North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Book Report #316

How refreshing this book was from the previous book review!

It was beautifully written, honest and romantic.  In the 1930's flight was still very much in its infancy, the realm of adventurers.

I loved the gentleness of her writing and how she and her famous husband, Charles, were surveying routes to China for the planned commercial aviation business.

The flight went from the east coast of the USA, up to Churchill on the Hudson's Bay, across the high north of Canada and Alaska to the Kamchatka peninsula, Japan and finally China.  All of this in a two-person float plane with barley any infrastructure or radio communication.  Amazing.

For an 86 year-old book it read very well.

I was especially taken by how Ms. Lindbergh rankled at the expectations of the media.  Being a woman they were only concerned about what she was wearing and what she packed for lunch.  It's nice to see how her pioneering worked to promote and push forward social equality.

I highly recommend this book.  I restored my faith in humanity and in story telling.

A History of Canada in Ten Maps by Adam Shoalts - Book Report #314

 Epic Stories of Charting a Mysterious Land

Canadians like to think our history is boring and generally peaceful.  But the truth is much more insidious than that and our long history of violence, oppression and disregard for the Indigenous people of this land was hard to learn. 

Adam Shoalts is an Explorer in Residence at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society his previous books blend Canadian history with his own adventures into the blank parts of our map.  This was a bit of a departure for him in that the maps were not his own but those of our history.

From the very earliest maps to the more modern and complete ones he told the story of how Canada became a country.  The importance of our rivers, but more importantly that of the Indigenous nations that helped the Europeans along, was alway central to the pursuit of trying to find the edges of this unknown continent. 

I was disheartened by the violence throughout the entire book.  The conflicts between whites and Indigenous came as no surprise however there was distrust and violence between the Nations themselves.  None was more disturbing to me than the fight between the Dene and the Inuit described by Samuel Hearn in his expedition of the Coppermine River. 

Throughout the book I kept thinking at how deeply flawed humans are.  Our willingness to hurt each other and to distrust those who are not like us is so deeply baked into our DNA that I wonder if we can ever overcome it. 

I am very glad to have read the book.  I learned so much about Canadian exploration history.  Even though it was a gut punch at times it is an important book to help us understand who we are and what kind of country we want to become.  This will not be easy. 

The Adventurer’s Handbook by Mick Conefrey - Book Report #311

 From Surviving an Anaconda Attack

to Finding Your Way Out of the Desert

I loved this book.  The illustrations, the tips & tricks and the history of explorations were all neatly packaged in this small hardcover book.  It was a joy to read.

It is also a terrific guide into the subject of adventure, travel, discovery, endurance, glory and tragedy.  If you are curious about the past and how the world was discovered, mapped and understood, this is the book to reach for.

It is chock-full of brief descriptions of countless expeditions.  You will easily find subjects you are interested in and it will point you in the direction to discover more.  From mountain climbing, desert explorations, ocean sailings of discovery it's all there.  Names, dates, expedition titles all are jumping off points to discover more books or websites that will expand on what is presented by Conefrey.

While reading this book, I often put it down and went outside for some fresh air.

Highly recommended.

Mick Conefrey's website - https://www.mickconefrey.co.uk/

Mick Conefrey

Alone Against the North by Adam Shoalts - Book Report #217

Oh my goodness, this is the kind of book an armchair traveler enjoys - one that explores lands the reader would never consider exploring.

I kept asking myself what the hell Shoalts was thinking. The crazy muskeg swamps of the James Bay watershed are unexplored for a reason - they are nearly uninhabitable. 

But that’s what makes the book so interesting, Adam Shoalts is driven by a desire to fill in the small parts of the map that are still blank. And God bless him for it. 

But, to be honest, I felt the man needed to get his head examined for all the chances he took by himself.  

I feared for his safety, even though he lived to write the book.   The chances he took could have made his biography end with the scentence, “... never to be seen again.”

It truly was a terrific book that I highly recommend. 

Thanks to Adam for taking the journey - so I don’t have to.

Adam Shoalts' website - http://adamshoalts.com/

Adam Shoalts

Mars Baby!

Congratulations to NASA and the Mars Curiosity team for a beautiful landing!!