View Full Version : Desert Solitare.... also question about other books.
MyName1sMud
08-23-2008, 22:53
Is it really worth reading? I heard it was kind of like the "Walden" of the west....
I really can't decide what book I am going to read next. Walden is one of my fav books out there so i think the Desert Solitare would be a good choice but I don't know......
Any other books I should think about getting? I saw this "Merle's Door" book about a guy and his dog doing all kinds of "outdoorsy" kinds of things.
a few of the books I've already read... so no need to mention them.... "A walk in the woods" (of course), "No Shortcuts to the Top" (loved that one), Neither here nor there, and a few others about the outdoors. Most of my reading lately has been in Bret Easton Ellis books so i kinda wanna move back over to the "outdoors" side of things.
I just reread Desert Solitaire for at least the sixth time, and that book is as good as nature writing gets (I say this having read a lot of nature books). It has a little bit of everything: nature description, adventure, rants against overdevelopment, philosophy, quite contemplation. And it's a quick read. You won't be disappointed.
fiddlehead
08-24-2008, 00:56
Lots of threads on here about favorite books. Just do a search.
I like Desert Solitaire and many others.
Matteroo
08-24-2008, 05:46
i have it but haven't ever been able to get past the first 20 pages - though its been a few years.. will try at it again.
other suggestions for outdoors reading:
Savages - Joe Kane (spending time with the Huarani tribe of Ecuador/Peruvian amazonian headwater region - oil encroachment - lots of outdoor adventure mixed with serious plot and history)
Jungle - Yossi Ghinsberg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Yossi%20Ghinsberg) - survival after accidents in the bolivian jungle
listening for coyote - william s sullivan --- man walks across oregon from SW coast to NE corner - a great book, read that since we moved here to oregon.
Walking my Dog, Jane - ned Kurzel - man walks the alaskan pipeline from end to end - unique walk, coming from someone who has obviously not done long distance hiking - so you get a view of similar insights one would gain from the AT or PCT, etc, but from a different angle for sure.
Cookerhiker
08-24-2008, 09:00
I've read Desert Solitaire several times although I wouldn't characterize it as a "quick read." Some chapters read faster than others. Anyway, it's a good book and worth a read.
Great book. Try A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. My personal fave. Or anything else by Ed Abbey.
I've read Desert Solitaire several times although I wouldn't characterize it as a "quick read." Some chapters read faster than others. Anyway, it's a good book and worth a read.
I agree, some chapters are slow, some you can't put the book down. My favorite is where he was down in the Grand Canyon, near the village of Supai. His description of how he got into and out of a serious "jam" and the emotions he experianced was great.
On another note, for a real sugar high, you may want to read Abbey's "the Monkey Wrench Gang". Pure fiction, pure fun.
Rifleman
08-24-2008, 09:47
Yeah. Abbey. Not your regular environmentalist. Somebody I can respect. Don't wait for the movie. Read the book.
R.
Walden tends to be my trail Bible. I carry a light paperback version on most long distance walks. Everytime I read it, I gain new insights. Walden is particularly good for trail reading because almost each sentence is an essay in itself. Trail reading tends to come in several minute spurts, so a book with great sentences works well.
Desert Solitaire is also a great book, just very different than Walden.
There are scores of outdoor books of interest. I especially like "My Wilderness" by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas because he talks about "my" mountains: Maine and New Hampshire.
Jon Krakauer has written several supurb books including "Into Thin Air."
Most everything written by Edward O. Wilson is worth reading for insights into the outdoors. I especially liked "The Future of Life."
Rachel Carson is often criticized for her expose of of the chemical pesticide industry, but she also wrote one the great outdoor books, "The Sea Around Us."
And must reading among the outdoor essays is Henry Beston's "The Outermost House," an account of a year living on Cape Cod in the 1920s.
Weary
MyName1sMud
08-24-2008, 13:17
Yeah. Abbey. Not your regular environmentalist. Somebody I can respect. Don't wait for the movie. Read the book.
