Biography Books

This is a great companion tool for Twelve Extraordinary Women. It is lengthy. Be prepared to commit a fair bit of time to the study--but well worth it!

The workbook is a must have companion to the book 12 extraordinary women. A few of the questions are difficult to understand alone, but in a study group with discussion they can be talked out. The questions are thought provoking and insightful. The really make you think about where you are in your walk with God and how you want your relationship with Him to proceed.

This book has been very inspiring. The author brings these women in the Bible to life. A must read.

Heavy as in ponderous. The questions in this study are difficult to answer, don't point towards the scripture or toward God and take way too long with too little result. I am very disappointed in both the book and the study. Each lesson is approximately 15 pages of tedious questions that are impossible to answer honestly. It is obvious that John MacArthur wrote the whole thing to direct people to certain conclusions. UGH! I don't recommend it and will only continue because of my commitment to my group.

This is a wonderful tool to help our ladies Bible study group walk through the book "Twelve Extraordinary Women". It is teaching some how to glean all there is to learn from our ancestors.

After reading this book I realized that I would probably despise Ralston if I ever met him in real life due to conflicting personalities, but that does not take away from the sheer awesomeness of this book that will appeal to anyone who likes a good survival story with a proper touch of spirituality. Ralston tells his horrific event down to every disgusting detail with impressive narrative that many writers can't beat. Along with this are just great thoughts about life and spirituality. Every good gruesome detail is here and the pictures are amazing.

I found this book inspiring. His will to live drove him to make decisions that most of us cannot even imagine. It will drive readers to value their lives even more.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because, as it is well written, it is a bit drawn out. I kept wanting to skip ahead.

Overall - Very good read.

Aron is an inspiration to all of us and an incredible writer. He fully acknowledges his flaws as a human being which makes this book all the more powerful. He loves life to the limit and paid a high price to do so.

My son was seriously injured in the Iraq war and I purchased a copy for him. It takes courage to make a good life...and Aron has no shortage of that.

I've a feeling we have not heard the last of Aron Ralston, but it won't be long before we do.

His narration of the nearly fatal idiocy that cost him his right hand is interspersed with flashback stories of even greater follies accomplished during previous wilderness "adventures." We are regaled with accounts of running barefoot through the snow with a bear in pursuit, leaping fully clothed into a raging Colorado River for no apparent reason, rock climbing (in sandals, no less) over, and then falling into, a patch of prickly pear cactus, having his footwear fall apart midway up the face of a 2,000-foot sheer granite wall - these apparently recounted in hopes of showing what an accomplished (or at least, passionate) outdoorsman he is - are not the stuff of legend, or inspiration, or courage; they are the tales of a bonehead in search of a Darwin Award. An Hero.

I continually found myself wondering why anybody who suffered such an unbroken string of disasters brought about by poor decision-making, unpreparedness, naivete, or downright pigheadedness would be set up as an inspirational character (or why anyone would seek to publicize their own stupidity thus); but then I remember Timothy Treadwell and his ardent supporters and followers.

In any event, the straw that broke this camel's back was Aron's reviling us with an event he saw as amusing and clever: he and his friends composed a "joke" distress note and put it in an empty vodka bottle which they then threw into Havasupai Creek, to flow over Mooney falls, to perhaps "be found by a jet skier in Lake Mead." Right. More likely broken glass discovered by the waders barefoot downstream.

Oh, I could go on and on.. and Aron does. A litany of grief and stupidity haunts this guy and anyone who does business with him. He manages to lose not only his ice axe on one winter ascent, but the team's only map as well, resulting in abandonment of their summit bid in lieu of an emergency hunt for a way off the mountain.

I think of the disaster that befell the Everest climbers in Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", or the mystery of what happened to Irvine and Mallory detailed in "Ghosts of Everest" and innumerable other actually heroic stories, of excruciating ordeals, unbelievable fortitude and character displayed by many climbers and outdoorsfolk, and then I think of this clown losing his team's map while traipsing around on a 14,000 foot mountain, for cripe sake.

I think about this jamoke going out in the wintertime to scale Colorado's mountains without proper clothing or food, or common sense or respect for the nature in general and mountains in particular. He hikes up mountains in the wintertime but has not the sense to put his chocolate bars or water in an inside pocket where they won't freeze, then bemoans the fact as if it were some giant life lesson Gaia bestows only on hardy souls (who venture forth thus unencumbered with brains).

