book-reviews

The Midway Point of Writing a Book

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:21:07 +0100

A number of friends have told me that I need to write a book about my travels. They remind me of all the places I've seen, and encourage me to write a book about it all. So, after hearing enough of it, I've finally got the ball rolling and am about halfway through the story - something I've found to be much more difficult than I had initially anticipated.

I knew writing a book would be a lot of work, but you just pour so much of yourself into it that it's difficult not to fuss over every word, all the while wondering what the reader will think of you and your experience as they turn the pages. I've spent days upon days becoming blinded by computer screens as I wring my hands over the opinions of my prospective reader(s) - especially my family and close friends. I fully expect not everyone will enjoy the finished product, that's only natural and I'm not going to be hoodwinked into believing otherwise, but I want to give those that mean the most to me their money's worth.

I'm enjoying the experience of writing a book, finding it very rewarding, and I'm gaining a greater appreciation for all of those authors who I've given a bad review to in the past. There are only a couple of books I've reviewed negatively, but from now on I shall only write about the ones that I do like. After all, as my mother said, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." So, from now on, I shall keep my big yap shut on the books I don't find interesting and instead concentrate on those I enjoy.

There's a lot I'd like to say about my book, which is making it impossible to eat dinner at the table as it's covered in notes and books, but since it's not finished yet I can only speak in the vaguest of terms. I know this is frustrating for those that consistently ask me where I'm going next, but everything is given away if I say more than that I'm traveling within the United States. And so that's all I shall say here too, although noting that my past travels, from my childhood and beyond, will be incorporated to varying degrees and detail. Any promises beyond that could easily be broken as I don't know how the last half of the book will wrap up as the pages still need to be written.

If all goes well, and the publisher can turn it in time, I'll have the book on shelves and electronic by Christmas. All indications are promising for this to happen, but it's just impossible to say definitively as there's still so much to do. I believe all will go well though and that I'll sell that one copy that will make me feel like the king of the world - just don't expect me to stand up on the bow of a ship and shout it out to the oceans.

Gorillas in the Mist

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:16:36 +0100

Before I travel, as I wrote previously, I like to get a bit of a perspective on a country. Normally I prefer to pick up a copy of a history book as I try to get a good feel of what a country has been through and how it's developed. I gave it a bit of thought preceding my trip to Rwanda and decided to go in a different direction as I was able to pick up enough of a historical background from the marvel of the Internet; I instead purchased a copy of Dian Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist.

Most people are aware of who Dian Fossey was because of the movie starring Sigourney Weaver. I know of the film, but instead decided to skip it and read about the gorillas straight from the pages of Fossey, the woman who was actually there doing the research on the gorillas for so many years. It seemed like the most direct route to learning about the gorillas I was going to trek to see, and I was right.

As we hiked up the mountain to see the Hirwa Group of gorillas, I felt like I had a better base of knowledge to go on. I certainly wouldn't have considered myself an expert like another member of our group, but I felt like I at least understood and appreciated what I was seeing a bit more opposed to if I had not read her book.

But really, Gorillas in the Mist, other than being a story of some of Fossey's time in the beautiful Virunga Mountains, is also a tale of travel. Dian was really the ultimate traveler as she left the United States for an opportunity to live in a tent, high in the mountains, observing the endangered mountain gorillas. Sure, her conditions improved over time as a more premanent facility was constructed, but she was still roughing it with the best of them.

I greatly appreciated her perspective and knowledge as I trekked to see the gorillas, but I would also recommend it to any other reader. It really is a gripping story of research, preservation and protection, and loss; the book is beautifully written and an excellent read for anyone wishing to learn more about the world around us. From my point of view, it was invaluable as I was so keen to gather more information on the mountain gorillas before hiking to see them in their natural habitat.

So, whether you're traveling to Africa to see the mountain gorillas, or interested in learning about them from the comfort of your own home, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Dian Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist. It certainly helped me better appreciate the work the researchers in the mountains are doing, and more interested in the environmental world around me. I'm sure it will do the same for you.

And now, I think it's time to go see a movie that I've been putting off for far too long.

The National Parks

Mon, 24 May 2010 03:59:06 +0100

In the past year that I've had my annual National Park pass I've hit 24 national parks, monuments and historic sites. Some I've spent quite a bit of time exploring, and others have been mere afternoon stops on my way to something else. But the one thing that they all have in common is that they've made me more and more curious and interested in my country's national parks. Because of this, I picked up The National Parks: America's Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns to read and learn more about them.

The book, which is an off-shoot of the documentary series, is nearly 400 pages long and initially made me think that it'd be a project unto itself to read. But in actuality, I breezed through the book, looking more forwad to the next word than the one I just read, and enjoyed every minute of it. The National Parks is an outstanding, and obviously well researched, book about the history of America's national parks, and I just couldn't put it down.