R.
There is a movie coming out? Had no idea.
MyName1sMud
08-24-2008, 13:19
Walden tends to be my trail Bible. I carry a light paperback version on most long distance walks. Everytime I read it, I gain new insights. Walden is particularly good for trail reading because almost each sentence is an essay in itself. Trail reading tends to come in several minute spurts, so a book with great sentences works well.
Desert Solitaire is also a great book, just very different than Walden.
There are scores of outdoor books of interest. I especially like "My Wilderness" by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas because he talks about "my" mountains: Maine and New Hampshire.
Jon Krakauer has written several supurb books including "Into Thin Air."
Most everything written by Edward O. Wilson is worth reading for insights into the outdoors. I especially liked "The Future of Life."
Rachel Carson is often criticized for her expose of of the chemical pesticide industry, but she also wrote one the great outdoor books, "The Sea Around Us."
And must reading among the outdoor essays is Henry Beston's "The Outermost House," an account of a year living on Cape Cod in the 1920s.
Weary
Yea I read Into Thin Air as well as Into the Wild... wasn't that big of a fan of the movie though they did do somewhat of a good job with it.
Think I am gonna go pick up a copy of Desert Solitare today then.
MyName1sMud
08-24-2008, 13:20
i have it but haven't ever been able to get past the first 20 pages - though its been a few years.. will try at it again.
other suggestions for outdoors reading:
Savages - Joe Kane (spending time with the Huarani tribe of Ecuador/Peruvian amazonian headwater region - oil encroachment - lots of outdoor adventure mixed with serious plot and history)
Jungle - Yossi Ghinsberg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Yossi%20Ghinsberg) - survival after accidents in the bolivian jungle
listening for coyote - william s sullivan --- man walks across oregon from SW coast to NE corner - a great book, read that since we moved here to oregon.
Walking my Dog, Jane - ned Kurzel - man walks the alaskan pipeline from end to end - unique walk, coming from someone who has obviously not done long distance hiking - so you get a view of similar insights one would gain from the AT or PCT, etc, but from a different angle for sure.
I hope to move to oregon one day! I gotta get outta the south. Mississippi is killing me.
smokymtnsteve
08-24-2008, 19:30
go abbey go ..thanks be too Abbey!
MyName1sMud
08-24-2008, 19:35
I bought the Desert Solitare book.
Also noticed a few books by a guy name Peter Jenkins... the books looked good.
Anyone ever read "Walking across america" I think it was called.
"The Monkey Wrench Gang," by Abbey, is definitely worth reading.
I bought the Desert Solitare book.
Also noticed a few books by a guy name Peter Jenkins... the books looked good.
Anyone ever read "Walking across america" I think it was called.
Yes. I've read most of what Peter has written. He's a good writer, better than most, but not terribly sophisticatred. He provides a good read, He doesn't suggest to me that he knows much about what is happening today!
hoyawolf
08-24-2008, 21:11
Yes. I've read most of what Peter has written. He's a good writer, better than most, but not terribly sophisticatred. He provides a good read, He doesn't suggest to me that he knows much about what is happening today!
irony at its finest....
hayduke lives!
Chenango
08-24-2008, 21:21
Peter Jenkins also has a Walk Across China title which is a very good book. NatGeo did an artcile about Jenkins many years ago. Good thing my father-in-law kept all of his old magazines because it was hard to find.
Jim Adams
08-24-2008, 21:31
Monkey Wrench Gang is very entertaining.
Walk Across America was decent.