Feh. Do yourself a favor and skim the tripe. There are perhaps 100 readable pages in the book, and don't swallow any of Aron's stultifying psuedo-religious gobbledygook or cerulean blue prose-poems; it's mostly blather perpetrated by a not-too-bright adrenaline junkie who very well could be the next famous bear scat.

I think readers would be better served by skipping every other chapter in this book or just searching online for Aron Ralston, you'll find it. A reader above mentioned he doesn't come off as bragging about his exploits, I found exactly the opposite.

On one hand, Aron and I have been in many of the same places, (probably around the same time) and in a way, reading about his adventures in various places brought back great memories for me. On the other hand, If I wanted to read about his memoir, I'd have bought that book. Halfway through the book I found myself saying, just cut it off already!

While I do respect his accomplishments in his winter solo ascents, I simply don't respecting his risky backcountry decisions. He is redeemed though by calling himself out, recognizing that he's lost friends over his past irresponsible backcountry recklessness. In a sense, the book is a primer for what not to do in the winter backcountry.

I thought it was interesting how with Ralston's considerable experience, intelligence, engineering rigging skills and strength none of it mattered in the end. Just a guy with no more options that did what needed to be done.

This is a fascinating book, especially for those outside the US who may, like me, be almost wholly unfamiliar with the period of history covered. Morris is excellent at making detail interesting and compulsive to read. The book weaves the lives four very different men into a coherent story. The way in which these "Robber Barons" presage the emerge of Mr Gates (at Microsoft), Mr Brin and Page (at Google) was a very important message for me. This was something I "knew", but could not support, or articulate clearly. Morris has done the job and I am now keen to read his other books.
William Forbes (Bedford, England)

This is a great book for looking at the economic history of the United States. It covers mostly the four mentioned in the title but what was really fantastic and what deserves that extra star is that it covers the economic developments on the side. It looks at how our economy outpace Europe and the shift to make America that extra superpower. WE also have a look at how our ability to move west gave us an added advantage and that we did not have to resort to colonies. While we exported much we still made tremendous gains in internal improvements. He also grasp how the development of the coronation as an institution led to the rise of clerical and accounting positions creating hundreds of service jobs. This book is incredibly well written and really holds your interest. It offered the best explanation of Gould's attempt to corner the gold market I have ever read. It is very well researched and makes references to the top economic historians out there. A must read for anyone who wants to understand how the United States developed economically

Charles Morris's "The Tycoons" is a good summation of the Industrial Revolution but is almost certainly poorly sub-titled with "How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan Invented the Supereconomy". The New York Times did a review on October 2, 2005 and Todd Buchholtz hit the nail on the head writing "The Tycoons is not a path-breaking work of scholarship, testing new hypotheses against freshly uncovered facts." In fact a good part of Morris's book has nothing to do with these four very important men of commerce influenced anything. Rather he does show what the principal drivers behind such an economic explosion were. His writings on the four are based upon good, but not really extensive, research. For instance, much of his writing on Morgan is attributable to the best seller by Ron Chernow, The House of Morgan. While this was certainly a terrific book, to have it as THE principal souce or one of your main topics, is to short change any serious effort at research.

He manages to get a plug on the book by I.W. Brands of the University of Texas, one of our most well respected historians on the period. Perhaps Professor Brands saw something I did not. That said, it is a quick read and a rather fun one. A bit more organization would have gone a long way.

Alas, I should have listened to my fellow Amazoners.

They tried to warn me that despite the misleading title there wasn't very much in this book about the tycoons themselves. Well, I ignored them and blew the full retail price at a local store. If you want to read in minute detail about how a variety of engineering and manufacturing problems which had plagued industry were finally solved by the great minds of the second half of the 19th century, this book is for you. If you want to read about Gould, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Hill, Stanford, and Morgan, check out Matthew Josephson's classic instead. There's very little about any of the tycoons here.

The editors of this book should have insisted on another, more accurate, title.

As for the book itself, it's a pedestrian-like plod through history. Some books you can't put down after picking them up. This is most definitely not one one of them. I find myself taking taking one or two week breaks in between chapters while I devour other books in two consecutive evenings.

