One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

Book Description

To live in a pristine land . . . roam the wilderness . . . build a home. . . . Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. Here is a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.

Customer Reviews:

True to the man.......2007-09-29

Ten years ago I spent a summer volunteering for the National Park Service at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, in Alaska. My remote rangers cabin was located at Twin Lakes. Being on the lower lake, I was about 9 miles from my nearest neighbor- Dick. We spoke daily on our walkie-talkies, checking in about the weather, any visitors, or interesting wildlife viewings. I trekked up his way several times over the summer, and enjoyed a few meals with him. I can't remember if it's in his book, but his favorite sandwich was the "Twin Lakes Special": sourdough flapjaks, raw onion, and honey; don't knock it 'til ya try it! Just like his book, he was a gracious, thoughtful man, a true naturalist. Also the most spry 82-year-old I think I'd ever seen! I was saddened to hear of his death several years ago, and was grateful the NPS kept his cabin as a historical site; it is a cozy place, dark inside, smelling faintly of woodsmoke and 1948 sourdough starter, with wonderful decorative touches throughout. Dick was truly a special person, and this book captures his voice, his no-nonsense manner of talking, as well as his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world, perfectly.

A modern day "Thoreau".......2007-09-16

You cannot visit Alaska without reading this book FIRST! Just the photography alone will make you want to go. I dentify in many ways with Dick as I lived in a cabin in the White Mountains of NH for many years. He didn't intrude on nature...he simply lived in harmony with it. He appeals to all of your senses in his simple but beautifully written words, never mind the pictures. He is definitely portrayed as a "loner" but that is a good thing..for a loner has much higher self esteem and sense of character than those who can't survive in the world without people around them all the time. Dick is a true steward of the land because of his deep, abiding love and connection for this piece of God's Creation. His beautifully chronicled life in Alaska will remind you of Robert Frost's words.."We love the things we love for what they are." Enjoy!

Just as Good the Second Time.......2007-09-12

I was telling my husband about this book as I started reading it. He said, "Don't you remember, we read that many years ago when Alaska Magazine published it"? I knew that Babe, the pilot, seemed familiar. It didn't matter. I was happy to read it a second time which is unusual for me. Oh, how I would have loved to have been able to do what Mr. Proenneke did and to live where he lived. There is nothing dull about this book and I suspect the people who find it dull haven't any interest in living in the wilderness without Blackberries, i-pods, automobiles and restaurants.

Even though most of us who enjoyed the book probably don't begin to have the skills that Richard Proenneke had which made what he did possible (and a pilot friend who delivered for free) I think we all wish we could do what he did. I know I do. I didn't realize that a sequel exists. It costs big bucks, but if it's anything close to as interesting as this book, it's worth it. Maybe I'll find out if the Mission Girls ever showed-up.

Homesteading in Alaska.......2007-08-16

The year was 1968. The setting, the Alaskan bush. The mission, to live simply, deliberately, and self-sufficiently off the land, free of the trappings of contemporary society. The protagonist, clearly not what you might expect given the era. He was not some young, free spirited hippie, luddite, or draft dodger. Rather, he was a skilled hard working machinist/woodsman, who at age 51 decided to permanently leave the rat race behind.

Why this man, Dick Prenacke, suddenly left behind his conventional existence to live in a remote and unforgiving section of Alaska is never fully explored in the book. While snippets do reveal his distain for modernity, it never fully embellishes on what ultimately drove the author to do what few would ever conceive of doing. Perhaps Dick realized that at 51, the physical and physiological fortitude required to make such a transition would soon be out of his reach. More likely however, he foresaw the end of an era. No more than a few years after his departure into the wild, Alaska would enact laws prohibiting trappers and homesteaders from freely trudging off into the woods to live the quintessential "Alaskan experience." Soon Alaska would become like the rest of the lower 48, where people like Dick would be considered trespassers and evicted from any land that they did not rightfully own. Fortunately for the author, the laws were grand fathered in.

While the book is essentially a personal account of Alaskan homesteading, the author episodically weaves social commentary into his writings. He laments a society that is wasteful and superficial. The hunters that come into his Alaska, products of such a society, leave garbage and animal meat behind, unaware that the author cleans up after as well as makes use of their squander.

The author also reveals his anxiety for a society that is increasingly consumed by materialism. He feels that man is entrapped by things that he doesn't need and he seeks to avoid the superfluous at all costs. To the outsider, surviving in the wilds of Alaska would seem to require an extravagant amount of equipment and gear. One can only imagine the bill the average suburbanite would amass at the local REI in preparation for such an endeavor. Yet the author demonstrates just how little is required to not only to survive but also to prosper in such an inhospitable region.

The book closes with some thoughts on technology, and the rapidity of change that comes with it. The author's words are both haunting and prescient as he elaborates on his first year in Alaska and how his experience conflicts greatly with society at large.

inspiring.......2007-07-14

Inspiring book. Diarist was over 50 when he began this journey. Helps me look to the future for myself.

Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

Average customer rating:

Dissapointing lack of detail
A SUPER BOOK!
everything you need to know in one book
Storey's Basic Country Skills
excellent seller and product

Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
John Storey , and Martha Storey
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Reference | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old Fashioned Recipe Book
The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It
Handy Farm Devices: And How to Make Them
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
Barnyard in Your Backyard: A Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cows

ASIN: 1580172024

Book Description

This is the book for anyone who wants to become more self-reliant, from suburbanites with 1/4 of an acre to country homesteaders with several. The information is easily understood and readily applicable.

