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Journey Without A Map

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According to Gardner McKay, his fans from Adventures in Paradise were responding to a cartoon character. Maybe, maybe not. It seems to me that Gardner McKay always had an indefinable presence that went far beyond the role he played in Adventures in Paradise. And to my way of thinking, this magnetic presence was mainly what people were responding to when they watched Adventures in Paradise. Journey Without a Map attests to this presence and the depth of his spirit. Told with humor & blatant honesty, we find out exactly what he thought about his father, mother, brother, Hollywood, people in Hollywood and some politicians. I particularly liked his descriptions of meeting Frank Sinatra, Richard Nixon and John Wayne. His travels and real life adventures in the jungle are told in detail, again in a straightforward way. There is never any sense that he wants to impress in the telling of his experience in the jungle but that he was simply fulfilling what he truly wanted to do. The pictures selected are also straightforward and in black & white. It's like he's saying, here I am, here's the real me, take it or leave it. His rapport with nature and animals is exceptional and his insight into people is rare. My assessment after reading this book is that Gardner McKay was in touch with the truest part of himself and this part is beautiful. After digesting the initial shock of such honesty, I found myself thinking about things he said and the way he saw life. The book is nearly 500 pages long but written in short story form on different topics so you can pick and choose the ones you want to read first.

Before I was a hundred pages into "Journey Without a Map", I e-mailed an old friend and told him he needed to read the book. "His prose is so poetic it borders on free verse, you won't believe some of the stuff he did - it's as compelling as anything I've ever read."

I also reasoned that my friend, an actor of considerable talent and experience who turned his back on his profession in disgust almost 20 years ago to write, would find a great deal of common ground within the pages - though I doubt seriously that he has ever walked across the Venezuelan jungle, and suspect he couldn't find the island of Bermuda in a sailboat if he started a hundred yards offshore with a strong tailwind.

But while I was tucked away in a prep school during its years on the air, and was only vaguely aware of "Adventures in Paradise" and Gardner McKay - my friend, several years my senior, was, I suspect, as bombarded by it as the rest of the United States at the time.

I don't intend to check with him to see if this is true, because I'm not about to change theories in mid-review for something as trifling as accuracy. I DO know, that he has not as yet purchased the book, and can only conclude that he has ignored my advice because of the very attitude that plagued McKay from the moment he abandoned his acting career. As he says: "The crime of starring in Hollywood will taint me for the rest of my life."

It taints him still, eight years after his death. I am, apparently, one of the few of my generation in America who, to my best recall, had never seen more than a few minutes of his screen persona when I picked up his play "Sea Marks" in the early 70's, so I went in cold. I read it cover to cover in one sitting, and then I went back and read the male character again, aloud, so I could hear it as well. There has never, from that day to this, been the slightest doubt in my mind that Gardner McKay was a writer of extraordinary lyricism, wit and craft, with a profound understanding of the human condition. This autobiography makes it clear that he had an unflinchingly candid grasp of himself, as well.

Read this. You owe it to yourself. Then go to the French catalogue and order his plays. Find his short stories, his insightful and literate theatre reviews. Read them, too. You don't have to thank me. Gloating is its own reward...

You won't BELIEVE some of the stuff he DID!

Gardner McKay was a man without equal in many ways. Anyone who ever worked with him as an actor or read any of his work as a writer or heard any of his "Stories on the Wind" series on Hawaii Public Radio knows that already. But to read fascinating, pertinent parts of his life of adventure and creativity (not to mention romance) in his own words, set down in what were to be his last days, is its own kind of peak experience. It will stay with you for a long time. I can't recommend it too highly.

Journey Without a Map

When I first saw that " Journey without a Map " was being released , it was the author " Gardner McKay " that first jumped out at me , could this be the same Gardner McKay of my favorite childhood television series " Adventures in Paradise " which ran from 1959 - through 1962 , a quick google search and my query was complete . Sure enough~ here are the memoirs of the man behind many of my childhood dreams . It took only a moment for me to order the book which I awaited with great anticipation . It did not disappoint , It brought to life a man that had not only been a distant memory for me , but a beacon of light in my early years ; but there is so much more to Gardners life and achievements that I did not know and reading these memoirs you become to know the depth and warmth of a man that led a life few of us ever dream of.
Gardner lived a life that I never expected ... a life of great artistic skill, a life of travel , adventure , mystery and Love ....he lived way beyond the T.V screen that began so much earlier ~ with Gardners open heart and mind I became enthralled with the memoirs that he has put in words to share with us all .
If you need to take a break in life ~ to stroll down a path , to cruise across an ocean , a glimpse of childhood , or your golden years , take a reflection of your own dreams ~ this is a journey to take . This is a book I will have on my book shelf for years to come , one that I will read whenever I need to take a small journey .
Whether your life is a " journey without a map" ; if you sail the smooth seas of life or move through uncharted waters and live by heavens stars ~ if you live close to your rhumb line on a set course and compass, this is a book to read .
And so many thanks to Madeleine McKay in bringing this all together , and who has added the personal thoughts that came during the final part of the journey . We are all so much richer for this book ~~