If you want to learn about the background in which the robber barons operated this may be the book for you. Just be forewarned that there's scant little about them between the covers.

I picked up "The Tycoons" to read, in one place, a chatty summation of recent research about Rockefeller, Gould, Carnegie, and Morgan, but instead found myself pulled through a keyhole onto a vast landscape new to me: how America invented mass-market manufacturing. We were the first country to figure out how to make two rifles so exactly alike that their components could be mixed and matched on the battlefield. The Silicon Valley of this period was the Connecticut River, navigable down to New York with access, via the Erie Canal, to the midwest markets. This river was the site of all the key water-powered factories where early automation and assembly lines created the first mass-produced items for daily life. Besides famous tycoons, we meet the forgotten engineers and efficiency experts who invented modern manufacturing and then spread its gospel to Europe. Through this book you are present at the birth of American economic dynamism. A readable and fascinating survey.

An incredible book for spiritual/meditative practice. It answered so many questions and tied up so many loose ends, with clarity and gentle guidance. An absolute must read for a contemplative, especially if you're practicing solo.

Having been a big fan of Adyashanti and Peter Fenner (Radiant Mind), I found this book by Stephan Bodian to be very easy to understand and follow. If you are on the path and exploring non-dualist practise, this book is a must! After putting into practise some of the suggestions in this book, I have felt a quantum change in my meditation practice. Highly recommend!

Stephan is a gifted writer that has managed to distill the essence of the spiritual 'pathless' path into this single book. He covers what happenes both before realization and after and sheds light on several false beliefs surrounding spiritual practice, covers what realization really is, offers numerous practical tips that do not over engage the mind, and much more. It is a wonderfully practical book as well as offering the theory in practical terms. And most importantly, the reader feels the vast consciousness with which the book was written in every sentence and the more we read, we begin to realize the book it helping to put us with that same consciousness within us. A valuable book for those on any spiritual path.

There is a new way of awakening that is happening to human beings outside the confines of traditional teachings and institutions, and there are few teachers skillful enough or experienced enough to guide seekers along this pathless path. Stephen Bodian is one of them. As far as this way of awakening can be described and mapped, Stephen does an excellent job. For those who are ernest about true awakening and post awakened life, "Wake Up Now" is an essential guide book.

Stephen spent his life searching for the truth and finally found it where it always is. He studied and trained with great teachers in Zen, Advaita Vedanta, and Mahamudra. He is a trained and experienced psychotherapist. He spent a number of years as editor of Yoga Journal. Finally, his search ended with Adyashanti, a very skillful and iconoclastic Zen teacher. Adya asked Stephen to teach and this book is Stephen's teaching gift to us. I highly recommend it to those beginning the search, those half-way along the path to no-where, and those who are "done." Thank you, Stephen, for this gift of grace.

In Wake Up Now, Stephan Bodian presents a wonderfully clear and true explanation of awakening and offers many exercises to facilitate the experience of one's true self. I highly recommend this book for those who are awakening or who have awakened and who want to understand that process better--because, as Stephan explains, for most people, awakening isn't an endpoint but is followed by a continual deepening and unwinding of conditioning. Stephan is a trustworthy guide in this and knows what he is talking about.

Gina Lake, author of Radical Happiness: A Guide to Awakening

What a refreshing read! Christianity involving other people in their lives as opposed to the stage of a church. We can read this and realize that God lives outside the Sunday morning gatherings also. As we learn from the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples did their teachings out on their feet in the towns, villages, and countrysides. Thank you Jim for sharing your experiences and stories, the story about the girls in Asia and the young man who was alone particularly brought the seeming lack of focus of our christianity or religion into focus. What does Church mean if we forget those who can't get there? Brilliant book!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! This book is a "must read" for anyone searching for deeper meaning in their walk with God. It opens the christian's mind and eyes to a lifestyle and not a belief... something that the 21st century church needs desperately.

A MUST IF U ARE GOING TO GROW AND HAVE A INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD.

After spending years in church disillusioned and discouraged and after leaving the church altogether, I've read many excellent books written by people who have walked the same road. This was one of those books and it was incredibly encouraging and inspiring. This is practical faith being walked out in small, meaningful ways by people who, like the author states, are "nobodies". I admire people who do naturally resemble Jesus and don't even realize it. That is the result of relationship with the Father-a life that resembles Jesus for no personal gain whatsoever.