And really, as I look back at those 400 pages, I can't help but think that it wasn't long enough. Duncan and Burns delved deeply into the history of the park system in their book, but it focused primarily on a handful of parks with brief mentions of others. And my one disappointment with the book is that there wasn't more about the other parks, monuments and historic sites. It really left me wanting more and hoping that they do a follow up book to this one.

I kept from buying this book initially because it's expensive. Thankfully though, while staying at the Grand Canyon National Park, I received a coupon for a discount in the park's stores. Because of this coupon that saved me a whopping $5, I finally decided to pick up the book. I'm glad I did and I enjoyed it immensely. And in recommending it to others, I think it's best to do so with the stipulation that they've first visited a few of the national parks, especially the more well known ones, in order to add some perspective while reading it.

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is hands down one of my favorite books and one that I know I'll keep out on the coffee table in my living room for years to come. The photography, including some shots by Ansel Adams, is second to none and the writing is just as good. I have no doubt I'll use it as a reference for years to come as I continue to travel to, and revisit, the national parks both near to me in Colorado and far across to the edges of the United States.

The River of Doubt

Tue, 11 May 2010 19:37:17 +0100

With the exception of maybe going into space, I've never had a great desire for exploratory travel. Paddling down unknown rivers in the deep dark with disintegrating clothing due to the humidity and hardships holds very little charm. I think it's impressive what others do on their adventures as they go into uncharted territory, but there's something about a bed and a bathroom that floats my boat. Still though, I have nothing against reading a good book on the subject.

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard is a story of the president's discovery trip along a major river through the Amazon Rain Forest, the River of Doubt. It is now known as the Roosevelt River, or Rio Teodoro to Brazilians, after the journey that left the whole team emaciated, and barely clinging to life in many cases, to explore and chart a river that only local Indian tribes really knew.

Much of what gripped me, through Millard's great research efforts, is how so much of the story is told in the words of those who did it. Sure, she has great backstory and side information, but so many lines were pulled directly from the diaries of the men who made the difficult journey. And to hear it from them really made it a great and personal story and one that I had a difficult time putting down.

Millard does an excellent job piecing together all of the information that she's gathered from what seems like thousands of different sources to tell an amazing story. I was really captured with this, and her writing, from the start in the prologue, and couldn't put it down until I was finished. And even then, I had some second thoughts and desired more as it was so well done. The River of Doubt really is an excellent read and one that I would put at th etop of most any recommendation list.

360 Degrees Longitude

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:07:44 +0100

I like to take books on vacations that I think with both last me the whole trip and also be possible to finish in the time that I'm gone. It's a delicate balance to strike as it's difficult to tell exactly how long it'll take you to read a book before you even pick it up as it could be rubish or it could be so good that you don't want to put it down, breezing through it in only a couple of days. Well, when I packed 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World for a recent road trip, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as I expected.

The book is 345 pages in length, which made me think that it would last me just long enough, but they type was also fairly large so I figured I'd make it just fine by reading a couple of chapters a night. But, there was the problem then if I got into it too much and sat down for a couple of cold ones in a good, long reading session.

Which yeah, is of course what happened.

I got into this book, which was a great Christmas gift, and I could not put it down. I sat on my hotel's balcony and finished it in three nights of reading, breezing through it in about a quarter of the time that I actually thought I would as it's an excellent account of author John Higham's family trip around the world in a year.

360 Degrees Longitude is an entertaining tale of their adventures and mishaps around the globe. Sometimes the stories are downright funny and sometimes they made me roll my eyes, but they're always entertaining. I really quite enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story of what so many think is the impossible - taking your kids on a round-the-world vacation.

And as an extra added bonus, Higham hooked up with Google to publish various extras online. So not only is there the story in the book, but there are extra side helpings that you can access with a few easy clicks. So, excuse me now while I got check those out as I just got back from my own trip and didn't have the chance to do so before!

The Best American Travel Writing of 2009

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:57:40 +0100

As soon as I finished and put down The Best American Travel Writing of 2008, edited by Anthony Bourdain, I knew I had to pick up the 2009 edition. I enjoyed the previous one enough, my first taste at the series, and wanted to read more. Thankfully the 2009 book was already on the shelves so I could easily run down to the store to pick up a copy. But, I didn't do this without some trepidation.

So many great books I've read, or movies I've seen, have been followed up with flop sequels. Of course, this is a bit different as it's a series of books opposed to a regular sequel that you might get with something else; kind of an apples and oranges comparison. Still though, I was a bit concerned that the new 2009 book, this one edited by Simon Winchester, was going to be a bit disappointing and not nearly as enjoyable as the Bourdain copy.

