One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
Reviews (201)
fascinating, rugged individual meets Alaskan wilderness
Read how Richard Proenneke built his cabin by hand and thrived (mostly alone) in the bush. What This Book Is: - An important introduction to Richard Proenneke's story - Heavily edited (I would even say rewritten) - A pleasant, easy read (goes great with the 2-part documentary that airs on PBS) - Easy to get your hands on very quickly What This Book Is Not: - Richard Proenneke's authentic journals, in his OWN words - Proenneke's story told in his own voice I was captivated after watching the 2-part PBS documentary, "Alone in the Wilderness". So, I got hold of this book ("One Man's Wilderness"), as soon as possible. On reading, I was prepared to award a 5 stars. That is, until I read "The Early Years (The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1967-1973)". Because then I realized how different "One's Man Wilderness" is from Proenneke's own writings. We get a much better sense of who Proenneke was by reading his own words in "The Early Years". We get a broader picture over several years (558 pages), versus a little more than one year (224 pages). The downside with "The Early Years" is that it seems to be available only from Alaska Geographic. Sure, you won't get "The Early Years" with free Prime shipping. I received mine in about 10 days and it was well worth the wait. "One Man's Wilderness" was still intriguing after seeing the 2-part documentary on PBS. It's just that "The Early Years" authentic and true to the man. Bottom Line: - I would rate this book ("One Man's Wilderness") 3.5 stars if I could - I would rate "The Early Years" 5 stars, hands down - I recommend this book as an easier, quicker read. Many folks are more comfortable with 200+ pages than 500+ - I recommend "The Early Years" for a more authentic, deeper telling of the story - Proenneke's story is a classic Alaskan/American/man-vs-nature tale of independence and ingenuity. Don't miss it.
Proenneke the love of wildlife
I first learned of Richard Proenneke by watching a PBS program. Desiring to learn more of his adventure I purchased this book which I read in one sitting. As a retired wildlife biologist, I share with Mr. Proenneke the love of wildlife, being in the woods and all that goes along with it. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to take on such an adventure then come along and share his journey. Having read this book now twice, I feel like Mr. Proenneke is an old friend. I intend to visit him often - for me, reading of his adventure is like comfort food for my soul. Money well spent and I recommend this book to anyone who loves the out-of-doors.
In a word: INSPIRING.
Seeing pictures of Richard Proenneke reminds me of my late father as they look alike in some shots. My dad was a man’s man, didn’t say much, but knew how to do a lot. He wasn’t as enterprising as Proenneke but I can tell that he had some of the same spirit. I think that my dad would have loved to have done what Proenneke did as he ventured up into the Alaskan wilderness with few supplies and trusted on his grit, his building acumen, and his mental and physical muscles to create his own cabin and living area and trek the surrounding lakes and mountains and marvel at God’s country and wilderness. He journals over a year about the building of his cabin and ???, about the temperature and weather, about some of his adventures, about Babe blowing in on the plane and delivering occasional goods and kind interactions. How much does Sam Keith mold Proenneke’s words, thoughts, and style I don’t know but the effect of reading the journal entries as sifted through Keith is like listening to Proenneke, a man in admiration of the wilds, give report and naturalize with keen insight animals and the seasonal changes, ice buildings and budgings and flowers and berries bursting and curling. It gave me hope that I could do even a fraction of what he has done. It’s really inspiring. “One Man’s Wilderness” ends with a Reflections section and Proenneke hits several nails on their proverbial heads, with his insights perhaps being even more true today than they were back when he ventured out. I wanted to share a bit of one as I conclude my review: “Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many things and too many other people. I don’t understand economics, and I suppose the country would be in a real mess if people suddenly cut out a lot of things they don’t need. I wonder how many things in the average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, “Must I really have this?” I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time.” And “I’ve seen grown men pick at food. They can’t be hungry in the first place. Or maybe their food has been too fancy and with all the choices they’ve had, they don’t really know what they enjoy anymore.” As brief as his reflections are at the end of the book they ring with the clarity and cleanness of the wilderness to which Proenneke gave his heart and so supplied us with a different art.
A Life Many Dream of, But Few Actually Do.