I have been reading this book for about five days. I usually burn through a book rather quickly so this one is a slower read for me as it is not a long book.

I believe the primary purpose of a book is to open our minds for learning- expansion. Some do it through being a truly enjoyable read- I do not find that to be the case with this one. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of sharing the insights of one flawed human with another. Misery loves company and seeing that I am not alone in my ineptness provides some relief.

What I struggle with is Mr. Palmer's use of humor. For me, it is way to predictable and pulls from the overall work. As an example, Robert Fulghgum says, "Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." That is slightly ironic and humorous-it adds to his work. Mr. Palmer's are not up to the same level.

It probably sounds like I am panning this book- not the case. I am glad I am reading it. Dealing with life's everyday grind- more importantly sharing the experiences with others is invaluable. This book does that very well.

This book is a collection of sniper war stories of the Iraq War.

The stories are well-written and interesting, but not awesome enough to keep you from mowing the yard or washing the car. The book wont keep you up past your bedtime.

These guys are not the warriors of Old. It's good they have marvelous toys and gadgets to do the work, but the humans come across as servants of the toys. Its the old wooden men & iron ships problem.

I'm halfway thru this book and feel compelled to write a review.This is
the best book i,ve read on Iraq and i've read a lot.The combat descriptions are visceral brutal and graphic.I would recommend this book to anybody who wants a grunts eye view of the horrific urban warfare in Iraq.Highly recommended.

For the first thing, in order to qualify as a Hunter of Gunmen(HOG),there are very rigid requirements.Only a select few make it to the level of the Marine snipers whose stories are told in this book. Even with the heavy doses of "overtraining" these snipers receive,situations arise that necessitate improvisation and just plain"Guts".I thought this would be a "how they do it" book,but each story was dramatically different,from"friendly fire"casualties to all out urban street fighting where "fistfighting" skills would be better than marksmanship.Could you imagine being in the sights of a "friendly" HOG?The main motivation of the HOG mentioned throughout the book is to protect American troops and if there are notches on any gunbarrels,it's more to signify another young American who has a better chance of making it home.I was also a little taken aback to find some of these snipers are forced to impro due to a lack of immediate support.
Too often the media presents the image of a hightech war with only sophisticated electronics and "called in" airstrikes.Little do people realize that the age old sniping game is just as critical,if not more.These soldiers are really putting their lives on the line for us.I was hoping there would be a tale in the book about a woman sniper but there wasn't.These teams are truly "colorblind",with Latinos,Thai's,blacks,(you name it).None want to die for their country though they accept the risks unquestioningly.They are very good however at "making some other poor sucker die for his Country".

I enjoyed the book because i learn what the marines and soldiers have gone through and what they sacrafice. I have family who have gone to iraq and this book gave me a glimpse of what they have gone through. alos show how motivated and anxious the marines are to put their training to the ultimate test, by hunting.

I served in 3rd Battalion 7th Marines Scout Sniper Plt. during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2-3 and knew many of the Scout Snipers included in the stories of this book. I could not put the book down, it was very accurately written, and portrays exactly what it takes to become and operate as a Scout Sniper in combat. It makes me even more proud to be a HOG and part of the very small community. I'd definately recommend this book to my fellow snipers and anyone else interested in the community.

Ordinary Wolves is an outstanding first novel, and Shopping for Porcupine is an excellent nonfiction follow-up by Seth Kantner. If you're like me while reading Ordinary Wolves, you were wondering how much of it was fiction, and how much of it was drawn from Kantner's experiences. Shopping for Porcupine gives a great deal of insight into Kantner's personal life and upbringing. It's humorous, it's moving, it's lyrical, and I highly recommend it.

An unexpected bonus of this book is the beautiful matte photography that accompanies the text. Kantner is a talented photographer as well as a gifted writer, and his shots are sprinkled liberally throughout. In addition to these, there are many family snapshots taken by Kantner's parents and their friends.

All in all, a fascinating and well-written book that portrays parts of one man's life in Alaska without the lens of romanticism that often colors Alaskan literature.

If you are looking for a beautifully written book with wonderful photographs of Alaska, I highly recommend: Shopping for Porcupine: A Life in Artic Alaska, by Seth Kantner.

