No comments about Let's Go: Europe 1991.

4 comments about New York to Nome: The Northwest Passage by Canoe : From the Recollections of Shell Taylor.

1. This is a well written narative of the first men to cross the continent by canoe through the elusive "Northwest Passage". It's strange that this is such an obscure event. One would think that this could well rank up there with many of the great adventuresome firsts of history. It's certainly easy to read, though I felt a little thin on the character development. If you like outdoor adventure travel stories, this one is worth your while.



2. The canoe trip of New York to Nome is an exceptional adventure. Although told many years later, it still brings the excitement of the trip to life. The book is a bit thin on details, I wished for more on how they packed, the gear they carried, how they set up camp. I wanted to know more because I love to sea kayak and camp and have gone on many multiday trips covering a hundred miles or more. But those trips are nothing compared to this one.
   
   Great book for adventurers who enjoy paddling, camping and the outdoors.



3. The book is not a great work of literature, but it is a great adventure story! A great and forgotten adventure - the longest canoe journey on record!
   
   A couple of questions:
   
   Does the film that the guys took still exist? If so, it would be great if it could be belatedly made into the movie that they had hoped for way back in then in the 1930's!
   
   The book wasn't made until the 1980's, about 50 years after the voyage. According to the author, both of the participants were still living at the time. Why didn't the author make the effort to contact the second voyageur in order to get his version of the events, especially since there were some disaparaging remarks made about him?
   
   Great adventure! When I lived in NYC I used to sea kayak and canoe in the rivers and lakes and sounds and oceans around the city. These two guys bought an old canoe, stuck it in the Hudson on 42nd Street, hopped in, and said they're paddling to Nome, Alaska! And they did!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   TGM



4. I just finished reading this book for the second time. It's truly a great story about a canoeing adventure that took place back when much of the Canadian wilderness was still wild. The canoeists encounter Cree indians who live in the bush, and forts isolated from all roads--fragments of a past long gone.
   
   It really is a shame their accomplishment has faded into obscurity. Searching the Web will find you virtually nothing about these two men and their voyage. Even the dearth of reviewers on this site is sad. They worked so hard to make this trip, expecting to make the history books, and then got mostly ignored.
   
   Though some may want more details, I felt what was included was more than enough to give a sense of this trip, the hardships and joys. True, it would have been nice to hear the "co-commander's" viewpoints; the author talked only to one of the two men (Shell) on the trip. And while his disparaging comments on his friend were often amusing, if mean, it made you wonder what the other guy (Jeff) would have said about the same incidents. Still, at least Shell was honest about his feelings, and didn't whitewash the trip.
   
   I loved reading about their encounters with various people living out in the wild, imaging these people living and dying with no record of their lives--until this book came out. The lighthouse keeper and his bed full of bugs, the Cree Indians who ate all the boys' bannock but then surprised them with their generosity, the hard-drinking people at the fort where they wintered--these people are all gone now, but thanks to this book, a portion of their lives has been brought back for us to learn about.
   
   The book is very well written, but more importantly entertaining and interesting.

No comments about A Fortnight in the Wilderness.

2 comments about Where to Wear Los Angeles 2006: Fashion Shopping from A-Z (Where to Wear: Los Angeles).

1. This is the second book of theirs that I've bought. They are great because they are up to date, and so helpful. With each store, it has the address, phone number, opening hours and everything else about it that can be of use. They give good descriptions of what the store carrys and a tid bit of info about the owners etc. At the back of the book there is a few restaurant picks as well. Another great thing about this book is that it caters to anyone of any financial status. There are high end stores and stores geared to people with a budget in mind. The only possible bonus they could maybe include next issue would be a few photos here and there, but really, in general, this guide is great for helping you choose the best spots to go to and you can narrow down what is and what isn't of interest to you. Although I know Los Angeles very well, there are a few stores in here that I may not otherwise have known about and for that, I'm happy to buy a copy every couple of years or so.



2. This is a great little book to get you around LA if you are a shopaholic and even if you are not. It inludes even the most obscure shops and has very honest critiques and good directions - plus lots more!

No comments about On the Trail to the California Gold Rush.

No comments about The Central Coast of California Book: A Complete Guide.

No comments about I Love New York Guide.

5 comments about Lakota Belief and Ritual.

1. This book is the litmus test for subsequent interpretations of the Lakota religion. Since the true authors felt that their culture was disappearing, they were extremely forthcoming with their information to Dr. Walker. All Lakota expressions of religion that follow this revelation of the Lakota medicine men are in fact derivative of it. Some have questioned the qualifications of the "informants" within Lakota society, but I have seen no contemporary Lakota belief or ritual that deviates from the broad strokes of this book. If you truly want to learn about traditional Lakota religion, start here, and then move on to Raymond J. DeMallie's edited texts under the title The Sixth Grandfather.



2. James Walker went to the Pine Ridge reservation in 1896 (as a Christian) to serve the indians as a Medical Doctor.

   18 years later when he left the reservation; he had adopted the Sioux form of Spirituality, and had become a wicasa wakan (holy man). He was trained by George Sword, and other medicine and holy people.

   Some of this material is very dry, and dificult reading because a large part of the book (expecially the rituals and myths) were translated into English from the Language of the Sioux. But if you have a sincere wish to understand this form of Spirituality; this book is well worth reading.

   I do wish to confirm one statement in this book by wicasa wakan (George Sword). "Any pipe can be used in a sacred manner" I could NOT agree more! I have used a meerschaum pipe, a pipestone (catlinite) pipe, and a briar pipe. The condition of the heart and mind is far more important than the kind of pipe one uses.

   I encourage questions and comments about my reviews; Two Bears.

   Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)




3. Lakota Belief and Ritual is a book rich in oral history. It was recorded at the a time when there were First Nations members who had the personal experiences of a lifetime and whose tradition was an oral tradition. Dr. Walker (a physician and anthropologist) collected and preserved this oral history in the face of the destruction of most First Nation's cultures through the intervention of the European cultures.

   The narratives are all excellent and there are 90 + documents containing those first-person narratives along with several photographs.

   The Bison Books edition has an extensive (and very valuable) series of appendices, including an extensive (modern) bibliography.

   The original Walker papers (or the majority, at any rate) are now part of the Colorado Historical Society collection.

   A first rate piece of work by the editors, DeMallie & Jahner, working from the primary materials created and preserved by Dr. Walker and his family.

   An invaluable work. This book -or at least excerpts- should be part of any text on U.S. History. The inclusion of First Nations culture in our textbooks is rare, indeed.




4. great book! buy it!! Everything is wakan. find out why!



5. I recommend it to anyone that is interested in learning more about the life of the original Americans.
   Apreciate the fast delivery and the good condition of this book.

No comments about Galapagos.

No comments about A Traveler in Indian Territory: The Journal of Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Late Major-General in the United States Army (American Exploration and Travel Series).