More than 150 of Storey's expert authors in gardening, building, animal raising, and homesteading share their specialized knowledge and experience in this ultimate guide to living a more independent, satisfying life.

Readers will find step-by-step, illustrated instructions for every aspect of country living including:

Finding country land

Buying, building, and renovating a home

Developing water sources and systems

Understanding wiring, plumbing, and heating

Using alternative heating and energy sources

Vegetable, flower, and herb gardening

Traditional cooking skills such as baking bread and making maple syrup

Preparing and preserving meat, fruits, and vegetables

Building and maintaining barns, sheds, and outbuildings

Caring for common farm and ranch animals, and pets

Customer Reviews:

Dissapointing lack of detail.......2007-08-08

I bought this book because of the high review rating, and for the first time was very let down by a highly rated book. I already have a whole bookshelf of books dedicated to small farming/homesteading/sustainable living and thought this would be a comprehensive addition. Unfortunately, this would be an excellent book for someone who has grown up in the city, never been to a working ranch/homestead, and has absolutely no knowledge of the subject. If you already have such knowledge and/or experience you will find this book woefully deviod of useful information. It has a WIDE range of topics (most of which I was not interested in, such as how to install hardwood floor and how to build a treehouse) and each topic is only touched on in the most superficial way. For example, the chapter on treehouses only shows you how to build one kind, assuming that's the only kind you would want to build, and the whole chapter is 4 pages. I suppose the best use for this book would be for a novice to purchase in order to BEGIN a library on the subject, and then use this book to decide what topics to invest in more books on so as to get better information and more detail. If you are looking for real information on specifics such as how to keep a healthy and productive meat flock of chickens, or detailed food preservation techniques, find a specific book on the subject.

A SUPER BOOK!.......2007-06-09

Book is full of great information and advice for the farmer, rancher, homesteader, backyard adventurer and camper. The only thing I did not like about it was that it is a paperback and is so big. While I will continue to refer to it, I will have to be careful. The book is not hardy for the homesteading home, farm or ranch. I would gladly pay more for this book if it was hard bound and had more durable pages. It should be broken up into several books. Other than that, it is a fabulous book and has everything you need to know.

everything you need to know in one book.......2007-05-21

I bought this book after reading Gregg Perry's review of the book (read review below mine). I have to say he was right on the money. This book has way more in it than I thought it would. How to raise goats, chickens/chicken problems, ducks, geese, how to buy the right land, home maintanence, septic systems, composting, how to store grains, and how to farm to to cover the tip of the ice berg. I own a lot of other Storey books, and this book takes a lot of the information from those books and just gets down to the nuts and bolts. My review simply can't help but fall short of just was useful, and how much information is in this book. This is one of the best book purchases I have ever made, and this is coming from a guy who owns multiple books on these subjects. Had I found this book first I could have saved myself a lot of time and money. Do yourself a favor buy this book you won't regret it.

Storey's Basic Country Skills.......2007-05-18

I bought this book in conjunction with Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living. I highly recommend both of them. What one doesn't cover, the other one does. Storey's probably goes into more detail than the average homesteader needs. Also, I was raised on a farm in NC by my grandparents, and some of the ways they suggest doing things seems more complicated and unnecessary (such as the procedure for killing a chicken for meat), but if you've never been exposed to some of this stuff, the advice is invaluable. Also, the info in the back of the book is great. It lists websites and magazines that cater to country living.
This book was well worth the money spent and I would recommend it to everyone!

excellent seller and product.......2007-02-13

Item as described and received in a timely manner... an excellent buying experience!

Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

Average customer rating:

Decent, But Glam Rock is Not Metal
chuck klosterman wouldnt know heavy metal if it hit him upside the head
What Would He Write Now?
mr klosterman's narrow mind and bad taste do not warrant book length treatment
You Can't Kill Rock'N'Roll......It's Here To Stay!

Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
Chuck Klosterman
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time
Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays

ASIN: 0743406567

Book Description

Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.

Customer Reviews:

Decent, But Glam Rock is Not Metal.......2007-09-18

This book is deceiving. It is NOT about metal, it is about glam rock, or hair metal (Motley Crue, Poison, Def Leppard etc.), which is NOT really metal. It is POP rock.

Having said that, this book is still mildly entertaining. It is a pretty well told story of growing up in a really small town and listening to ROCK, and some metal, and not really fitting in. There are numerous humorous scenarios and it is an easy read.

However, at times Klosterman can get VERY pedantic, especially when discussing his tastes in music. If he doesn't like a band, song, whatever, it automatically sucks, and is open for his harsh criticism. As a HUGE fan of Iron Maiden, it was very hard to sit and read him rip apart one of my favorite bands.

Read for yourself, some will love, some will hate.

chuck klosterman wouldnt know heavy metal if it hit him upside the head.......2007-08-14

this is the most worthless book i have ever read in my life. anyone who gets duped into buying this toilet paper should just give me their money and i will kick them in the nuts. its about the same effect as reading this trash.
chuck klosterman isnt from fargo. chuck klosterman is the reason why metallica skipped fargo on one of their tours. chuck klosterman doesnt represent the metal scene in the fargo area.

What Would He Write Now?.......2007-07-18

I grew up in an Illinois town that sounds a lot like Chuck's -- just a bit bigger, perhaps... And, like Chuck, I had a problem in the 90s admitting I listened to (and loved) heavy metal. In 1997, I went so far as to give away all of my "hair metal" albums to a co-worker. Did I still like the music? Sure, but I thought I would "move on."