This book is part autobiography and part a historical portrait of Alaska and its people. Seth Kantner was born in 1964 and spent most of his life in Northern Alaska. His story begins with the arrival of his father, Howard Kantner, to the remote Arctic of the 1950s and ends with him as a grown man settled in the same landscape. The story is told through a series of moving essays and vivid photographs. The subjects range from family histories to hunting stories and celebrations of people and places.

This book is # 2 for the author. His first book Ordinary Wolves received great reviews, and I look forward to reading this book as well in the near future.

Life in the frigid tundra of Alaska is much unlike life anywhere else in the United States. "Shopping for Porcupine: A Life in Arctic Alaska" is author and novelist Seth Kanter's memories of growing up in Alaska. Filled with essays and full color photographs regarding nature and its importance to Kanter and his Inuit roots, "Shopping for Porcupine" is a strong choice for any community library memoir collection and for anyone with a healthy interest in Alaska.

Seth Kantner's writing has a way of awakening something inside me that I don't even have words or ways to reach on my own. His storytelling prose is thoughtful, true -- it's more than words -- it's like an unnamed emotion all its own.

"Flower of the Fringe," is one of several chapters in the book that highlights characters in the writer's life...Kantner connects you with these people, beautifully captured and introduced to you in ways rarely reached in writing.

This book will not disappoint...it's creative nonfiction at its best: entertaining, intimate, eye-opening, introspective, refreshing...and true.

I loved this book! I enjoyed Ordinary Wolves, so I waited very anxiously for Mr. Kantner's next book. It was well worth the wait! The first thing I did was go through all of the pictures in the book. So THIS was the Alaska Mr, Kantner writes about! Far from the tour buses and sight seeing trains. The pictures themselves told a wonderful story! The written stories were perfect - done in a way that not only entertained me, but made me feel the Alaska Mr. Kantner describes. I felt the cold, I heard the wind and could feel the hide of a bear. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and at times even envied experiences of a life spent in Alaska's Wilderness. The Alaska Mr. Kantner writes about is a world fast slipping away - native ways, unmarred land, plentiful animals. I am so grateful that he wrote about a lifestyle - a world - that I would never have had the chance to experience, had it not been for this book. I plan to buy more copies for gifts and would recommend this book to anyone!

Well worth the time to read. Break free from the State-run history taught in public schools!

Kudos to DiLorenzo for systematically presenting well researched arguments about the true nature of the Lincoln presidency. This book stands tall, especially when viewed in contrast to such works as Doris Kearns Goodwin' "Team of Rivals". "Team of Rivals" focuses almost exclusively on Lincoln's personality and political prowess, and misses essential points of the cause of the war (tarifs - not slavery) and Lincoln's desire to centalize power and authority (suspension of habeous corpus, shutting down of newspapers). This book focuses on Lincoln's actions, his political strategy, and unabashed use of Presidential power - at the expense of Congress, personal freedom, and ultimately thousands of lives. If you want to challenge your long standing understanding of the Lincoln presidency, this is the book!

I am an Australian who has admired Mr Lincoln from afar for most of my life. Mr DiLorenzo is not a Historian but a bare-faced apologist for a failed ideology from a putrid system that existed in the Southern States of the USA before the Civil War. Slavery.
There are racists everywhere, even today and to assert that the 16th President was a despot and a centralist is to ignore several historical facts. For instance, DiLorenzo contends that the US was a 'loose association' of States that could come and go as they please and that Lincoln destroyed Jeffersonism and was anathema to the wishes of the founding fathers. Well, funny about that. If that is the case, why did the founding fathers start the 1787 Constitution with "We, the people of the United States, In order to FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION...??? Surely if it was loose association of States they would have said "to form an enduring free association..."
Lincoln is accused of being rascist and that he strongly supported slavery yet there are numerous quotes throughout his political career "...as I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master...". "It is the same tyrannical principal throughout the world, that says you work and toil and earn bread and I'll eat it...", etc. Lincoln made it quite clear throughout his career that he was anti-slavery - for god's sake, that was one of the principal reasons for the South entering rebellion!!! Because an 'abolishonist' had been elected President!!!
The sad thing is that if you read a little bit about this author, away from his books, you soon discover he is a Southern Independence Supporter (in this day and age) and advocates the dissolution of the United States and the creation/re-instatement of the CSA - A nation that never 'technically' existed.
I would not waste my money.

