Following the route taken by British explorer Ivan Champion in 1927, and amid breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, Salak traveled across this remote Pacific island-often called the last frontier of adventure travel-by dugout canoe and on foot. Along the way, she stayed in a village where cannibals m was still practiced behind the backs of the missionaries, met the leader of the OPM-the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the Indonesian occupation of Western New Guinea-and undertook an epic trek through the jungle. The New York Times said "Kira Salak is tough, a real-life Lara Croft." And Edward Marriott, proclaimed Four Corners to be "A travel book that transcends the genre?It is, like all the best travel narratives, a resonant interior journey, and offers wisdom for our times."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book COMPLETELY engaged me from beginning to end. It tells the story of a young woman drawn to danger and adventure in one of the most remote locations on earth. She reaches distant tribes that haven't seen any white people, where the kids all run off in terror, thinking she's yellow-haired ghost. She spends time with other tribes still practicing cannibalism, puts up with unsavory local traders, meets shamans and fanatical missionaries and all manner of colorful characters. This is an adventure book on two different levels--we not only learn about the fascinating country of New Guinea, but we learn what drove Ms. Salak to go on such a dangerous and remarkable journey. And more incredibly, she went on this journey ALONE. My hat goes off to her.
If you're looking for some dry, academic kind of book on New Guinea culture--like the previous reviewer seemed to be--then I suggest you go to the library and pick up some scientific journals and go nuts. But if you'd like a great, really readable adventure story that will hold your interest from beginning to end, that won't be a waste of your time or money, then this is the book for you. I've shared this gem with all of my friends--world backpackers and arm-chair travelers alike--and they all loved it.
If you're looking for some dry, academic kind of book on New Guinea culture--like the previous reviewer seemed to be--then I suggest you go to the library and pick up some scientific journals and go nuts. But if you'd like a great, really readable adventure story that will hold your interest from beginning to end, that won't be a waste of your time or money, then this is the book for you. I've shared this gem with all of my friends--world backpackers and arm-chair travelers alike--and they all loved it.
34 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By Innominate
Format:Paperback
Being keen on New Guinea biota, I have been working to collect all the literature I can on the area. Most resources one finds are by missionaries, anthropologists, or military stories of World War II. Fairly useless for learning of the flora and fauna. Thus, seeing a book of a peregrination along hundreds of miles of lowland territory was intriguing.
Now, I'll concede there are no rules for writing a book about exotic adventures. However, I *did* have some preconceived expectations of travel writing about such an exotic destination.
I did not expect her to spend 1/10th of the book talking about how dangerous Africa is. I did not expect her to mention how dangerous PNG is on nearly every page, and manage to elaborate on it over and over with each mention. If she wants to cross PNG, sure, admit it can be a little dangerous. However, it gets old reading it page after page after page.
I really feel as though she could have packed twice as much information into the pages as she did. I felt as though I got to know few of the characters, and there was scant mention of the background settings. It was all about her, her thoughts, and how she is growing as a person. Now, this is all fine and dandy for some people, but I really wanted to read more about the characters she encountered, adventures she took. It was her book and she is allowed to write as she pleases. It just was NOT what I expected.
I especially find it incredible how she was able to cross the main landmass, and write so little about the flora and fauna she encountered. New Guinea is a mecca for wildlife, and you could write entire books on the subjects you find in 1 metre square. There is almost no mention of any plants or animals.
Despite my criticism, Ms.... Read more ›
Now, I'll concede there are no rules for writing a book about exotic adventures. However, I *did* have some preconceived expectations of travel writing about such an exotic destination.
I did not expect her to spend 1/10th of the book talking about how dangerous Africa is. I did not expect her to mention how dangerous PNG is on nearly every page, and manage to elaborate on it over and over with each mention. If she wants to cross PNG, sure, admit it can be a little dangerous. However, it gets old reading it page after page after page.
I really feel as though she could have packed twice as much information into the pages as she did. I felt as though I got to know few of the characters, and there was scant mention of the background settings. It was all about her, her thoughts, and how she is growing as a person. Now, this is all fine and dandy for some people, but I really wanted to read more about the characters she encountered, adventures she took. It was her book and she is allowed to write as she pleases. It just was NOT what I expected.
I especially find it incredible how she was able to cross the main landmass, and write so little about the flora and fauna she encountered. New Guinea is a mecca for wildlife, and you could write entire books on the subjects you find in 1 metre square. There is almost no mention of any plants or animals.
