Synopses & Reviews
In 2001 Steve Edwards won a writing contest. The prize was seven months of “unparalleled solitude” as the caretaker of a ninety-two-acre backcountry homestead along the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River in southwestern Oregon. Young, recently divorced, and humbled by the prospect of so much time alone, he left behind his job as a college English teacher in Indiana and headed west for a remote but comfortable cabin in the rugged Klamath Mountains. Well aware of what could go wrong living two hours from town with no electricity and no neighbors, Edwards was surprised by what could go right. In prose that is by turns lyrical, introspective, and funny, Breaking into the Backcountry is the story of what he discovered: that alone, in a wild place, each day is a challenge and a gift. Whether chronicling the pleasures of a day-long fishing trip, his first encounter with a black bear, a lightning storm and the threat of fire, the beauty of a steelhead, the attacks of 9/11, or a silence so profound that a black-tailed deer chewing grass outside his window could wake him from sleep, Edwardss careful evocation of the river canyon and its effect on him testifies to the enduring power of wilderness to transform a life.
Review
“Steve Edwardss Rogue River wilderness is a place that offers many gifts, among them the words in this beautifully rendered, wonder-filled book. On its pages, we are invited to move beyond cynicism, loss, and fear—as he does—in order to embrace the life-changing ‘miracle of solitude.”—John T. Price, author of Not Just Any Land and Man Killed by Pheasant and Other Kinships Annie Dawid - High Country News
Review
“Steve Edwards left Indiana for seven months of solitude in Oregons Rogue River Canyon. As he offered himself up to his fears, his loneliness, a pathway of heart and mindfulness opened from within to lead him through his sojourn and into this story. Quietly and clearly told, unflaggingly honest, Breaking into the Backcountry joins a growing body of contemporary writing in the American contemplative tradition. Its a beautiful book.”—John Daniel, author of The Far Corner and Rogue River Journal John T. Price
Review
"Writing with an elegant simplicity and resilient reverence, Edwards proves to be an astute and passionate observer of both human and Mother Nature."—Carol Haggas, Booklist Online Carol Haggas
Review
"In clean prose that is both introspective and self-deprecating, Edwards tells the age-old story of how the wilderness has the power to transform a life."—Anna Nair, Shelf Unbound Booklist Online
Review
"Edwards' honesty is refreshing, especially when, as a self-conscious male writing in Hemingway's Man-Against-Nature mode, he candidly catalogues his fears: bears, extended solitude, and the harrowing dread that he has nothing new to say in a world overflowing with books."—Annie Dawid, High Country News Anna Nair - Shelf Unbound
Review
"The admiration for Roosevelt, Montana hunting and all things outdoors is evident in Dan Aadland's well-written In Trace of TR: A Montana Hunter's Journey. . . . The book is interlaced with stories of Roosevelt's hunts, and it offers a keen perception for the Montana landscape and the man who loved the adventure as much as the sport."and#8212;Linda Wommack, True West Magazine
Review
"In a book that is part history lesson and part memoir, mixed with a healthy dose of hunting lore and a sprinkling of political comment, Aadland offers a unique and local perspective of the man he refers to as 'TR.'" and#8212;Linda Halstead-Acharya, Billings Gazette
Review
"Readers who hunt big game will enjoy the many interesting stories and will quickly recognize that Dan knows firsthand 'whereof he speaks,' whether it is in the terminology associated with packing, or as his wife suspects, in the 'mysterious code' that we cartridge reloaders converse in."and#8212;Montana Sporting Journal
Review
"Aadland's unique experiences allow the reader to understand TR in an intimate way and appreciate how the Western landscape helped shape his character."and#8212;Lauren Halley, American Cowboy
Review
"Seemingly as accomplished as his subject, author Dan Aadland, while not (yet) president of the United States, is an astute student of American history, a hunter, horseman, horse breeder, retired teacher, former Marineand#8212;and he's also a heck of a writer. . . . [In Trace of TR is] a powerful book that I think Theodore Roosevelt would have understood and enjoyed."and#8212;Matthew P. Mayo, Roundup Magazine
Review
"Aadland is a good writer who has pursued an unusual set of interests into some of the best country left in the United States. He's worth a read."and#8212;Chris Madson, Wyoming Wildlife
Review
and#8220;A fresh look at a river system critical to our history and our future. . . . This is a good book about paddling, and an even better book about the salmon, science and politics up the Columbia.and#8221;and#8212;The Spokesman-Review
Review
"Part travelogue, part history lesson, part ecological meditation, Kayaking Alone is the product of a tough but revealing trip."and#8212;Idaho Arts Quarterly
Review