DiLorenzo offers nothing new: no new facts; no new argument. Rather he regurates poorly reasoned attacks on Lincoln that have been advanced by the Lost Causers for years and that have be soundly discredited by every serious scholar.

Very good reading. It reiterates much of what I had learned in school many years ago, before society, as a whole, changed history books in order to become more "politically correct."

This is a re-read for me. I actually gave my copy to my partner years and years ago when we were in that relationship stage where you try to prove your meant-to-be-ness to each other by sharing books and music. I figured that since we both loved travel writing and we both had a dream of visiting Argentina, then Bruce Chatwin was a safe bet. (He's been a favorite writer of mine since falling in love with his work through the film version of Utz.)

I couldn't have been more off-base. He read it all right, but he really didn't like it. I think that I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that it actively irritated him. Since then he's tried a couple more times to read Chatwin, each one a failure. That remains the Dividing Line of Travel Writers for us-- I like eccentric people who talk about characters and odd history. B. wants to read about the beauty of the landscape and the things that a person can do while visiting. We have an awful lot of Meant-To-Be-Ness in other ways, but not travel writing, apparently.

Anyhow. I loved it. As I loved it the first time. I like the character of Chatwin as he meanders across the scene. I enjoy the way that he meditates on the people and on the history that affects their and his lives. I find that the loose way that he ties everything together works very well for me. I love and share his love of walking, and what that teaches you about where you are.

We have not yet made it to Argentina as a couple, but when we go, I'll be clutching this book under my arm. Recommended.

I am enjoying every single one of the short, sometimes very short, ninety seven stories of Bruce's In Patagonia. I do not miss at all the lack of a threading narrative giving unnecessary details of how he got from one town to the next. Perhaps in this era of short attention span and infinite linking our minds have morphed into absorbers of high density language only, and In Patagonia is all wheat and no chaff.

I must admit that Bruce's credibility was enhanced by the mention of some names like Teófilo Breide: I went to school with another member of that arab family with expansive land possessions near Epuyén. But beyond the actual names, Bruce's description of places, character, circumstances and attitudes is so accurate, so masterly perceived and conveyed that his prose invariably conjures up the scene in my mind, and I re-read to savour every sentence, at times a single word, as if sipping expensive wine.

If you have never been to Patagonia, reading this book is next to knowing Patagonia well. I am fortunate enough to enjoy both privileges.

In Chatwin's uncollected writings, posthumously titled "Anatomy of Restlessness", he recounts how he went to Patagonia on the suggestion of a ninety three year old friend of his. He went and returned six months later with the makings of a book. "While stringing its sentences together, I thought that telling stories was the only conceivable occupation for a superflous person such as myself".

"In Patagonia" is part travelogue, part history, and part anecdotal tour. This book has a discursive nature about it that stands on its own terms; it is composed of vignettes, loosely related, yet glued together with Chatwin's compelling narrations. He bounces around, describing the evocative landscapes of the Patagonian wilds; the legends of Butch Cassidy and his sidekick are teased out; there is his take on Darwin's theory as it applies to the unique fauna; he tells us of a self-proclaimed King of Patagonia and all his french connections; and he detours through discussions of half a dozen literary lights, none of which are even remotely connected with Patagonia. But . . .

It is Chatwin's imagination that is the guide, even if you're left wondering what happened to the trail. It is a non-linear journey and thus, a book full of twists and turns. He lived out his nomadic proclivities as he walked and hitchhiked around this vast region. The book that emerged from this ramble shows Chatwin's tremendous metaphoric powers; the magnetism of these narratives is undeniable. This is truly one fascinating read.

Most highly recommended.

The Cloud Reckoner

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

Bruce Chatwin in 1974 was an unknown British journalist with no books to his name. Seeking the life of a nomad he flew to the southern part of South America and severed ties with his newspaper and former life with a single-sentence telegram: "Have gone to Patagonia." For the next 6 months he walked and hitchhiked around this remote region keeping a diary which became the basis for the book. According to the The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing (2002) it is one of three most important travel books of its era: "[its] laconic and elliptical style, in its ninety-seven short sections averaging little more than a couple of page each, seemed to finally bring modernist aesthetics to a fundamentally nineteenth-century genre..[it was] a landmark in contemporary travel writing." The narrative does follow a geographic route, but the included map does not show it, the reader has to piece together where on the map Chatwin is next. There is almost no narrative about actual travel, each of the mini chapters starts in a new place with Chatwin already arrived. The people he meets and stays with have no background or reason why he is there. Throughout is interweaved chapters on Patagonian history, often highly esoteric and in some cases true original research by Chatwin he solves some puzzle or mystery of history: Chapter 49 is as good an etymology on the word "patagonia" as will ever be found.