Guess what? It didn't take me long to buy all the stuff back. I couldn't deny what I loved.

Chuck's book's main problem is that he still "sits on the fence." By the end of the book, he more or less admits that he likes the music of his formative years, but he still seems to have a problem being true to what he likes. Maybe this is his attempt at humor -- I don't know, as this is the first time I've ever read his stuff. All I know is, if he wants to write a book about heavy metal and what it meant to him, then he shouldn't describe it as "boring," as he does in a few places, and he shouldn't say one thing one place and the complete opposite in another place... that is, without letting it be clear how he truly feels now.

The book came out about six years ago, though, and if he went through the phase of "I can't listen to this crap any more" like I did, then maybe he's finally accepted that the music will belong to him for the rest of his days, and that it's okay to listen to the music of your high school years.

mr klosterman's narrow mind and bad taste do not warrant book length treatment.......2007-03-26

mr klosterman wonders why so much is made of the chapter titled "i get drunk and go to a hockey game:" an essay describing his penchant for alcohol abuse. well, sir; here's the deal: it's the only really fine piece of writing here. otherwise, the glories of having bad taste in music just do not carry a book. and then there's mr klosterman's narrow little mind. a very small place it seems, where ole' chucky loves to dictate how other people (especially people older and more talented than him) should carry on with their lives. this book simply adds up to one big drag. i don't know mr klosterman, never even seen him; but i predict divorce/failed relationships galore for the man. a narrow mind and poor thinking cannot equal success in that department of life. his book was overwhelmingly a waste of my time.

You Can't Kill Rock'N'Roll......It's Here To Stay!.......2007-01-10

I absolutely love this book. As a child of the 80's and particularly 80's metal this book was a real trip down memory lane. His personal stories are wonderfully written and his analysis of the genre is pretty much right on. The only problem I have with the book is that he tries too hard to defend 80's metal. I feel no need to do so because I simply don't care if other people liked it or not. I did and so did a lot of my friends. In fact I still love to crank the "80's metal" playlist on my iPod.

To me the 80's is the by far the greatest musical decade precisely because most of the music had no deep meaning. It was about having fun and enjoying life(although not by the same moral code I followed). The 90's came along and all of a sudden everyone is depressed and they're trying to tell me why I should be also. Sorry, there are too many reasons NOT to be depressed, especially in this country.

This book is funny, witty and a fantastic read, even if you're not a fan of 80's metal. I look forward to checking out some of his other titles.

Average customer rating:

Irish Rural Interiors in Art
Claudia Kinmonth
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0300107323

Book Description

This book offers a fascinating view of many aspects of Irish rural life from the eighteenth to the mid twentieth century. Illustrated with more than 250 images, many of which have not been published before, the book evokes the hardships and celebrations of laborers and farmers, men and women, the old and the young as depicted in oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, postcards, and cartoons. Most of the illustrations show people engaged in indoor activities at home, but schools, shops, pubs, and doctors’ surgeries are also included. Claudia Kinmonth draws on extensive knowledge of the material culture of rural life to present a new social history of Irish country people.
Working within a broadly chronological framework, the author addresses such themes and patterns of rural life as the architecture of houses, where people slept, cooking over the open hearth, rural dress, display, childcare, work within the home, the arrangement of marriages, weddings, wakes, and celebrations. The book also explores why Irish and foreign artists depicted rural interiors and sets their work in the context of art history.

Foxfire 2: Ghost Stories, Spring Wild Plant Foods, Spinning and Weaving, Midwifing, Burial Customs, Corn Shuckin's, Wagon Making and More Affairs of Plain Living

Average customer rating:

BOOK(S) WITH A WONDERFUL PURPOSE.
Survival Guide for Hardy Individuals
Great Book!
Foxfire books are excellent
I love the series of these books

Foxfire 2: Ghost Stories, Spring Wild Plant Foods, Spinning and Weaving, Midwifing, Burial Customs, Corn Shuckin's, Wagon Making and More Affairs of Plain Living
Inc. Foxfire Fund
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Foxfire Book: Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts and Foods, Planting by the Signs, Snake Lore, Hunting Tales, Faith Healing, Moonshining
Foxfire 3 (Foxfire)
Foxfire 4 (Foxfire)
Foxfire 5 (Foxfire)
Foxfire 6 (Foxfire)

ASIN: 0385022670
Release Date: 1973-05-22

Book Description

This second Foxfire volume includes topics such as ghost stories, spinning and weaving, wagon making, midwifing, corn shuckin', and more.

Customer Reviews:

BOOK(S) WITH A WONDERFUL PURPOSE........2007-04-13

THis work, Volume II, is like the others. A wonderful history of how it was. In this day and age of having most needs meet and something for everyone on the Wal-mart shelf, we tend to forget just what it was like in our not too distant past. These books, the Foxfire books, brings to light skills, attitudes and a way of life that is all but forgotten. This is a good thing. When a people lose their history, they lose part of their soul. As the title of this work states, Ghost Stories, Wild Plant Foods, Spinning, Weaving, Midwifing, Corn Shucking, and there is so much more. The editors have done a wonderful job. They have made a very honest effort to replicate the dialect of those places and times and I feel that this is a big part of the charm of these books. I am old enough to have known many of the kinds of folks featured in these books, being only one generation past them, and have a great appreciation for what and how they did all the little things we take so for granted now. I might also suggest that you actually try some of the things mentioned in these volumes. It will give you even more of an appreciation for what they did, and hey, who knows, the skill you develope just might come in handy one of these days! Recommend this and the other Foxfire books highly.