A must read for those who dream of living off the grid in the great outdoors. The book is 224 pages long and contains over 50 photographs by Proenneke himself that he took during his year in the bush. It starts off with a Preface by Sam Keith, along with a poem by Robert W. Service that fits in well with what the book maintains. Proenneke is a great story-teller, and I even delight in hearing the little things that he speaks of. For example, there is one day's entry where he mentions how he was ice-fishing and caught a beautiful-looking trout in the lake. He took it home, was ready to fry it up, but as he looked at the creature struggling to swim in the small basin of water he kept it in before the fry, he finally decided that such a magnificent creature belonged at the bottom of the lake, not "browning" in a skillet.
Good introduction
After bumping into the documentary on PBS recently, and being fascinated, my wife got me this book for Christmas to learn more. She was fascinated as well. This is an easy to read, little book that is a good introduction to the Dick Proenneke story. I think it does what it intended, which was to tell you the story, gives you a flavor for the man who undertook this adventure and recount some of the things he saw and experienced. It only covers the building of the cabin and living the first full year in it. He came back year after year from what I understand for a 30 year period, but none of that is covered in this book. I guess there is some heavy editing that was done from his journals in creating this book, causing him to not consent to the use of them again unless there was no editing, so that is where the three other books: Journals of Richard Proenneke; come from. For what it is worth, the NPS doesn't have this book on their site about him, but it does have the others. The journal entries can get somewhat repetitive (what can you say on another 30 below Dec day) and the very detailed building instructions for everything can be head spinning at times, but it still is a quick, enjoyable read that gives you a sense of what it is like to live in such a raw, rugged land. I chose to order The Early Years The Journals of Richard Proenneke 1967-1973; to get the unedited story of this time frame and beyond but this book was a great appetizer. I recommend it for the curious and casual fan.
An amazing story!
I loved this book because of the wilderness setting and the amazing story this man tells. His skill set is unknown by today's generations, his passion for the wilderness and it's wild inhabitants is deep and abiding. The writing style is spare, humorous, and often eloquent. Descriptions of the animals and his sojourn s to watch, photograph, and film then often take him many miles from his self built cabin to the wilderness. This is such a worthwhile read; I hope I have convinced you to pick it up!
Exceeded my expectations
In his 'reflections' chapter, Proennekke writes, "I do think a man has missed a very deep feeling of satisfaction if he has never created something with his own hands." I can wholeheartedly agree with this statement out of personal achievement and yet I haven't (yet) moved to the Alaskan wild and lived the life illustrated by Mr. Proennekke. I have a sort of fascination with Proennekke and others like him who have survived off the land (even with their self-labeled "cheats") and learned to adapt to the unique challenges they each experience. I find myself living vicariously through Pronnekke as I read through his journal entries and imagined what each may must have been like. I laughed and even lost my breath and some of his accounts of his wild adventure. Just like the movie, I'm left wanting MORE after completing the book. I would have enjoyed sitting down with Dick and hearing first-hand about the unwritten accounts of life in Alaska!
Excellent book that drew me into what it must have like to be Dick Proenneke
Had me right there with him in the Alaskan wilderness! Really enjoyed the book, I listened to the Audible version of it. It really drew me into what it must have been like to build your own cabin in the wilderness of Lake Clark, Alaska. I wish the book was longer, as I became very interested in each day of the story.
Awesome book
I loooooved this book!!! I'm a nature lover and love reading stories about survival and living off of the land. I think I'm a hippie at heart. I'm also a birder, so all of the bird references in this book were awesome. I also enjoy many of the Alaska based shows that are popular on TV these days, although this was much better. This man didn't kill anything that he didn't need for food, which is not the case with some of those shows. The only parts of the book that didn't have me wanting more were the technical parts about the building of the cabin. I was getting kind of sad when I got close to the end of the book and was delighted to see that there was another book that come directly from his journals. I just received it and am eager to get into it.
Quite a man
I am usually very hesitant to try to write reviews on books. They are just too subjective a thing, like music and movies. So I will simply say this. I believe that if you have seen the PBS special about Mr. Proenneke, you may well find this book to be a nice addition to the information contained therein. I certainly do. I am admittedly predjudiced, having a deep admiration and respect for him. Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading
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