Customer Reviews

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can understand some people giving this book or the related video only three or four stars; this is one of those stories that depend heavily on the outlook you bring to them. Some might find Proenneke's feat mildly interesting but wonder why he did it. I found it enthralling.

You have to be fascinated by a man who seemed capable of creating almost anything he needed from raw materials using only hand tools. He carves out wooden spoons; builds his log home; turns gas cans into buckets, pots, and in-ground coolers; builds a cache on stilts; works up sturdy door hinges from stumps; and on and on. In our age of repetitive assembly of the same part or being a small cog in a service industry machine, in an age of such specialization even American farmers whose granaries overflow run to the supermarket for bread and then complain about the price, in an age of abundance that comes at the price of over-dependence on others, Richard Proenneke reached a satisfying level of self-reliance now nearly extinct.

I'm reminded of the "Little House on the Prairies" book series in which father Ingalls briefly laments having moved to South Dakota where he was dependent on the railroad trains to bring in food and fuel, compared to the days of self-sufficiency in the woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Proenneke's dream isn't for everyone. Imagine trying to do what he did if your skills are incomplete or you have a family to bring up. Living in the middle of wild Alaska would be more suffering than fulfilment. But what a dream to have, in which you turn your back on the rat race and build what you need to live from start to finish, or as Proenneke says "to do a thing to completion." His accomplishments give me daydream release from the tedious grind of bills and mindless work.

I was at Port Alsworth, Alaska, on Lake Clark this July 1999, and bought this book at the Lake Clark Vistor Center. The beauty of this country is awesome and spectacular. The book tells the adventure of a man called back in time. Dick chose to travel into bush country building a comfortable cabin with his two hands at the cost of $40 dollars. Surviving the severe weather with wisdom and common sense. Enjoying and making friends with the wild animals. He had great respect for God's country and the animals. Friendship with Babe Alsworth, a true christian native and bush pilot. I met Babe's son, Glen and his wonderful family, at Port Alsworth. The book is vivid in discribing Dick's many months of survival and adventure in the Alaska bush. The book is very well written and it makes you feel like you are living the adventure with Dick. Pictures of the Alaska country and cabin help to visualize your thoughts. In the busy world of today, it was refreshing to read this book and reflect on how in ages past people lived day by day. I enjoyed reading the book very much.

This is a powerful book and has quite a following. I was given the book by one of my best friends, which I consider a wonderful gift. This book has it all, beautiful photos, Richard's journal notes are amazing in their insight to his thinking and how this adventure unfolded. It is a simply wonderful book, and has people traveling to Alaska just to see the setting for such a balanced book. This book lays claim to new territory, and the claim is valid. No wonder it sells well, it is captivating reading and makes you look hard and close at your own life.

This has to be one of my very favorite books. I have read it front to back at least 7 times! It is written with the true adventurer in mind. Every detail of his experience makes the reader wish it were he/she that was there with him. If you have ever wished you could just go off into the woods, build a cabin and be self-sufficiant, This is the book for you.

I bought this book after watching the PBS documentery of Richard Proenneke's year alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Where the documentary gives a brief synopsis of Dick's time in the wilderness, the books gives a more complete account of the trials and tribulations of survival alone in the middle of nowhere. His planning and ingenuity of what he would need to survive the harsh Alaskan winter (from building his own log cabin from the ground up to stocking up on food for the long winter) are truely inspiring.

Equally inspiring are the words Dick uses to describe his love of the land and of the joy he finds communing with nature and surviving in such a remote environment.

If you've ever felt a bond with Jack London's "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" you will love this true life adventure of Dick's year alone in Alaska's wilderness.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Having watched the PBS special about Richard Proenneke this is a book I wanted to own and its much more interesting in my opinion than the video PBS showed since it goes into deeper detail on how he came to be in Alaska and the day to day life Richard Proenneke lived which was remote and physically celibate aside from an occasional mail/food drop.

Unlike so many books on remote living one doesn't read about wild life becoming a danger, but one reads of man and wildlife living in harmony and a man taking only what he needs when it comes to hunting and not letting any of the animal go to waste. Thus its a lesson in environmental living.

Also loved the book because its a lesson in the whole 'how to' attitude that is lost on so many Americans who demand a soft life. It was a joy to read how eating simple, using the outdoors to stay physically, mentally and spiritually healthy which cost Richard Proenneke little. Was a joy to read and see such wonderful photographs of a man who built his own cottage, made his own storage for meat, gathered his own fuel, and lived contently for decades, even though he only set out to test himself to see if he could last less than two years in a remote area in such frontier ways.

There are some valuable lessons to be learned here for the many soft living Americans I know, who never look beyond themselves and the bigger picture. Thankfully I know a good mumber of Richard Proenneke like people. The book should challenge the reader in at least a few ways.

I just want to say "ditto" to the above review. If you've ever fantasized about spending a good chunk of time living off the land in the rugged back-country, surviving by using your own wits and muscle, then this one's for you. Well written with wonderfully telling photos. Two thumbs way up!

A book to read more than once. Not dated at all. Oddly enough, a real page-turner, too.

Four years later, I read it again. Still loved it. This time, I noticed other things. How his siblings were so supportive, always writing to him. His sister paid the pilot's wife to bake him a birthday cake. Did the siblings pay for all the pilot's trips? Without all of those letters, he might not have been able to sustain his great attitude so long. Also, what about those "mission girls"? It's never resolved. And how did he power his movie camera? Another thing: the prose is so spare for the first year, it's like haiku. Then in the last few months the journal entries become more intermittent and much longer. Was that Dick writing more? If so, why? Or Sam editing less? I would like to see the original journals, too. At least a few passages. Also, I would like a much more detailed epilogue. How long did he stay in Iowa? When did he first return? And what about those mission girls, anyway?

The DVD and this companion book clearly illustrate one of the eternal conflicts: Man vs Nature. But in this case, they demonstrate how both can survive in harmony. Simply wonderful!

PS You can go to http://www.dickproenneke.com to get the Alone in the Wilderness DVD and the companion DVD Alaska Silence and Solitude. Each DVD costs $21.95 plus s&h. I have no affiliation with Bob Swerer productions and am just trying to help the previous member.

Best of luck!

It could be argued that not a whole lot happens in this book - basically a guy builds a cabin by a lake and takes some hikes and paddles in the surrounding area.

Even so, I couldn't put this book down. Richard Proeneke's journals come to life in the pages. He describes things like constructing a hinge for a door or making a sod roof in riveting detail. His trips into the backcountry are described equally as vivid.

It is absolutely amazing to me what he accomplished with little more than his own bare hands and some rudimentary tools. His heart, spirit and philosophy are truly admirable