Pecked to Death by Ducks [Hardcover]

Tim Cahill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 1993

In his latest tour of the earth's remote, exotic, and dismal places, the author of Road Fever and A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg sleeps with a grizzly bear, witnesses demonic possession in Bali, and survives a run-in with something called the Throne of Doom in Guatemala. Vivid and outrageously funny.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There are no ducks in this book; the title simply appealed to the author as expressive of this hodgepodge of pieces about his own and others' adventures. Cahill ( Road Fever ), a contributing editor of Outside magazine, where many of these articles appeared, covered amazing jaunts: the exploration by spelunkers of the newly discovered Lechuguilla Cave near Carlsbad, N.M.; a trip of sea-kayakers in the Gulf of California; the arrest of members of the Dangerous Sports Club who, dressed in tuxedos and looking for fun and attention, jumped off a Bristol, England, bridge on elastic bungee cords. Cahill searched for giant clams in Tonga, fished in Guatemala, and interviewed diamond miners in Brazil and ranchers in Montana. He has dived with sharks, jumped out of airplanes, climbed mountains in Africa and South America, trekked through equatorial jungles and, as he explains, generally scared himself silly. But, unfortunately, for him and for those he writes about, risk generates a euphoria that these pedestrian reports do not always convey.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is not, strictly speaking, a travel book but a collection of articles, most of them previously published in various magazines, on a variety of subjects. The author places the articles into five categories: The Unnatural World, Tooth and Claw, The Natural World, Other People's Lives, and Risk. Cahill, author of Jaguars Ripped My Flesh ( LJ 10/1/87) and A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg ( LJ 2/15/89), has traveled around the world on assignment, covering a wide range of unusual events such as firewalking, caving, etc. He writes with a keen sense of humor, but with a serious and informed attitude. The reader won't find tips on hotels, food, or transportation but a rich and varied tour of interesting and unusual places and events. Recommended for all travel collections.
- George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (January 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679407359
• ISBN-13: 978-0679407355
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,561,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When You Can't Go Yourself, Go with Tim, June 28, 2000

By 

S. O'Connor "SJO" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pecked to Death by Ducks (Paperback)

I'm a big fan of travel writer Bill Bryson, so expanding to reading Tim Cahill's books wasn't much of a stretch. Like Bryson, Cahill goes out travelling with that "I'm just an ordinary guy in the world" outlook, bringing the reader along with the hope that maybe he'll do something really dumb or goofy and end up having more of an adventure than planned. After reading Cahill's experiences in remote corners of the world from deep inside caves to the top of El Capitan, the next time you get on an airplane and sit near a tall, bearded, slightly worried-looking man you'll wonder if it's Cahill and where he's off to this time. And some adventurous part of you will want to go with him. Enjoy your travels with Tim Cahill!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AN IDEAL TRAVELING COMPANION, July 20, 1999

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pecked to Death by Ducks (Paperback)

Tim Cahill is witty, warm, compassionate, and wryly amusing. What more could you ask? If I'm taking a mental trip to wild, exotic, fearsome places; I don't want a cranky guide. Bill Bryson (Walk in the Woods)preaches too much--wants everyone to walk everywhere and eschew all drive-throughs. Tim is absolutely tolerant, apologizes for his wackiness and agrees fervently that taking a nap 250 yards from a grizzly bear takes a lot of explaining. His essay on llamas was worth the price of the book, informative (I didn't know llamas spit at you because you came too close to them. They just look like they'd love to be petted. Not so.) and funny. I found his descriptions lyrical. My curiousity was so aroused, I was looking in atlases and encyclopedias. I've passed over his other books probably because of the god-awful titles. I won't make that mistake again. P.S. The last book I thought deserved 5 stars was "Catcher in the Rye."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cahill's best; hysterically funny., October 14, 1999

By 

Oksana (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pecked to Death by Ducks (Paperback)

As an avid travel adventure reader and a some time travel adventurer, I've read many of the travel adventure writers. PECKED is Cahill's best. His essay on caving is one of the funniest he's ever written. While another collection JAGUARS RIPPED MY FLESH was intermittently funny, PECKED TO DEATH's essays are full of his wry humor in locales that many of us will never have the opportunity to visit.