Customer Reviews

The Art of Rough Travel: From the Peculiar to Practical, Advice From a 19th Century Explorer

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Although I would not consider myself an adventurer on par with Sir Francis Galton, I found The Art of Rough Travel to be interesting, at times entertaining, and surprisingly informative. Not only is this book valuable from a historical perspective (in terms of the viewpoints and moral judgments of a 19th century explorer), but it also offers some ingenuitive methods for dealing with unexpected and sometimes obscure travel dilemmas.

I discovered, for example, that natural sweat and dust caked onto the body while traveling can be hugely protective to the skin and, in these cases, bathing should be avoided. There are also tips on everything from dealing with stubborn livestock to filtering mud into water and finding food in scarce or unknown environments. Helpful side notes (most of which were written by Galton) include biographical sketches of explorers mentioned in the text, explanatory pen-and-ink drawings, and brief additional tips.

Rough Travel's format made it an easy book for me to pick up and read at just about any time- whether I had five minutes to spare or forty. Chapter and section divisions are frequent, thus making it good for quick reference as well. My only criticism would be that Galton can be long-winded at times and some of the material seemed almost too obscure to ever actually need. But I suppose that's where the novelty comes in: If you're about to be a contestant on Survivor, you will probably find this book to be incredibly practical and almost all of its information to be very necessary. But if you're one of those bookish types (like me) who likes to live vicariously through the adventures of others, this book will simply feed your unfulfilled traveling fantasies and make you feel as though you could spend a few months out in the bush, living on the land. Personally, I like that feeling.

This book is a perfect choice for all of us who hunger for little-known survival tips and secretly nurse dreams to become famous explorers. And of course, for all of you who really are.

We see ourselves as skilled travelers - high fat, high salt fast food dispensaries are close at hand at every highway interchange. Motels are abundant, roads are maintained and well lighted. Travel is easy, quick and convenient. Emergency services stand ready to assist the extreme situation. We rarely think ahead more than a few hours. Impatience runs rampant and we think nothing of substituting oil for knowledge.

It is 1855 CE, you are dropped off in the middle of a very large pristine area and are several several weeks away from any kind of assistance. You need uncommon sense and collective wisdom to remain healthy and alive. As with "The Gods Must Be Crazy," an object falls from the sky and lands in front of you, it is the "The Art of Rough Travel". Just as Shackelton's transAntarctic expedition "Endurance" details the last efforts of the "Great Age of Exploration," The "Art of Rough Travel" is a well thought gift from 19th-Century explorer Sir Francis Galton. Part history, part whisper in the ear, part nice to know, part critical to know for comfort and survival.

The light weight and highly effective clothing, equipment and shelter that we now take for granted is fascinating compared to what was not known just a few short years ago. Much of Galton's advice we now ignore or consider obvious. Galton covers a range of topics including clothing, beasts of burden, climbing and mountaineering, swimming, rafts and boats, fords and bridges, potable water, food, game, fishing, fire, bedding and bivouac, tents, bush remedies, route finding, signals, caches, miscellany and other trivia.

Sleeping bags have not changed much since the use of "knapsack bags" in 1825 by French douaniers who watched the mountain passes of the Pyrenean frontier. A running series of sidebar quotes hold the main text together including, "Mules have odd secret ways, strange fancies, and lurking vice;" "It is nervous work going over the edge of a cliff for the first time; however, the sensation does not include giddiness;" when swimming with horses, "Seize his tail and let him tow you across;" on travel: "As a general rule, it is by no means the heaviest and most solid things that endure the best;" on revolting food that may save the lives of men: "Carrion is not noxious to starving men;" on a bivouac: "It is wretched beyond expression for a man to lie shivering beneath a scanty covering and to feel the night air become hourly more raw, while his life-blood has less power to withstand it;" on shelter: "A tent should never be pitched in a slovenly way;" in the case of death: "Any trinkets he may have had should of course be sealed up and put aside;" and upon the conclusion of a journey, "Make presents of all your traveling gear and old guns to your native attendants, for they will be mere litter in England."

Galton was a one-half cousin of Charles Darwin and made significant contributions to the fields of meteorology, statistics, psychology and forensics. Galton originated the studies of twins and delved into the study of human heredity. Editor Kitty Harmon says that "I certainly wouldn't want to be a contestant on "Survivor" without a copy stuffed into my bikini." The wisdom of this book was not developed loafing in club chairs, but by first-hand experience.

As stated by Agassiz, "Learn from nature, not books." Galton help(ed) you learn how to "read the landscape."

Sub-Title: From the Peculiar to Practical, Advice From a 19th Century Explorer ==There are a lot of books on how to go camping, what to take on a hiking trip, and so on. But where would you be able to find that 'Camels are only fit for use in a few countries, and require practiced attendants; thorns and rocks lame them, hills sadly impede them, and a wet slippery soil entirely stops them.'

This book was written about 150 years ago when a hike often meant something like spending a year or two out in the bush, hiking around Africa.

The idea for this book came to Sir Francis Galton when he was exploring South-western Africa (now Namibia) in 1850-51. Upon his return to England he began reading and interviewing other travellers who had been to different exotic locals. And from this combined with practical experience and testing.

It makes for a delightful read and forever thankful that we live in a more advanced time.

An artifact of times gone by, this is an interesting read but not a source of modern knowledge for travel in the backcountry. The book is basically a collection of notes and advice from an explorer in the 1800s. Most of it outdated and not environmentally friendly it is still a good read for people interested in the history of explorer style travel of the past.