I had nothing to base this concern on but my own cynicism. And truthfully, it was more like a cautious optimism, or even a joyous pessimisim, than anything else as I just feared a fall off. I ended up being pleasantly surprised as I turned the pages of the book. I really quite enjoyed it, even more than the 2008 one, and found the vast majority of the stories to be along the lines of trips that I would go on.

So often now it seems like travel writing goes to extremes, which is shown with a particular story here to Darfur, rather than trips or places that most normal people - those without a death wish - would travel to. These stories seem to buck that little trend and get back to places that I would consider going to on my own vacation. I think this is part of what attracted me so much to this edition as it wasn't extreme adventure vacationing where you're risking life and limb, with the exception of the Sudan story, and more along the lines of unique perspectives of great destinations or stories.

I would really recommend this compilation of great travel writing to anyone interested in articles in such publications like National Geographic, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and many more excellent print and online sources. Of course now, after reading what I see as a nice step up from the 2008 copy, I'm concerned and wary of what might be published in the 2010 edition. My only hope is that series editor Jason Wilson keeps up with what I've greatly enjoyed in these two editions and keeps on going.

Around the World in 80 Days

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:17:10 +0100

I was walking through the book store the other day trying to kill some time. I had no where particular to be so I figured I'd go there and wander through the stacks for a while. This is something I enjoy doing from time-to-time, always hoping that I won't buy anything but instead just wander and enjoy killing a few hours with a bit of noisiness and people watching.

Yeah, I was wrong there. I don't think I ever go into a book store and not buy at least one book. Well, this time, as I walked around it dawned on me that the only travel books I had reviewed were non-fiction ones. Who says that a good travel story can't be fictitious? Not I as I enjoy a well told story regardless if it's true or not.

One of the books on a very long list that I've been wanting to read for a while was Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days. Being the Jackie Chan dork that I am I saw the movie first. I quite enjoyed that, so I had no doubt that I'd love the book too as they're usually better than the movies. Usually.

The story, in case you're not familiar with it, is about how an eccentric Englishman named Phileas Fogg makes a bet that it's possible to go around the world in 80 days in 1872. That's certainly no small task as it's not possible to fly it; everything has to be done by steamer ship and train, and through some dangerous country in places like India and the wild west of America. The story goes as he makes his way around the globe with his valet, or servent, Passepartout - played by Jackie Chan in the movie.

Because Jules Verne never did anything like this himself, some of the story isn't exactly accurate. But, as it's fiction, I didn't once mind and quite enjoyed the story. It's a great adventure and one that most travelers, myself included, would love to have the opportunity to do.

Around the World in 80 Days is an easy read that can be done in a day. I spent a few days enjoying my copy, but it's such an entertaining tale I could've readily lounged on the couch reading the pages on a lazy day. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a bit of adventure traveling from the comfort of your own sofa. It's a fun story that's sure to delight.

Mona Lisa's Pajamas

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:48:16 +0100

Reading before bed is one of my simple little pleasures. I love sitting in bed, nightstand light on, flipping the pages away before I drift off to sleep; it's all very relaxing. Occasionally I fall asleep reading, only to wake up in the morning to find my book who knows where. Generally that says nothing to be about the quality of the book, just how tired I happen to be from the day. But, when I fall asleep reading when I'm not in bed and it's not late, I'd say that says something.

Mona Lisa's Pajamas: Diverting Dispatches From a Roving Reporter by A. Craig Copetas tended to lull me to sleep no matter where I was reading it. His writing is good, as it should be since the stories were initially for publications like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, but I found it to be quite dry. Sometimes newspaper writing can be that way, particularly when it's for more traditional papers, but as Copteas said he expanded on his stories I guess I had expected more.

This is a compliation book, once again, and it's remarkably similar to another book I read recently, Americana by Hampton Sides, but more on the global level. Overall I liked Hampton's book, but I just couldn't get into Mona Lisa's Pajamas no matter how hard I tried. The stories didn't work for me and I didn't like the way they were put together either. For one, I'm not a golfer and reading several stories about golf in a row caused me to be irritated and frustrated. Things should've been spaced out better and organized differently in my opinion.

I appreciate the effort that A. Craig Copetas put into his book and understand the talent he has as a writer, which I would definitely say is far above mine as he writes for such honored newspapers, but I felt like I was wasting my time in reading it. Never once did I get into a flow in the book nor did I really get into a story. And any time I came close to it, I was abruptly pulled from it as it ended, each article only being a few pages in length generally.

If you enjoy travel writing that has a business twist to it and tend to read newspapers from cover-to-cover each day, then this is quite possibly the book for you. But, for my money, I would've gone somewhere else. Mona Lisa's Pajamas just never really caught me nor did it wow me past what I would see every morning in the newspaper over my breakfast. The writing is good, but news-like and dull most of the time.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. In no way would a complimentary copy of a book ever influence me to give it a positive review, just a fair shake of my opinion.