For some old school adventure checkout Dangerous River by R.L. Patterson. Actual account of him and his partner searching for gold in the Nahani River valley in the N.W.Territories / Yukon area. Very good read understanding what it was like to "camp" at -60*F in 1928. One of the most interesting outdoor books that I have read.
geek
smokymtnsteve
08-24-2008, 22:59
Peter Jenkins "looking for Alaska" is great ..he writes about some friends of mine.
also my favorite Ed Abbey is "Black Sun"
"all I want to do is stare at the sun until the sun goes Black"
MyName1sMud
08-24-2008, 23:54
After I am done with Desert Solitare I think I am gonna read that "Walking across America" one...
thumbed through it and saw him burying his dog :( That's not gonna be a fun part of the book to read I can already tell. No doubt with the picture caption stating "Goodbye Forever Friend"
The Solemates
08-25-2008, 10:22
Ive read all of Peter Jenkins' outdoor books. He has quite a few and they are all great.
In 1993, the Ragged Mount Press of Camden Maine came out with what they called a "portable wilderness anthology."
It contains short excerpts from most of the books mentioned on this thread, and many more. It's a pocket sized book of only 130 papges, but is very well done.
Selections from the 70 authors range from a single sentence, to a couple of pages. The people quoted range from Francis Bacon to Edward Abbey and later.
I suspect the book may be out of print, but if you run across a copy, it will be worth every penny you may have to pay.
Though the book is edited and printed in Maine, the Ragged Mountain Press is a division of McGraw Hill, a national publishing house.
Weary
In 1993, the Ragged Mount Press of Camden Maine came out with what they called a "portable wilderness anthology."
It contains short excerpts from all the books mentioned on this thread, and many more. It's a pocket sized book of only 130 papges, but is very well done.
Selections from the 70 authors range from a single sentence, to a couple of pages. The people quoted range from Francis Bacon to Edward Abbey and later.
I suspect the book may be out of print, but if you run across a copy, it will be worth every penny you may have to pay.
Though the book is edited and printed in Maine, the Ragged Mountain Press is a division of McGraw Hill, a national publishing house.
Weary
I just checked Amazon. They have copies ranging in price from 4 cents (plus $3.99 shipping) to $29.
the goat
08-25-2008, 13:56
Anyone ever read "Walking across america" I think it was called.
great book, one of my favorites. (it's called a walk across america.)
Cookerhiker
08-25-2008, 13:59
After I am done with Desert Solitare I think I am gonna read that "Walking across America" one...
thumbed through it and saw him burying his dog :( That's not gonna be a fun part of the book to read I can already tell. No doubt with the picture caption stating "Goodbye Forever Friend"
great book, one of my favorites. (it's called a walk across america.)
I have that book too - I enjoyed it a lot. The author was Peter Jenkins.
I'll second "A Sand County Almanac", a powerful book by one of the most influential nature writers.
MyName1sMud
08-25-2008, 18:04
I'll second "A Sand County Almanac", a powerful book by one of the most influential nature writers.
Saw that in the cover of my "Desert Solitare" book.... circled it to put on my list.
MyName1sMud
08-25-2008, 18:05
I just checked Amazon. They have copies ranging in price from 4 cents (plus $3.99 shipping) to $29.
Ordered.... Thanks!
MyName1sMud
08-25-2008, 18:11
Got it in very good condition for .05 cent :) Thanks a lot!
Undershaft
08-25-2008, 21:38
I'll suggest The Last Season by Eric Blehm. Excellent book about a backcountry ranger in King's Canyon National Park and his mysterious disappearence. I just re-read it recently. I'll also second Weary's suggestion of Outermost House. Another excellent book.
The Solemates
08-26-2008, 09:49
http://www.booksforhikers.com/
MyName1sMud
08-27-2008, 15:56
I'll suggest The Last Season by Eric Blehm. Excellent book about a backcountry ranger in King's Canyon National Park and his mysterious disappearence. I just re-read it recently. I'll also second Weary's suggestion of Outermost House. Another excellent book.
I will look into that!
MyName1sMud
09-03-2008, 20:51
Got my copy of Ragged Mountain Portable Wilderness Anthology today.... can't put the damn thing down now..
I RECOMMEND THIS!