Survival Guide for Hardy Individuals.......2007-03-28

Have enjoyed all the Foxfire Books for years. They are a wonderful peek into the lives of hardy people who survived without a single benefit from the U.S.Government.........and were proud of it.

Great Book!.......2006-03-15

I bought this book for my husband and he loves it! There are so many interesting facts in these books. I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in how things were back in the "old" days. Everyone, no matter how young or old, will learn something from reading this book.

Foxfire books are excellent.......2003-07-29

Years ago we owned all the Foxfire books, and then we donated them to the library so others could glean the wisdom they had, and we have slowly begun to but copies for our home library and this is one that I wanted first. Simply because it had information on burial customs and I make plain pine burial boxes. And because it has excellent information on wild plants that are edible in the spring and we love to forage for wild plants for food like stinging nettle, fiddle fern and dandelion. The section on bee keeping is also informative. Then there is the wonderful section on midwives which is of personal interest to me, as well as the wonderful section on how to wash clothes in an iron pot, because being vagbond-homestead-mountain mode people we like good clean clothes washed in an environmentally sound manner using the least amount of soap possible.

The Foxfire series is one that comes up on various simple living, homestead, frugal websites and web boards. So I know that millions of people have over the years found the series of books to be invaluable.

I love the series of these books.......1999-09-13

The series of Foxfire books takes you back in time when life was hard physically but simplier mentally. While reading these books I fell like I am in a time capsule being transported back in time ninety or so years. I enjoy past history and anything to do with mountain country around the Smokies. These peope lived off the land and took the time to enjoy life and their families. These books provide tips for things that are still done the same way, such as tanning hides. Norma Doyle, Florida

Average customer rating:

Very entertaining read...
An all-time favorite
So-so novel of a Montana family
A Great Coming Of Age Book
Good Bildungsroman

English Creek
Ivan Doig
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Domestic Life | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Dancing at the Rascal Fair
Ride with Me, Mariah Montana
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind
The Whistling Season
Mountain Time : A Novel

ASIN: 0743271270

Book Description

In this prizewinning portrait of a time and place -- Montana in the 1930s -- that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills.

The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point -- "where all four of our lives made their bend" -- and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one's kin and one's self.

Customer Reviews:

Very entertaining read..........2006-12-22

I hated to get sleepy at night, because I didn't want to put this book down. I thought this was a good story, and the author does a good job of describing the beautiful countryside to the reader.

An all-time favorite.......2005-04-01

I uncovered Doig's "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" at a small bookstore in Oregon many years ago. Since then, his books have earned a "do not loan" status on my bookshelf. I'll tell friends how much I love his books, but they have to buy their own copies. English Creek is one of my favorites. It immersed me in Montana, in a young boy's summer, in the fold of time between childhood and adulthood. While some of Doig's books have a darker, gritty, edge, English Creek made me laugh outloud. I've just ordered three more copies to give as gifts to friends who I know will love the premise, the prose and the portrait of life on the edge of growing up.

So-so novel of a Montana family.......2005-03-07

Set in northern Montana in 1939, this novel tells the story of the McCaskill family. Young Jick is 15 and interested in learning his family's history--not easy since his parents are pretty tight-lipped. His older brother wants to get married rather than go to college, which causes a rift in the family. The father works for the Forest Service and in tackling a big fire at book's end provides Jick with important family history. Good in spots, especially the last 50 pages or so, but one gets the feeling in much of the book that Doig is trying hard to write an epic, only it comes across as only boring details.

A Great Coming Of Age Book.......2004-05-22

Ivan Doig is one of the great American writers. This book is, chronologically, in the middle of what started out as a trilogy (Dancing At The Rascal Fair and Ride With Me Mariah Montana being the bracketing books) that expanded with Mountain Time. This book is also the most accessible to people who are not familiar with Doig but who might enjoy books about boys coming of age. Doig is a brilliant writer, better than Stegner. I recommend all of the books in the series.

Good Bildungsroman.......2002-08-07

This is a very good coming of age novel - historical novel. Set in rural Montana on the eve of World War II, English Creek describes the summer experiences of an intelligent 15 year old. Written by a Montana native who has done a good deal of historical research, English Creek is not only a Bildungsroman but also a detailed portrait of life in rural Montana. Told with humor and considerable insight, English Creek is a sweet but not saccharine book about a more innocent but not necessarily easier time.

Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants

Average customer rating:

Sad, Heartbreaking Stories.
China's peasants are still suffering.
"The Revolution is a Dinner Party"
A Voice for the Chinese Farmers and Peasants
Startling examination of life in rural China

Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants
Chen Guidi , and Wu Chuntao
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China
Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present
Mao's Last Revolution
Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China
The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge To China's Future (Council on Foreign Relations Book)

ASIN: 1586483587

Book Description

A prize-winning investigative expose of the poverty and injustice experienced by China's 900 million peasants, told through a series of dramatic personal narratives

The Chinese economic miracle is happening despite, not because of, China's 900 million peasants. They are missing from the portraits of booming Shanghai, or Beijing. Many of China's underclass live under a feudalistic system unchanged since the fifteenth century. They are truly the voiceless in modern China. They are also, perhaps, the reason that China will not be able to make the great social and economic leap forward, because if it is to leap it must carry the 900 million with it.

Chinese journalists Wu Chuntao and Chen Guidi returned to Wu's home province of Anhui, one of China's poorest, to undertake a three-year survey of what had happened to the peasants there, asking the question: Have the peasants been betrayed by the revolution undertaken in their name by Mao and his successors? The result is a brilliant narrative of life among the 900 million, and a vivid portrait of the petty dictators that run China's villages and counties and the consequences of their bullying despotism on the people they administer.

