One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey (Annivers

THERE AREN'T ENOUGH STARS TO GIVE THIS BOOK. SIMPLY SAID THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR THE HUMAN RACE. WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO READ, YOU CAN PROBABLY FINISH IT IN ONE OR TWO SITTINGS. BUT THE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK WILL STAY WITH YOU FOR A LIFETIME, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A WORKER AND LIKE DOING THINGS ON YOUR OWN.
THE BOOK IS A VIRTUAL MANUAL FOR BEING A DECENT PERSON: USE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED, BE SELF RELIANT, RESPECT THE EARTH AND ALL OF IT'S INHABITANTS, LEARN HOW TO BE ACCOMPLISHED AT MORE THAN ONE OR TWO THINGS, WORK HARD, EAT WELL, RESPECT YOUR BODY...I COULD GO ON AND ON.
BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT MORE THAN ONCE. IF YOU DON'T GET WHAT I AM SAYING THEN YOU ARE PROBABLY BEYOND THE INSPIRATION OF ANY BOOK TO BEGIN WITH. IF YOU DO GET IT YOU WILL KNOW WHAT EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN.
AT WORST AN ENTERTAINING STORY ABOUT A TRULY GREAT MAN( SADLY BECOMING FEWER AND FARTHER BETWEEN) AT BEST AN INSPIRING STORY THAT WILL CHANGE SOME OF YOUR VIEWS ON LIFE.

I was not prepared for this book but it totally consumed my outdoor longing. I couldn't put it down.
Massive impact on my dreams
/PJ

A fantastic account of this man living in Alaska all alone. Most of the book is basically a diary of day to day activites, but if this is interesting to you, you will enjoy it. He built his own cabin 100% by hand, hunted, hiked, and just immersed himself in the outdoors. Very interesting. Its hard to fathom how he did it all.

This is a great book. It was delivered quickly and was in excellent condition. A must for any library.

Preserving Alaska's Natural Wonder

Based on the 1960's journals kept faithfully by Dick Proenneck, an archetype of the Sierra Club's advocate, this book presents an amazing story with glorious color photographs. "I don't think a man knows what he can do until he is challenged," p. 211) concludes the man who hewed out a log cabin single handedly in the wilderness. This is a succinct statement of Proenneck's motivating philosophy of personal achievement. Readers follow his non-boastful narrative of trial and error during a remarkable 18-month sojourn in wild Alaska. His survival odyssey (physical and emotional) presents him as the quintessential Mountain Man.

Satisfied to rely on Nature to supply his basic needs (and more contemporary items being flown in at irregular intervals by a cheerful bush pilot, faithful Babe, Proennecke realizes his dreams of carving out a pioneer life in the wilderness near Twin Lakes. Several chapters are quite long but fall into natural, timely categories. I am always interested in How-to descriptions involving caareful planning and manual labor, so I found the BIRTH OF A CABIN chapter fascinating. Even many of his actual tools were made by his own hands, as he started from scratch; his rustic creation is now part of a State Park which tourists may admire 40 years later. The cabin, fireplace and chimney, and cache-on-stilts all bear testimony to his skill and craftsman dedication--proving that a determined man can carve out a hearth after his own heart.

A conscientious chronicler of his own activities (and thoughts) Dick used both his still and movie cameras to capture the cabin in various stages of completion, as well and the flora and fauna of the relatively unspoiled Alaska. With tongue-in-cheek humor he shares his attempts (successful and otherwise) to peacefully interact with the curious or persistent creatures who tried to share his digs and provisions. He seems to feel that critters are a lot like some people-- drawing stoic or amusing conclusions about his attempts to coexist. His gripes with the callousness of humans (seasonal hunters, flown in to bag moose, caribou and Dall sheep) indicate his deep awareness of the fragility of an environment and man's duty to preserve it intact as much as possible--not only out of respect for the animals that inhabit the area, but for future generations of tourists and residents. When he was flown out after his 18-month odyssey he realized that many of the smaller creatures would suffer Hand-Out withdrawal, now that Dick's Welfare was about to dry up. Hats off to a pioneering environmentalist who made us all Aware of Alaska's potential.

Sept. 2, 2008