This book contains some of the memoirs of one of the most unique and remarkable individuals ever to grace our modern society. Gardner McKay had an amazing life; a life definitely lived to the fullest. He was a person of great courage, imagination, and intelligence. Many people remember him as an actor, a TV and movie star, but his life was so much more than that. He was dedicated to finding and creating beauty. He had esquisite talents of observation, communication, and possessed a wisdom beyond that of most people. Gardner had a great love of animals and of the natural world. He was able to travel the world during his life and kept journals of his travels and experiences. This book is a collection of his memories of his life, from his earliest experiences traveling to, and living in, France, school days, days spent on the sea, college experiences, and his early artistic endeavors and successes. He was everything from an artist, to athlete, to actor, to adventurer, to author. In short, he was truly an amazing and complex individual who, having lived among us, made the world a more interesting and better place. Many thanks to his lovely wife, Madeleine, for getting his memoirs published and sharing his life with the world.

Our own histories are short. Those of you who are paying attention will enjoy McKay's memoirs... he is a kindred spirit, with a keen awareness of self and society, revealed through his eloquent humor. -L.Spera

Growing up, I always enjoyed stories about adventurers. Whether biographical or fictional, I wanted to read about men who explored unmapped rivers through dangerous jungles inhabited by less-than-friendly people and venomous snakes that could kill with a single bite. I wanted to sail to exotic ports after navigating the open ocean through heavy seas.

Gardner McKay was a man who at a young age turned his back on the conventional and what was, at times, a comfortable existence to do these and other things. Whether is was sailing, exploring remote regions of South America, or navigating the muddy waters of the entertainment world, he remained true to himself and did what he thought was important. Anyone fortunate enough to have heard his "Stories on the Wind" series broadcast on Hawaii Public Radio knows what a powerful imagination he wielded - but even he would have been hard pressed to imagine an adventure more interesting than his own life. By the age of 30 he had probably lived a fuller, more adventurous life than most people who live to be 90.

Taken directly from his many journals, the short, concise chapters of this book speak candidly of his journey through life. An experienced photographer, he had the presence of mind to document his experiences in photographs, and many of these are included in the book.

"Journey Without a Map" offers an intimate look inside the mind of a gifted storyteller who, in his final months of life, shared his own story. Madeleine McKay has done a wonderful job of bringing it all together in this volume, the story of a life lived to the fullest and not one to be missed.

This lovely and loving memoir is rich with wonderfully warm and funny vignettes of a life well lived. McKay has turned his grand story of exploration and adventure into entertaining tales told with a precision bordering on haiku.

Gardy's story is informative, fun and ultimately enchanting. It's all there, in the pages of the book, the good and the bad. His life may have been a journey without a map; but this compilation is coherent, well executed and follows an easy to understand course. One feels as though one is on deck in the yachting stories and one feels the pain of the family loss described. For anyone who has ever wanted to interlope on the innermost thoughts of another, read this! It's engaging, humble and over the top; all at the same time.

I happened upon this book, after seeing Gardner McKay's name, mentioned in an article recently. I was intrigued to discover that he was a writer, so I bought the book.
I was exposed to a piece of literature that was so beautiful, so extraordinary, so profound that I could not stop reading. If you buy this book, you will find yourself on a trip that covers continents so richly described, that you feel as though you are there yourself. Gardner McKay was a very gifted man in many ways, but his passion for life stands out on every page. His sentences are poetry.He was a superb raconteur. He put his heart in this book, along with his love of animals, distaste for some actors, politicians and snobs. He reveals so many of his own emotions, including pain, joy, bewilderment, depression, frustration, but most of all his deep love for his wife, Madeleine.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. It is not just an autobiography, but a memoir of a life well-lived and richly experienced, a "must read".