Told principally through four dramatic narratives of paricular Anhui people, Will the Boat Sink the Water? gives voice to the unheard masses and looks beneath the gloss of the new China to find the truth of daily life for its vast population of rural poor.

Customer Reviews:

Sad, Heartbreaking Stories. .......2007-05-11

This is not a fun book to read, it is bloody, sad, lawless, power vs non power, poor is poor. most of people think China is developing so fast in recent years, but people don't realize that they are still about 800 million people live in rural area in China, they are still struggle with their daily life, and voiceless.

China's peasants are still suffering........2007-04-09

Forget the title, this is an interesting expose on the Chinese peasant. These 900 million people toil in the backwaters of rural China, and were instrumental in getting their country industrialized. They also helped the country sustain itself following the Great Leap Forward (or backward in reality) and the Cultural Revolution. These people spend countless hours in backbreaking labor only to have party cadres unfairly tax them beyond their means. This book by a husband and wife team examines stories about their home province and show the corruption of village and party administration. China may be a coming superpower, but it better solve these problems before the people throw the rascals out.

I found this a very informative read. It starts out slow, but this is an intensely interesting book about the unfair lives led by millions of Chinese peasants and the people that are supposed to protect them-the party and village government hacks.

"The Revolution is a Dinner Party".......2007-04-04

John Pomfret writes in his introduction to this book that when he was in college in the late 1970s, professors taught that the Chinese Communist Party "truly represented the wishes of China's dispossessed" and one quoted Mao's saying that "A revolution is not a dinner party." Chinese reporters Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao document the plight of the peasants in their country, showing Pomfret and anyone else who dares to read their expose how corruption, excessive taxation, miscarriages of justice, too many layers of bureaucracy, and unchecked industrial pollution oppress and threaten the very existence of China's poorest.

China is no worker's paradise. The rural population is basically an unprivileged underclass -- a class of serfs -- that the government squeezes mercilessly. Despite declarations from the top Chinese Communist rulers that peasants should not be pay more than 5% of their annual income in taxes, 19% is closer to the truth. For a subsistence population, such heavy taxation (often in the form of ill-defined, sometimes illegal, fees and fines) is more than they can bear. Yet, their appeals for relief to various levels of their government generally result only in the status quo retained.

A sizable portion of the book relates journalistic investigations into specific several cases of murder of peasants by village or township officials. The petty officials became enraged to the point of doing or ordering bodily violence against peasants because the fed-up farmers were taking public steps to expose their (the officials') corruption.

Then, the authors cite some of the recent policies of the Chinese central government that have increased the sufferings of the peasants. Examples include increasing the layers of local governance, commanding villages to invest in industrial enterprises that are not sustainable and that force them into mountains of debt, and permitting giant gobs of industrial pollutants to turn black rivers peasants must use for bathing and drinking water.

"Will the Boat Sink the Water? The Life of China's Peasants" does feature portraits of good, conscientious officials who put the welfare of their villages or regions ahead of their own advancement. But the Chinese Communist system does not ordinarily promote such people. The Party is more interested in keeping the peasants in their place, and it promotes those officials who inflate the agricultural yields and other economic "successes" of their locality and who deliver their assessed taxes in full.

This revealing look at China at the grassroots level should be read by everyone who has read glowing reports of the progressive, sweeping economic and social strides allegedly remaking the most populous nation on earth. There *is* a dinner party going on: the Chinese peasants are being feasted upon by their cadres, village heads, and Party watchdogs.

This English translation of the book now banned in China is very highly recommended.

A Voice for the Chinese Farmers and Peasants.......2007-03-08

Chen and Wu are a voice for millions of farmers throughout China. Great insights into what life is like for the peasants and farmers in the countryside of China. It is hard to find many stories and reports about the hardships and persecutions which the farmers in China face and the political and economic system that they have to deal with. These are the people who make up the majority of China's population and yet you normally only hear about the urban areas and economic progress in China. As an American many of these incidents were hard for me to imagine happening within the last ten to fifteen years. I read this book while studying in China and when traveling in the countryside it gave me a better understanding of the places and people I encountered.

Startling examination of life in rural China.......2007-02-08

This short book should be an excellent antidote to the hype about China's economic resurgence and strength. We recommend Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao's frank, unvarnished account of peasant oppression and misery. Since peasants are the majority of the Chinese population, the system described here is China's true governance. The accounts of peasants suffering under local officials' tyranny are unsparing and quite moving, but the book is particularly valuable for its insights into how weak and ineffective Chinese laws and regulations really are. At the local level, laws clearly mean little against political connections and power. The danger is that this disparity could provoke another revolution in China.

If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska

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Memoir that shows beauty, danger, and community in small town Alaska
If You Died There, She'd Write About You
Haines, here I come..... in 7 years
Subtitled "News from Small-Town Alaska"
I live here, she knows my name.

If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska
Heather Lende
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

West | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 156512524X

Book Description

Tiny Haines, Alaska, ninety miles north of Juneau, is accessible mainly by water or air—and only when the weather is good. There’s no traffic light and no mail delivery; people can vanish without a trace; and funerals are community affairs. As both obituary writer and social columnist for the local newspaper, Heather Lende knows better than anyone the goings-on in this breathtakingly beautiful place. Her offbeat chronicle brings us inside her busy life: we meet her husband, Chip, who owns the local hardware store; their five children; and a colorful assortment of friends and offbeat neighbors, including aging hippies, salty fishermen, native Tlingit Indians, Mormon spelunkers . . . as well as the moose, eagles, sea lions, and bears with whom they share this wild and perilous land.