Subsequent revelations showed some of it to be fiction; some of the people Chatwin wrote about later came forward and denied things happened, or who were characterized incorrectly. Chatwin never denied this but explained that his work did not so much change reality as augment it, sort of like how political cartoons can bring out a hidden truth.

Chatwin, who died age 48 of AIDS (he was bi-sexual and one of the super-star AIDS victims in the 1980s), went on to write other well known books and is recognized as a skilled stylist. His travel writing is very literary and the book is credited with reviving interest in the genre as a legitimate form of literature. It is full of great poetic imagery, I just picked a page at random and found this quote: "She was waiting for me, a white face behind a dusty window. She smiled, her painted mouth unfurling as a red flag caught in a sudden breeze. Her hair was dyed dark-auburn. Her legs were a mesopotamia of varicose veins. She still had the tatter of an extraordinary beauty. She had been making pastry and the grey dough clung to her hands. Her blood-red nails were cracked and chipped."

Chatwin's story of his search to find the skin of a giant ground sloth and the people he meets along the way in Patagonia is a truly different type of travel literature. Rather than a simple travel diary, Chatwin introduces the reader to a number of the different personalities that inhabit this bleak, but beautiful landscape

This well written book had three separate parts: first, the exploits of a talented, but undisaplined, charismatic golfer set in the movie world of Hollywood. Second, the revealing of his mysterious past and the problems associated with it for the main character, and finally the trial and its aftermath. The book had an air of authenticity throughout, despite Monty's seemingly impossible exploits as a golfer. His relationships with well known characters of Hollywood added greatly to the book's interest.

This is an entertaining summer read about a minor celebrity of the Thirties. There is a dark undercurrent of violence to the light story of the amazing and unknown golfer who played with the Hollywood stars. He is an unstable youth who gets into trouble in a brutal incident. As an adult, he apparently keeps this violent tendency under control, but when his true identity is discovered, there is no restitution or apology for the victims of the crime for which he is indubitably guilty (a unique clue left at the scene leaves no doubt of that.) Montague also married well, so he never had to have a real job.
He never really accomplished anything other than entertaining some sports writers and readers. While he accomplished no real good, he did some real harm. At least we can be thankful that his dark side was controlled after a certain point--with his terrific strength, he'd have made a very successful murderer.

This is a good read...Although Montague was probably a con man from the start he certainly led an entertaining life. Even though he got away with almost everything he did he provided his friends with entertainment and laughter. I would recommend this book as a good read, but I wouldn't take Mr. Montague too seriously.

A detailed recollection of events in the life of a very mysterious person.
Leigh Montville brings back a time when personalities were indeed bigger than life, and one that reluctantly stood out in that crowd is the subject of the story. As the reader enjoys amazing stories involving some famous hollywood names it becomes clear why our subject is not willing to share the spotlight. I found The Mysterious Montague a wonderful read, and recommend it to all.

My brother, an avid golfer like me, recommended this book. I took it on a cruise ship vacation for occasional night reading, and it was perfect for that relaxed atmosphere.

My major observation is that America fawned over celebrities in the 1930s with the same level of adulation we use now--or maybe they were more intense about celebrities then, since there were fewer of them. Then as now, a person could even establish himself or herself as a celebrity without having a long track record of accomplishment, as with Paris Hilton on the contemporary scene.

Additionally, the legal system treated celebrities with more leniency than officials allowed for ordinary citizens. Today's daily news stories describe how TV and movie stars and athletes don't get the same penalties as nonfamous individuals.

One limitation, for me: Much of the suspense disappeared with the crime scene account that opened the book. If Montville had placed that item later in the book, I would have been far more curious about why Montague didn't want publicity, even when his feats were so newsworthy.

Even so, you are likely to consider this book an enjoyable glimpse into a bygone era, and a visit with some of the more colorful characters who dominated the scene.The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-change Your Life!