Weird U.S.

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:12:36 +0100

What travel is to one person it may not be to another; it's all very subjective and personal. The book Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets reminded me of this once again. It's not as though I see many of the things in the book as actual travel-related places, but really anything can fall under the travel category now as people travel to see different things and have varying experiences; it's not always all about the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramids of Giza.

As I read this book I was reminded of all the ghost shows that are on television now, including the one on the Travel Channel. To the main stream the places they talk about aren't considered travel destinations, most would even be downright frightened to get anywhere near them, but there is a certain niche that is interested in such places. The book Weird U.S. definitely caters to that crowd. There are nearly 450 pages of ghost stories, stories about big foots and lizardmen, and other tales of the bizarre in America that would have some people booking immediate flights to spooky destinations.

Weird U.S. is an excellent guide for anyone interested in such trips and adventures. For the someone looking at seeing bizarre and kitschy things, such as the world's largest ball of twine maybe, it would have really no value as such things aren't to be found. I had hoped some such things would be found in the pages, but certainly wasn't overly disappointed in the direction the authors took by excluding the goofy road stops either.

I, for one, can't say that I have any interest to tempt fate by taunting spirits, but I certainly did enjoy reading many of the stories in the book by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman. Of course, I didn't find every story interesting, especially as may stories are just repeated from different angles, but that wasn't a problem as I could just turn the page without really losing anything from the book. It's a compilation of various stories, some that they wrote and others by readers, so it's not as though the reader has to go through every story page-by-page or risk missing out on a huge chunk of the plot.

I read every page though, as I feel it only fair to do for a review, and was pleased that I did as there certainly were some interesting stories. My one complaint though, which came to me about halfway through the book, was that most of the stories were from the east coast. I know the authors are from the New Jersey area and that the book originated from a publication they did in the Garden State, but it would've been nice to see more stories from the west. As it is, the book is mostly "Weird East Coast with a Smattering of Tales From the West."

NOTE: THis book was sent to me by the publisher for review. In no way would a complimentary copy of a book every constitute a positive review though.

The Chicago of Europe

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:26:14 +0100

It is no secret that I'm not a fan of Mark Twain's work. I have not attempted to conceal this in any way, and actually have been rather up front about it. So, when I was offered a copy of a compliation of some of Twain's writing, I made darn sure the publisher knew that they were ice skating uphill on this one. Yet, for some odd reason, that didn't stop them. Either very confident in their work, or foolishly blind, they sent me off a copy anyway of The Chicago of Europe: And Other Tales of Foreign Travel.

I rolled my eyes upon initial inspection of the book. At 500 pages long I knew it wasn't going to be an easy read. I've struggled with Twain's prose from day one, all the way back to my school days, and have never been able to get by it. Still, I wanted to be fair with this and give it a chance. The book itself looked good, a beautiful binding with a varying cut on the pages to give it an old feel.

As I started to read The Chicago of Europe I quickly came to realize that this is a Mark Twain book that I can actually get into. As a compliation of different travel stories it was hitting on where my interest was, and not in all the other random details he yapped about in other books. I found myself interested in his stories as they only dealt with traveling. Sure, some of the stories I didn't like, but still I was able to get through the book with very little problem. And many parts I actually found quite interesting.

The heart of the book, the title story, as well as The Awful German Language were by far and away my favorites. I can now see whey editor Peter Kaminsky, Executive Producer of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, placed them as he did; they are the guts of the compliation and the heart of the book.

On the other hand, I rolled my eyes as Twain gushed about such places like the Palace of Versailles. I understand and appreciate the historical importance of such places, but was not a particular fan of it on my visit. So as I read his take on the palace I couldn't help but sigh and be thankful the chapter was only three pages long. Still though, despite my dislike, it fit in the grand scheme of the book. Where I struggled in terms of what was included was at the end under the "Fantasies" section. It all seemed a bit of a reach to me and I wasn't quite sure why Kaminsky included it.

Regardless though, it's not difficult to bypass those four stories and go straight on to the "Final Note," where the compliation was well wrapped. And as I closed the cover at that, I realized that I had just read the first Mark Twain book I ever had any sense of like for. The stories were all entertaining; I had no difficulty in following along from one to the other, despite all of them being excerpts from other books, and I found that I was quite pleased with it on the whole. And as none of the stories are terribly long, I quite enjoyed that I could read one or two quickly, as in before bed, and not have any issues on trying to pick things back up a day or two down the road.

If you fancy yourself a Mark Twain fan, then I would recommend The Chicago of Europe to you without a moment's hesitation. If you're not a particular fan, and have always been a skeptic like me, I would still recommend it to you as it might just change your mind. It's a well done book and one that I'm happy I had the chance to read, particularly because of my initial reservations.