Customer Reviews:

Memoir that shows beauty, danger, and community in small town Alaska.......2007-08-17

Heather Lende is a freelance writer, commentator for National Public Radio, and obituary writer for the Chilkat Valley News in Haines, Alaska. "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name" is a portrait of life in Haines--a small isolated Southeast Alaska town dominated by awe-inspiring wildlife, majestic mountains, and 1,800 people (give or take) who manage to tenaciously hold onto their rugged individuality yet know when to set their individuality aside for the sake of greater goods (e.g. families in need of assistance, strong relationships with neighbors).

Lende writes from a first person perspective and thus Haines life is told from her idiosyncratic point of view. Many anecdotes revolve around Lende's vocations of stay-at-home-mother, school board member, member of the local Episcopal church, environmentally-conscious citizen, and (especially) obituary writer. As she presents Haines life from these angles, she often juxtaposes the complex emotions surrounding Haines. She presents examples of the breathtaking beauty of her town, but then tells the story of how their son almost died of appendicitis as they raced through a blizzard to a Canadian hospital. She writes about her divisive attempt to institute a mandatory gay sensitivity workshop at the local high school, but then writes about the unity she experienced with one of her most bitter rivals as they cooked a benefit meal together to help defray the medical bills of another town resident. She effectively shows that life in Haines, Alaska, is as complex as life anywhere.

A major theme running through "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name" is death--or to be more accurate, the cycle of life. This should not be surprising since one of Lende's vocations is that of obituary writer (and every Haines death gets a full treatment). Writing about "good deaths" for people who lived life fully to a ripe, old age is easy; writing about a twenty-year-old who drowns when his fishing boat sank isn't nearly as easy; why? Each death is totally unique; each death fits the pattern of life-and-death that had been established since the world began; how is this reconciled? And then, how do the related issues of birth, ageing, growing, loving, and how one spends his life come into play? Lende manages to be poetically reflective even while she avoids the temptation of being simplistic about death. She allows it to be mysterious, fearsome, natural, and expectedly complex. Even still, her last chapter, "I Am Not Resigned" surprisingly ties up a lot of running themes and brings a feeling of completion without presenting "solutions."

In my reviews, I try to present both positive and negative aspects of any book. For this book, Lende's memoirs, it is difficult to condemn her life experience. I never get the sense that Lende is being less than totally truthful (even when she portrays herself in a bad light). This reader appreciates her honesty, even to the point of admitting that those on different sides of various "issues" have valid points. Being one on the other side of these various issues, I do have trouble identifying with Lende at times. Crying, she comforts herself by imagining a future in which a homosexual from Haines becomes President of the United States; when writing an obituary of a Tlingit, she is overcome by "white guilt" because of what all the "people who look like her" have done to American Indians; she indulges in religious pluralism as she is a leader of her Episcopal church, seems to believe Tlingit creation stories, writes laudably about a wedding in which the "eternal spirits of the universe" are invoked, writes equally highly about a totally secular wedding, and experiences the joy of praying the Rosary. With all of these, this reader and Lende are so far apart, that I simply can't put myself in her shoes and say, "I understand what you're feeling, even if I disagree."

However, as previously mentioned, this is Lende's life experience and it is well told. I was fascinated as she mused on life during the winter months (where the sun doesn't rise until 9:30 and sets by 3:00!) and summer months (where the sun stays out well past midnight!). Her relating tales on the process of smoking fish, picking wild berries, raising chickens, cooking meals for thirty from scratch, and the like are fascinating. She succeeds in getting this reader to envision what living in Haines would be like...and in fact envy the people of Haines (until I remember the lack of hospitals and winter sun). In all, this book is highly recommended as it provides a great balance of enjoyment and forces to the reader to contemplate things common to us all--life, death, family, vocation, and what's really important.

If You Died There, She'd Write About You.......2007-08-01

Though I enjoyed reading about Haines and parts of this author's life, the preoccupation with death throughout this book was overwhelming. Death of relatives, strangers, friends, animals. Accidental death. Death by falling, by weather, by cancer, by boats sinking, by airplanes crashing. Fear of death. Near death. Funerals. Researching and writing obituaries. Anniversaries of loved ones dying. Even when it seems a chapter is going to be about a different subject, within a few pages it seems like death always sneaks in there.

I'd like to see another book by this author, this time devoted to life and living, instead of death and dying.

Haines, here I come..... in 7 years.......2007-07-30

I have been wanting to move to Alaska for about 15 years but my family won't come with me, so after the kids are through college and I have put in 20 years on my job, (I have 7 years to go) Haines, AK, here I come. During the past 15 years I have been reading about different towns in Alaska and there is always something that turns me off. Not one thing about Lende's descriptions about life in Haines has turned me off. I am sure this is the place for me. I am going to take a road trip in the summer of 2008 to Alaska and will definately spend time in Haines. I can't wait. One thing for sure, I won't be getting on any planes there until I am ready to go meet my maker.

Subtitled "News from Small-Town Alaska".......2007-04-03

Heather Lende writes the social column and obituaries for the small town paper in Haines, Alaska. You get to feel you know all of the residents there through her eyes and the columns she tells about that she has written. A book well worth reading. It will show you the joys and sorrows of a small town in Alaska and help you appreciate that small town where you may have grown up any where else.

