Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration [Paperback]

Ninjalicious (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2005

Discover a hidden world in your own city!

From Ninjalicious, the author of Infiltration zine, comes Access All Areas, the the first published guide to the exciting art of urban exploration, a rapidly growing hobby that allows participants to personally experience their cities’ hidden and off-limits spaces. Through chapters on topics like sneaking around, equipping and training, readers will learn the basics of the hobby, as well as about the most popular sites for urban exploration, such as abandoned buildings, construction sites, storm drains and utility tunnels.

Always an adventurer, Toronto author Ninjalicious began his intensive, thoroughly documented approach to exploration during a lengthy hospital stay, when boredom motivated him to explore the beautiful old building’s every nook and cranny. He began publishing the zine Infiltration in 1996, in conjunction with the website infiltration.org, which, with nearly 2,000 visitors a day, is widely considered to be an authoritative source on the hobby of urban exploration. Ninjalicious completed Access All Areas shortly before his untimely death from cancer in summer 2005.

Copies are available for online purchase at www.infilpress.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ninjalicious, also known as Jeff Chapman, created the popular website infiltration.org and the print publication Infiltration, ‘the zine about going places you’re not supposed to go’. He is considered to be one of the founders of the modern-day urban exploration movement, and spent most of his life enthusiastically exploring Toronto, and the world, until his death in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Infilpress; 1 edition (October 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973778709
• ISBN-13: 978-0973778700
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In memory of Ninjalicious and the art of exploring places you're not supposed to go!, January 15, 2006

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration (Paperback)

I have been an avid fan for many years of Ninjalicious's E-zine Infiltration (www.infiltration.org), a website devoted to exploring the bowels of those places you're not supposed to go: city hospitals, hotels, subway tunnels, abandoned factories, the works. Sadly, Ninjalicious passed away in August 2005 from a terminal illness, but his love of exploration (and a good yarn!) lives on in Access All Areas.

Urban exploration is not for everyone: it is generally illegal, dirty, claustrophobic, and can be downright dangerous, if not fatal (exploring subway tunnels when the trains are in use, risk of electrocution from stepping on the third electrified rail in subway tunnels, asbestos and other toxic chemicals in abandoned factories, drowning if drains flash flood, etc.). For me, I enjoyed reading Ninj's adventures exploring working subway tunnels, abandoned breweries, barging in on hotel swimming pools pretending to be a guest, and other hands-off areas of Toronto.

Ninj's writing style and down-to-earth pointers about Urban Exploration (he can most definitely be considered one of the sport's founders), along with the ever-present naughty thrill of "will you be caught?" makes it an exciting hobby (please note, I'm an armchair Urban Explorer -- I've never tried exploring Toronto's subways, hospitals, abandoned breweries, or hotels in person, I'm just a fan of Ninj and the *idea* of Urban Exploration.) Rest in peace, Ninj, and thanks for the years of thrills!

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding, January 24, 2006

By 

David Pease - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration (Paperback)

I ordered this book whilst drunk and reading the internet one night, and proceeded to forget all about it. When it arrived weeks later, I was wary of the theme, the author's nom de plume, and virtually everything else. I personally am not an urban explorer--I suppose I just thought I'd find the subject interesting.

Turns out, this was the best book I read all year. It's written with an inquisitive but respectful attitude, and the author is properly derisive of people who enter spaces to deface them. Many of the observations the book makes are extremely interesting, and provide insight into how large properties and operations work that will be of use even if you aren't planning on looking around. Throughout, the book is permeated with a sense of humour and an easy, readable writing style.

I was sad to hear that Ninjalicious had passed on. I would have liked to meet him, shake his hand, and tell him he's written a very, very good book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, even if you don't plan to infiltrate anything, February 5, 2006

By 

Richard Drdul (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration (Paperback)

I grabbed this book from the library because the subject intrigued me - not because I plan to infiltrate anything, but rather just because I wanted to read about it. And what a great read it turned out to be. Ninjalicious writes very well and with a good sense of humour. He covers the subject thoroughly (I can't imagine he overlooked anything) and with a good attitude. I enjoyed the several brief anecdotes scattered throughout the book describing infiltrations which Ninjalicious conducted (and documented with photos), and I particularly enjoyed the chapter on social engineering (the principles of which are applicable to many day-to-day non-infiltration encounters). Highly recommended.