Book reccomendations

[barryasmith]

Hi

I'm looking for recommendations on good wilderness/adventure books that might be worth reading.

I'm interested in cold places, Alaska, Canada the far north etc. People living in or travelling through real wilderness areas.

I've read, and really liked, the Final Frontiersman, the Good life, Call of the wild and a few others.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Barry

 

[sandbender]

Have a browse through National Geographic Magazines 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time, you will find a few ideas there.

Link here.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Without hesitation:

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau

Cheers

 

[groundhog]

One mans widerness, Sam Keith about Richard Proenneke
Shadows on the Koyukuk Sidney Huntington told to Jim Rearden
Indian Creek Chronicles Pete Fromm
all alskan based and good reads

 

[spamel]

Have you considered a few of the sea survival books such as Survive the Savage Sea by Dougal Robertson, or Adrift by Steve Callahan? Both are very good reads, also Maurice and Maralyn Baileys' tale of their epic 117 days adrift (in fact it was more than that but that was what was reported at the time so they stuck with that for their book title) is well worth reading. Sea survival stories (even though I never set sail and only did a small amount of off shore sailing when I was in the Army) are very interesting and for me, really test the survivors' mentality and drive for survival. Most places you will find water, but at sea you are surrounded by water that you cannot drink. I cannot even begin to imagine how bad these people must have felt, and then how they overcame these problems and gouged out a life in the oceans for themselves. They are truly the experts at adapting to their environment!

 

[Firebringer]

The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic

About a schoolboy who leaves to join Hudson Bay company in the 1930's and ends up on Baffin Island.

Is fascinating, very much catches the end of an age. It's a bit life story, bit adventure with wilderness thrown in for good measure. I listened to it as an unabridged audiobook (audible.co.uk) and loved it, it's obviously available in print too.

 

[GreyOne]

Google Viljalhmar Stefansson, Hunters of the Great North, My Life with the Eskimo, etc. Also Artcic Travels by Ernest Thompson Seton.
Check Google Books for ebook versions.

 

[Chinkapin]

The Book of the Eskimo, by Peter Freuchen. You wont be able to put it down. Filled with great anecdotes about the Eskimo and their way of life.

Another wonderful book, albeit a historical novel, about the North, is Loon Feather, by Iola Fuller. Written around the turn of the century and in print ever since. Extremely well written and historically accurate. The book deals with the fur trade at its peak, centered on Mackinac Island in the Straits of Mackinac. Good book for anyone but particularly appealing to women and young girls. The heroine is a young Chippawa girl. Google: (Grand Hotel Mackinac Island) and check out the picture of the hotel on the island, You will be saving up for your trip after one look!

 

[javi]

Perhaps it doesn't cover the far north, but 'Bushcraft' by Mors Kochanski is a classic and a very informative read

 

[falling rain]

2 excellent books.
Cache lake country http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cache-Lake-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248858702&sr=1-1
and Cold burial - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Burial...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248870926&sr=1-2

Very good books indead, I've re-read them both several times.

Try 'Deep survival' too. Another very good book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-Surviv...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248871257&sr=1-2
I'm not sure why reviews keep mentioning that it's stories of survival. There are some yes, but the underlying tone of the book is about the psychology of survival. Very very interesting.

 

[fatduck89]

I am interested in the exact same area and genre of books. I ones I have read that I have really enjoyed are;

Cache Lake County
Voyaguer; Across the Rocky Mountains in a Birch Bark Canoe
The Good Life; Up the Yukon without a Paddle
The Good Life Gets Better.
The Call of The Wild (Jack London)
The Call of The Wild (Guy Grieve)
The Voyaguer
On The Edge of Nowwhere
Shadows On The River Koyukok
One Mans Wilderness
Diary of a Wilderness Dweller
Exploring The Yukon River
The Journals of Alexander Mackenzie

Some new ones I have just ordered from Amazon;

Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
Exploring the Yukon River
Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival
Diary of a Wilderness Dweller
Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine (Adventure Medical Kits First Aid and Operations Manual)


As you can guess I am pretty obsessed with Canada/Alaska, more specificially, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Once I have completed my degree I am going to do an operational tour to pay off my uni debt, then another tour for travelling funds. Then I am going to travel around all the above mentioned areas to find the 'perfect spot'. Build a cabin and live there

 

[coln18]

ive just finished a book called "The year long day" and it was such a good read id recommed it to anyone, one of the instructors on a ray mears course told me about it and he was right, its a really good informative book about a hunters life spent on his own throughout an artic year with all the expected ups and downs that come with that. Its a book from the late 70s so you might have to look about for it, but it really is worth the read.....

 

[mentalnurse]

i have read and enjoyed

the final frontiersman
one mans wilderness
call of the wild both books ( jack london and guy grieve)
yukon alone