Everything from proper approaches to mountain gorillas to the eruption of Mt. St. Helens is here, and the stories are usually quick reads. Perfect reading for those who grab their moments of reading enjoyment in blocks of 5-10 minutes in between other activities.

Can't see how it could fail to appeal.


How can adventure writing be so dull?   October 25, 2000
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

I found this book to be extremely boring - it jumped from topic to topic, from location to location, without any explanation of who, why, where etc., and no sense of "leading into...". I had just read Bill Bryson's books and found them most entertaining, but Tim Cahill, I just could not identify with. He's certainly had major adventures, but his style is just so unemotional, so factual i.e. I did this, went there, climbed that, drank that... but I just couldn't identify with him. No empathy or amusement whatsoever. I love adventure books but this one I just found very dull and unimaginitive.


20th Century version of Homer's Odyssey   September 18, 2000
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

If Cahill lived in Ancient Greece, he would be writing about encounters with the Cyclops and the Scylla and Charibdis. Maybe it's because Cahill writes about all the stuff I would do if I could quit my job and still pay the bills--exploring ruins in Peru, sea kayaking in Alaska, watching Mt. St. Helens erupt, saving the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, scuba diving with sharks, riding in a C-130 Hurricane Hunter, and living in Montana--but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While Cahill might not be as witty as my favorite travel writer, Bill Bryson, he makes up for it by writing about adventures that would make Indiana Jones quake with fear. All of this is presented in a down-to-earth style that makes you wish you could hang out and drink a few beers with the guy.


Curiously Addictive   May 25, 2000
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

This was yet another thrift shop purchase for under a dollar and it was a dollar well spent. Tim Cahill's travel writing is punchy, funny and downright irreverent in places. It is also poignant, and darkly humorous, a travel book with a difference. Peru, Africa, Austrailia and even America are discussed from his unique point of view. An especially good chapter is "Life and Love in Gorilla Country" a journey through Rwanda and the secret world of the Gorilla. It is not a sentimental chapter, it is brutal, sometimes funny but more often that not eye opening. He talks about how Gorillas have died at the hands of poachers and mentions the work of the Naturalist Dian Fossey. This travel book is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted. Also it meanders a lot, jumping from place to place, subject to subject. You have to prepared to read it as a series of essays, travel logs articles that Cahill has written over the years and then put together to make up this book. However in this case it works and it is excellent from page one onwards. If you want a read with a sting in its tail, then this is definitely the book for you.