Despite my criticism, Ms.... Read more ›
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By J. Russell
Format:Paperback
Like all great travelogues, "Four Corners" is an account that recognizes the important fact that the traveler themself is an integral part of the journey. Kira Salak takes us on her adventure through one of the wildest and rawest parts of the world, filled with beauty and danger, friendliness and brutality. Along the way she spends time in introspective examination. Why would someone make this trip? Why subject oneself to the uncertainies of a trip with no itinerary through so remote a place? Her answers are as important to the book as the trip itself. Highly recommended.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By earthmother3
Format:Paperback
I have read both of Kira Salak's books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am hoping she will write another one soon. Four Corners was great and I was able to compare much of my trip to hers (although mine was not quite as adventurous). I don't feel she spoke too much on the dangers of PNG, as one reviewer wrote. The dangers are very real and different than other countries. I also enjoyed the excerpt on her travels through Mozambique included in this book. She has a gift for writing. Hurry up Ms. Salak and write another book soon!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By P. Hassan
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was fabulous. It kept me riveted from page one. What Ms. Salak accomplished in New Guinea (with her intelligence, guts, wit, courage and luck) is truly amazing. Hands down the best book I read all year. A true travel adventure.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By J. Roggow
Format:Paperback
This is by far the BEST travel adventure book I've ever read. The first chapter is so intense I guarantee you won't be able to put the book down! Without giving away anything from the book (you can read the description on Amazon yourself), I'll tell you this book is exciting from the first page all the way to the last. Does this woman have a death wish traveling alone through Papau New Guinea? I've read her other book, "The Cruelest Journey" and that was also incredible. I can't wait until she writes another book!
15 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are a friend of Ms. Salak and want to know more about her inner life, then I recommend this book highly. For the rest of us, her personal identity struggles and self diagnoses get old really fast. Like many travelogues, because she passes much too quickly through the areas that are her stated theme of the book, one doesn't really get to know much about the people and places; it is mostly an "author as hero" kind of book. If you'd like to know more about this area of Papua New Guinea, I suggest the very readable "The Gebusi: Lives Transformed in a Rainforest World," by Bruce Knauft.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A journey worth taking..
This was my first book by this author, and I found this book hard to put down. Kira Salak is an adventurer that opts for solo travel and is usually putting herself in... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Lachula
4.0 out of 5 stars
Salak is inspiring
I like her writing style and envy her courageousness. Also read her book the Cruelest Journey which I really liked too.
Published 3 months ago by Mantra11
5.0 out of 5 stars
I had flashbacks of PNG
I grew up in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and was feeling a little homesick. I took a chance and bought this book and I was not disappointed. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Christian B. Cuyno
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
A great read - and first hand account of a young woman's adventure through PNG. I'm sorry that other's had to post negative comments about this book. Definitely worth reading!!!
Published 13 months ago by dhmoss05
3.0 out of 5 stars
good look at the New Guinea culture
Excellent look at the cultures of New Guinea and the startling differences across cultures even today. Read more
Published 22 months ago by MV
1.0 out of 5 stars
Atlas Shrugged (at poltical violence and cultural diversity)
While some people may certainly enjoy this book, it is more of a memoir and a coming-age at 24 story than a story of Papua New Guinea. Read more
Published on April 17, 2011 by Jonathan Wickens
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scarcely credible account of an incredible voyage
This book is written with a considerable amount of craft by a youthful author who seems to have accomplished one of the more ludicrously difficult expeditions of the last 200... Read more
Published on January 22, 2011 by Owen Hughes
2.0 out of 5 stars
Does this women need help?
Please take me to task if I am wrong but
Ms. Salak seems to be a bit funny in der
kopf. On one page she is very angry
about the superstition concerning a... Read more
Ms. Salak seems to be a bit funny in der
kopf. On one page she is very angry
about the superstition concerning a... Read more
Published on February 14, 2010 by John Calvin Errickson II
1.0 out of 5 stars
four corners
I thought book would be strictly about the native tribes. It was about some lame adventure.
Published on April 8, 2009 by Sarah A. Sell
3.0 out of 5 stars
hard times to come
for kira salak in png
it feels good that kalak doesn't hide the somehow "stupid" mistakes she made during her journey (trying to track through the highland jungle with a heavy... Read more
it feels good that kalak doesn't hide the somehow "stupid" mistakes she made during her journey (trying to track through the highland jungle with a heavy... Read more
Published on February 6, 2009 by P. Kutin
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