I live here, she knows my name........2006-10-02

I live here. Heather knows my name. I know hers. I'm even rated a quick mention in her book. But there are many people in town she doesn't know. Heather doesn't get to the trailer courts and the local convenience store all that often. And in all fairness, the publishers were the ones who slapped the title on this book. Heather's Haines is just that Heather's Haines. It is Haines as seen through 'A Prairie Home Companion' liberal vision of life. On the surface it is all embracingly fair, painting a picture of wonderful quirky resilient people all moving, even if unconsciously, towards a politically correct utopia. Yet the reality is of course quite different.

While the town does have the vestiges of real community, satellite cable television, the internet, cellphones are all making inroads. Back in the early 90s when music videos finally arrived the teen boys suddenly all turned their caps around. And they became as disaffected as teens everywhere. Black Metal is now the rage. Sex before the age of 13 is not uncommon. And the Christian or New Age parents often don't understand the kids at all. But of course it is not all of the kids. Athletics, Drama and other influences keep a fair number of students relatively sane. Nevertheless there are serious problems.

Alcoholism is one of them, particularly among adults and Native Americans. And it's pretty much a taboo subject in public discussion. The town is not that violent though, unless you spend a LOT of time at the bars only. The doors to the homes are still unlocked, though lower forty-eight styled teen alienation are making a few people wonder how long that will continue. And there are some seriously prickly and petty people lodged in places of power. Heather doesn't note the real dark side of Haines, because I don't think she thinks that there is much darkness in the world. One can live in a Haines that is somewhat like Heather's description of it. And just sort of close one's eyes to it. You can go to a festive event, and see the smiling faces and not the alcoholics also present. The chipper couples at today's parties will have often switched partners within a year or two. One can see the moment without seeing past or future.

Heather does often capture something of the joy of living in Haines, yet she glosses over many of the dark spots in the picture. And she ignores many of the really great aspects of living here. What are they? You'll have to visit for yourself in October or April to find out. Many of the people I've met who have read this book probably wouldn't appreciate Haines on the many gray days of rain. But that's the reality. Sunshine is more the exception than the rule. Heather's book is a bit too sunny. But yes the sunshine is here too.

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash

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Who knew garbage could be so interesting?!
Eyeless in Gaza
Let's Talk Trash
Garbage Land
Funny stories about garbage?

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
Elizabeth Royte
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 031615461X

Book Description

The wild adventure begins once our trash hits the canas Elizabeth Royte boldly follows the things weve disposed of to their ultimate (often surprising) destination. Her highly praised book melds science, travel, anthropology, and a strong dose of clear-headed analysis as it reminds us how our decisions about consumption and waste have a very real impact.

Customer Reviews:

Who knew garbage could be so interesting?!.......2007-05-03

This book is an interesting, in-depth look at what exactly happens to garbage after you do your part in throwing it out. While I never thought this was a subject I would be interested in, I gave it a shot and found it fascinating!! Royte is a strong reporter and researcher, as well as a good writer. I recommend this book for any who has ever wondered "where does it all go?" And for a comedic angle on the subject of trash, check out Robert Gussin's "Trash Talk," a funny, fictional account of an environmental meeting overrun with professional athletes.

Eyeless in Gaza.......2007-03-07

Hey! I gave Elizbeth Royte's book 5 stars (not 2)! The secret wonders she works in this book! Elizabeth Royte is a transformative writer, an unassuming genius who wings hers way over the jellied mundane, putrefyingly prosaic, definitively overlooked, commonly rejected stuff on earth, your dear garbage. She takes us on a grand reverse journey to rejected digesters and backs up to smelly sodden transfer stations, and we are magically rewound, swathed in strange new currents. I was surprised by my own puddled reflection, puzzling in an oily rainbow shimmer. When she asked, What can we recover? What can be reclaimed? Who will redeem the Land? I wanted to answer her Powerful questions.

Let's Talk Trash.......2007-02-20

I found "Garbage Land" extremely informative and entertaining. For those of us who are trying to make informed choices on how to live our lives in ways that benefit the environment, this is a great read. I highly recommend it!

Garbage Land.......2007-01-23

The san man cometh and freelance science writer Elizabeth Royte is along for the ride. Yes, Ms. Royte is talking trash and is not afraid to get a little dirty along the way.

She starts in her own kitchen sorting and weighing her outgoing refuse for an entire year, but then embarks on a quixotic journey to wherever her garbage goes. Her local san men tolerate her ride-alongs, but the landfill wanted nothing to do with her (especially after catching her snooping around the back of their property anyway). So after a series of slammed doors and abruptly ended phone calls, she decides to cast a wider net and ended up touring (legit this time) a dump site in Nantucket and an incinerator in upstate New York.

Her writing is strong and descriptive (sometimes TOO descriptive). Her transitions can be a rough at times, and some of her far too New York-centric stories are obviously filler.

I would think she would know better than that since her book was printed on "virgin paper." Thus pointing out the main problem she found with recycling - there are no economies of scale (and manufacturers are fighting long and hard to keep it that way). Sure, recycling may save natural resources, require less energy and reduce carbon emissions, but without a market to ship the reclaimed materials to they often end up back in the landfill.

Her third section deals with another kind of household waste and is not to be read over morning coffee. Even our author admits that this section "pushed me over my personal gross out level," but she still bravely follows her excrement from point of departure through the pipes and into the treatment system. The plant manager even offered to let her touch some of their semi-processed materials, but she passed. She talks about how most "biosolids" are turned into fertilizers that are eventually spread onto our nation's citrus fields (just imagine the pills, medical waste, personal hygiene products, and other contaminants that flow through our sewers on a daily basis, and you'll never look at orange juice the same way again).

