some. Where can anyone go to improve and update Okkonen? Until further notice, he is my constant reference for cap styles, a monumental piece of research, which I use "for the love of the game."

This is one of the most interesting books on fly tying I have ever read, breaks its down so the very beginner can just pick it up. I was having problems in the past with all the flys and the elements that went into making a fly, but with this book it was all spelled out very plain.
As far as I am concerned this is a must read for all beginners.

Victor Akopian

I purchased this book about a year ago, and I have found it to be every bit as helpful as the other posters on this site have already attested.

The book is well illustrated, printed on thick paper, and both ingenious and unique in it's presentation of the patterns and the techniques needed in tying.

I work overseas most of the time, so I do almost all of my shopping via Amazon... I don't write too many reviews, but a year later here I am singing the praises of this great book.

It is worth every penny, and would happily pay double if I had to replace the copy I currently own.

This is the best how to book format I have ever seen. It is so great. It just makes sense to have spilt pages with the recipe on the top half of the page and instructions for the different techniques on the bottom half. It has helped me to understand fly tieing so much. Great book.

I have several fly tying books, of which, none can approach this book in explaining how to tye flies. The way this book is laid out is a clear advantage. I feel that most anyone will benefit who is interested in tying. A person can purchase a less expensive book on tying, but remember the old saying, "buy the best and cry once."
































i

If you are thinking of getting started in fly tying,this IS the book to purchase. It will be your last and only book that you will need to purchase on this subject. It is extremely easy to navigate and takes the mystery out of fly tying techniques. Even seasoned veterans might find an easier technique to use. I would recommend it to family and friends!

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