Customer Reviews

Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild (The World As Home)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whether you're an old voyager with a canoe paddle as worn as a river rock or someone who's just curious about the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, Gruchow's book will speak to you. The book is well-crafted, and each word must have been hand selected, but the stories still have the feel of a campfire yarn told softly over dying embers. Like the Boundary Waters, and nature itself, this book is at times profound, often educational, frequently beautiful, personally revealing, surprisingly hilarious, and always captivating. The Boundary Waters don't disappint, and neither does Gruchow.

Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild is a true to life essay of being in a great wilderness area. I have recently been in the Boundary Waters. My experiences along with Gruchow's seem to coincide. This book is a must for any traveler to the Boundary Waters. For those that have not, it's a great way to leave the "rat race" of everyday life and discover an enchanting wilderness. Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild will help you to stop and discover what your true priorities really are. Gruchow will help you reach your full potential in every thing you do and find your personal meaning of life. Or for just an hour at a time. I recommend this book to whom ever can read! You will enjoy it. I know I did!

It's hard to give one rating to Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild (The World as Home). On the one hand, the vibrant descriptions of the unparalleled natural world of the book's namesake region are worthy of five stars, hands down. Were the majority of words between the covers devoted to the appreciation of the tactile world in which the author traversed, this book would rank with the best 'man in the wild' writings out there. But just when I'd start taking root in the author's passionately described woods and waters, an uninvited editorial diatribe would douse my tranquil embers.

It's not that I disagreed with Mr. Gruchow's societal observations - I actually agreed with him almost entirely throughout - I simply would have preferred factual accounts of his travels through the Boundary Waters - which I erroneously assumed referred entirely to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (a quarter of the book is spent on an island in Lake Superior) - instead of rambling opinions claiming wilderness essentially ceases to exist in today's world. I can't disagree with Mr. Cruchow's dominant claim, but I'm less interested in his social commentary and more interested in his experiences in the allegedly nonexistent wilderness.

The author cannot be faulted for writing the book he wanted to write, but potential readers should know up front that only a portion of the book will sweep one away to the boundary waters. That portion is great, but there are considerable digressions along the way.