Eventually, Ms. Royte switches gears from toilet sludge to table scraps interviewing a woman in a large warehouse who dreams of turning New York's leftovers into high quality compost. Feeling inspired, our author tries the process herself with little result noting that composting isn't as easy as its proponents make it sound - especially in a NYC apartment.

After a year of sifting, sorting and snooping, what lessons does Ms. Royte have to offer us to save us from drowning in our own rubbish? A simple, but reluctant, refrain of "Reduce, reuse, recycle."

*** 1/2 out of 5.

Funny stories about garbage?.......2007-01-15

If you didn't think it was possible, try reading this book. The author has a way with words and provides an informative trail from trash can to landfill. You'll think about throwing your garbage away differently after this book.

Edges of the Earth: A Man, a Woman, a Child in the Alaskan Wilderness

Average customer rating:

Proud of my old high school chum
Beyond " The Call of the Wild"
AMAZING
A Good Chronicle
VERY INTERESTING!

Edges of the Earth: A Man, a Woman, a Child in the Alaskan Wilderness
Richard Leo
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805015752

Customer Reviews:

Proud of my old high school chum.......2007-02-08

I attended Sullivan High School with the author, Rick Leo in Chicago in the 1960's. He was always the brightest kid in every class we had together, and I admired his intellect. We weren't very close friends, but 10 years later, I had the privilege of working with his younger brother, John Leo, at a Chicago healthclub. I was actually trying to get back in touch with John, and was "Googling" his name to see if I could contact him, when I put Rick's name into the search engine. I was amazed to find that he had written this great book. I borrowed it from our library here in San Diego (sorry, Rick), and thoroughly enjoyed reading this exciting, informative and often poignant memoir. The other reviews here do a fine job of synopsizing the story, so I won't reiterate it, but what really shone through the pages was Rick's intense enthusiasm, wonderful sense of humor and incredible resourcefulness. I am very proud of my classmate, and hope we can visit him in Alaska sometime. He certainly paints an attractive picture. Hopefully, we can get in touch, maybe through this review! I am buying a copy of the book for my own brother (royalties to you, I hope, Rick) so we can discuss it together.

[...]

Beyond " The Call of the Wild".......2006-09-26

I came late to the party, but am glad to have discovered this gem of a book! As a consumate follower of great wilderness adventures, I became hooked on "Edges of the Earth" just by reading the dust cover. Alaska almost claimed me a few years before the oil boom, however I passed it up and settled into the kind of routine urban existance that Richard Leo fled. Now through his vivid prose I have built a log house, mushed a dog sled team, climbed treacherous glaciers and was enraptured by magnificent northern lights. All vicariously of course. Understandably, I was awed by the man's utter self confidence and passionate attachment to the wild, even to the point of losing the woman who loved him. The philosophical and spiritual roots of this attachment come through in the telling, although the narrative is essentially down-to-earth and intensely human. Leo felt deeply but seems to have had few regrets about his decisions.

Questions remain. Leo is a gifted writer; why wasn't there a second book? Where is Janus today? After spending much of his childhood in the wilderness with his father, how did Janus come to view the mainstream of America's culture? Leo's desire to raise his son outside of that culture was an ultimate projection of his own values. What has been gained from it? What,if anything, has been lost? I feel this book richly deserved a sequel, and others may feel the same.

Roy Campbell, author,
"Song of the Jackalope"

AMAZING.......2006-02-21

This book is AMAZING. If you are remotely interested in Alaska, do not walk, but run to buy this book. It is out of print, but you can still find it here on Amazon.
This book is about a couple trying to make a go of it in Alaska. From NYC and having no clue. It is a terrific book and I find it fairly accurate about life in Alaska.

A Good Chronicle.......2005-03-28

Since I did the same thing as Leo, twice, I was very interested in his story. I left Alaska in 1981 after the last disatrous attempt at wilderness living without money on the Dietrich River of the Brooks Range near Wiseman. I like the memoir genre and this one kept me reading. It wasn't surprising to find the relationship trouble and I can indentify completely, only my situation was reversed from Leo's dilemma. It was the woman that was more suited to the impoversihed end of the road existance than I no matter how appealing I found it philosophically. Three years without electicity was enough for me. My girlfriend stayed on 10 years in a different cabin in the Brooks after I abandoned the effort, or it me, as it were.

I kept saying to myself as I read Edges, "this girl isn't going to make it there." So I wouldn't call it a surprise ending. Frankly, I'm amazed she went in the first place. Even more that Melissa stayed in Talkeetna. His obcession with that particular house site leaves me wondering "why that spot?", but that's a personal thing.

Since I lived in Chase up the tracks I wanted to hear his impressions of the folks I met in 1976, but possibly many left, like the Bentleys, Husteds, but not so the Robert Durr family of back lake, the anonymous "professor" here. Durr just published his two memoirs as well so I suspect these details are filled in there. Same with the economics: will the cab driving go on indefinitely? What about the future?

All in all a decent effort.

VERY INTERESTING!.......2002-11-28

This book was throughly enjoyable from cover to cover. It's about a couple that leave New York and moves to Alaska. They know nothing about survival in the Alaska wilderness but somehow they learn and make a go of it. I'd love to see a follow up book! If you like wilderness adventures, dog sledding, nature, and survival stories...you should enjoy this book!

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