Life With Noah: Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith With Noah John Rondeau [Hardcover]

Richard Smith (Author), William J. O'Hern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997 | ISBN-10: 0925168610 | ISBN-13: 978-0925168610

Step back in time to the old ways of life in the rugged Adirondack Mountains. Richard "Red" Smith was a woodsman: a fisherman, trapper, hunter and a loyal friend of Noah John Rondeau. In the final years of Smith's life he spent many hours relating these stories of his life in the woods to the author. Richard as a young man forged a solid friendship with the Adirondacks' last and most famous hermit, Noah John. Noah taught him the skills and the way of life of the mountains, and divulged to him his secret writing code. Smith in turn has now passed it to O'Hern, who shares it with the reader. This is a nostalgic look back to simpler days.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 273 pages
• Publisher: North Country Books (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0925168610
• ISBN-13: 978-0925168610
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,899,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look back into another time and place., September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Life With Noah: Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith With Noah John Rondeau (Hardcover)

Noah John Rondeau was a special man in a special place at a special time in history. His life and lifestyle were, at the very least, iconoclastic, although he welcomed visitors, as the Mayor of Cold River City, population 1.

Think of it: He never earned a college degree or a patent; never held political or corporate office; never had a telephone or paid any utility bills; never had a credit card or an automobile; never owned any real estate or made any contributions to the arts. Yet here we are, 33 years after his death and nearly 50 years after his departure from the wilderness as a hermit, writing and reading books about him.

Recently, there was a program given at the Adirondack Museum, by Jay O'Hern, in March of 1999. The place was packed and spanned multiple generations, to witness a one hour plus, slide presentation and talk on The Hermit of Cold River, Noah John Rondeau.

In August of 1999, this reviewer took a 40 mile hike into the Cold River Country of the High Peaks Wilderness in the Adirondaks, to meet the spirit of Noah John head-on, along the Northville-Placid Trail. I walked in his footfalls, slept in his woods and fished in his beloved Cold River for the native brook trout.

The trip was a watershed experience and a rite of passage for any hiker or backpacker. His spirit remains in the High Peaks Wilderness to all who have the inclination to venture there.

Jay O'Hern has, with this book, kept Rondeau "alive" for those who would read these pages. More than that, he has helped keep a special time in history fresh and relavent.

Highly recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jay has done a great job of revealing the true Noah, January 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Life With Noah: Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith With Noah John Rondeau (Hardcover)

Any lover of the Adirondacks,especially of the Northville/Lake Placid trail will have many fond memories re-opened of days spent in beutiful country. In addition, the real Noah is revealed thru the words of a real friend and fellow trapper. You will put this book down with the thought that Noah was not a buffoon to be paraded by the Env. Conservation office. He showed that one could survive in the wild if he had a reverance for life and a love of nature. Richard Smith does honor to Noah . Thanks to Jay for the intimate glimpse of the Hermit of Cold River. Hope to go back there again someday. If I do, I will say a thank you to Noah, Richard and Jay.