Customer Reviews

A Man's Life: Dispatches from Dangerous Places

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

 

 

While I'd read and enjoyed Mark Jenkins's writings in "Outside" magazine for a long time, this is the first of his books I've read and I was sorry that it had to come to an end. I now look forward to reading his older books. Jenkins's writing style makes for easy, enjoyable reading and his adventures that he shares make me wish I've experienced even half as much as he has in his life - although there are a few sufferfests and life-threatening chapters I would be happy to pass on, such as his attempt to follow a historic route in Southeast Asia which involved getting past an outpost of Burmese soldiers who were itching to kill him. If you like outdoor/adventure stories, you'll love this book.

If you like to read of adventure travel then you do not want to miss this book. If you are already familiar with Mark Jenkins you will definitely not want to miss this book. Jenkins has the ability to transport you along on his journeys with him. You finish one chapter fatigued from a 100 mile bike ride and the next overwhelmed by the beauty of a summit view at 15,000 feet. He has a writing style that conveys the sights, sounds and emotions of the moment without sounding cliched and sappy. In one chapter he writes of a Lithuanian friend whom he felt an instant connection with when they first met. You will feel that same connection with Jenkins when you read this book.

I have read a lot of his work over the years and it was enjoyable to be able to read about these adventures and see how they have changed him.
As a fellow climber, world traveler and father, his insights and emotions really moved me. They ring with the truth of someone who has been there and been tempered by the fire, but not hardened in his heart. One of my favorite books from 08.

Mark Jenkins is my favorite author. I have read all of his books, and this one and Off the Map are my favorites. Buy this simply because Mark Jenkins is one of the most incredible authors ever. Period.

It was this book's subtitle that first captured my attention -- Dispatches from Dangerous Places. If you like great travel writing, you'll really enjoy Mark Jenkins's A Man's Life. Jenkins walks across northern Afghanistan, following Marco Polo's ancient route. He bicycles across Lithuania with a friend he met there years before. He climbs Mont Blanc and explores deep inside Icelandic glaciers. Some climbs are aborted short of the summit, but Jenkins wisely learns to accept such failures. This from the book's dust cover: "The tales in A Man's Life explore the razor's edge between life and death, as well as the nature of love and friendship, failure and redemption. Together they unite Jenkins's stunning travels with his lucid contemplations on the meaning of it all." This is very good travel writing -- definitely worth a read.

This is a good book... just not for this reader. I hoped for 100% first person accounts of adventure, danger and life threatening situations in the wild. Instead, it's more of a father and husband's diary. Nothing wrong with that, but just not what I had hoped for. It's great that men would like a book this sensitive and family oriented.

But if it's adventure you want, for goodness sake don't miss Jim Corbett's books: Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks) and The Temple Tiger and More Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks). It's got it all: humanity, humility and amazing danger and adventure.

This is a book any outdoorsman would enjoy. It is full of adventure and outdoor experiences.