and#8220;This book flows from cover to cover like the rivers traveled within its pages, and the story is never the same for long. Barenti takes readers on a ride deep into the personality of the West, shedding light on the culture of the region every time he eddies out.and#8221;and#8212;Sam Weiss, Paddling Life
Review
and#8220;Kayaking Alone provides much more than a chronicle of one manand#8217;s quest to find adventure on a great river systemand#8230;Barenti weaves conversations with the people he meets, farmers, ranchers, river guides, fisheries biologists, native peoples and dam workers, into a narrative revealing the complex interaction among the economy, the environment and the lives of the inhabitants of the lower Snake and Columbia River.and#8221;and#8212;Stan Miller, OutthereMonthly.com
Review
and#160;and#8220;This book is a good combination of paddling, river history, and the plight of the salmon on the river of the same name.and#8221;and#8212;Cascade Currents
Review
"Kayaking Alone turns out to be a meditation on salmon, on western rivers, and on American relations to the natural world. The prose is direct and provoking, and the book's pace moves as smartly as any healthy currentand#8212;delivering us from landmark to new vista to conclusions with steady force."and#8212;Jeffrey McCarthy, Western American Literature
Synopsis
Writing with an elegant simplicity and resilient reverence, Edwards proves to be an astute and passionate observer of both human and Mother Nature.--Carol Haggas, Booklist Online
In 2001 Steve Edwards won a writing contest. The prize was seven months of "unparalleled solitude" as the caretaker of a ninety-two-acre backcountry homestead along the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River in southwestern Oregon. Young, recently divorced, and humbled by the prospect of so much time alone, he left behind his job as a college English teacher in Indiana and headed west for a remote but comfortable cabin in the rugged Klamath Mountains. Well aware of what could go wrong living two hours from town with no electricity and no neighbors, Edwards was surprised by what could go right.
In prose that is by turns lyrical, introspective, and funny, Breaking into the Backcountry is the story of what he discovered: that alone, in a wild place, each day is a challenge and a gift. Whether chronicling the pleasures of a day-long fishing trip, his first encounter with a black bear, a lightning storm and the threat of fire, the beauty of a steelhead, the attacks of 9/11, or a silence so profound that a black-tailed deer chewing grass outside his window could wake him from sleep, Edwards's careful evocation of the river canyon and its effect on him testifies to the enduring power of wilderness to transform a life.
Synopsis
As a student of American history, as a hunter, horseman, and former Marine, and as someone passionate about the West, Dan Aadland had long felt a kinship with Theodore Roosevelt. One day, on a single-footing horse, lever-action rifle under his knee, Aadland set out to become acquainted with TR as only those who shared his experiences could.
In Trace of TR documents that quest, inviting readers to ride along and get to know Theodore Roosevelt through the western environment that so profoundly influenced him.
Accompany Aadland as he rides the broad prairies in search of TRand#8217;s and#8220;prongbuck,and#8221; tracks elk through the rugged Big Horn Mountains, and pursues a glimpse of a grizzly in the Absaroka Wilderness. Along the way the authorand#8217;s campfire musings and reflections on Rooseveltand#8217;s writings further deepen and enrich this unique examination of our twenty-sixth president. Aadlandand#8217;s journey takes readers into TRand#8217;s beloved Dakota Territory then and now, offering a kindred spiritand#8217;s moving, deftly drawn portrait of both the land and the man across the space of a century.
Synopsis
The Columbia and its tributaries are rivers of conflict. Amid pitched battles over the economy, the environment, and the breaching of dams on the lower Snake River, the salmon that have always quickened these rivers are disappearing. On a warm day in late May, Mike Barenti entered the heart of this conflict when he slid a white-water kayak into the headwaters of central Idahoand#8217;s Salmon River and started paddling toward the Pacific Ocean. This account of his two-month, nine-hundred-mile solo journey into the world of the Columbia Basin plunges us into the adventure of navigating these troubled waterways.
Kayaking Alone is a narrative of man and nature, one-on-one, but also of man and nature writ large. In the stories of the river guides and rangers, biologists and ranchers, American Indians and dam workers he meets along the way, the rich and complicated life of the river emerges in a striking, often painfully clear panorama. Through his journey, the ecology, history, and politics of Pacific salmon unfold in fascinating detail, and with this firsthand knowledge and experience the reader gains a new and personal sense of the nature that unites and divides us.
and#160;
About the Author
Dan Aadland is a Montana rancher and retired teacher. He is the author of eight books, including The Best of All Seasons: Fifty Years as a Montana Hunter and Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir, both available in Bison Books editions.