Under the Devil's Thumb [Paperback]

David Gessner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

David Gessner first moved to Colorado in the wake of a bout with cancer. In Under the Devil's Thumb, this young New Englander takes readers on a joyous quest to discover the mysteries of the western landscape and the landscape of the soul as well. In the West Gessner began to rewrite his life. Under the Devil's Thumb is a story of rugged determination and sweat, as well as humor, adventure and hope. In and around his new hometown of Boulder, Colorado, Gessner hiked hard and ran alongside flooded creeks. He found that the West was a place of stories—stories that grow out of the ground, flow out of the dirt, work their way through one's limbs, and drive people to push their physical limits. Hiking up scree slopes toward the Devil's Thumb, a massive outcrop of orange rock that attracts climbers, hikers, and contemplaters, Gessner reflects on the illness he has so recently survived. He pushes his physical limits, hoping to outrun death, to outrun dread. He finds momentary transcendence in the joys and self-inflicted pain of mountain biking. "Nothing but the hardest ride has the power to flush out worry, mind clutter, and dread." In tranquil moments he seeks a chance to recover an animal self that is strong and powerful enough to conquer mountains, but also still and quiet enough to see things human beings ignore. In the mountain West, Gessner finds what Wallace Stegner called "the geography of hope." He finds within himself an interior landscape that is healthy and strong. Combining memoir, nature writing, and travel writing, Under the Devil's Thumb is one man's journey deep into a place of healing.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As a young recovering cancer patient, Gessner (A Wild, Rank Place, Univ. Pr. of New England, 1997) moved from his family home on Cape Cod to the mountains of Boulder, CO. This collection of vignettes examines Gessner's newfound love of Boulder and the West as he explores and learns the natural history of the area. Stressing the importance of storytelling as a means of becoming connected to the land on which one lives, Gessner follows in the footsteps of Edward Abbey as he deals with the loss of his father, family dynamics, getting married, and the impact of ego on maleness. His various trips throughout the West reveal a joy in life and the outdoors that most readers will find contagious. Recommended for natural history and regional collections.ATim J. Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, WA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Gessner's essays are on fire. He shows us that we can have delightful, imaginative and creative lives by becoming more rooted and connected to the place where we are . . . Wise and enlivening, provoking us into a higher understanding of both nature and ourselves." —Rocky Mountain News "His various trips through the West reveal a joy in life and the outdoors that most readers will find contagious." —Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816519242
• ISBN-13: 978-0816519248
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,319,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and elightening journey through the West, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Devil's Thumb (Paperback)

I just finished reading an advanced copy of David Gessner's second book, and I have one word: Fantastic! Mountain biking, skiing, hiking -- it's an adventure book for the thinking person. Gessner writes beautifully about the Rockies, Utah, and Anasazi ruins. He integrates everything he sees and learns into his own (and the reader's) understanding of his life and the people in it. Under the Devil's Thumb is rich in characters and setting. Like a great novel, it keeps you turning the pages. A fine, fine piece of literature!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars uninteresting, January 14, 2007

By 

Wayne (MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Devil's Thumb (Paperback)

After 143 pages of drinking in the great outdoors, on page 144 David blunders onto the idea that he might be an alcoholic. Gee, dyathink? This book sounds like work of a man who desperately wants his words or his life to mean something big. He must refer to "personal myths" a dozen times in this book. He uses an incident where he leaves his sick, laboring wife behind on a x/c ski trip, only to "rescue" her and carry her pack near the end as a launching pad into an essay on heroism and heros (a title he doesnt claim, but one gets the sense he thinks he deserves). Oh puhlease! David is obviously well-read and I think he has potential when he writes about something other than himself. But his personal essay is too personal, he is too shallow for me to care about his character, and he never does anything interesting to write about (unless you call ski-drinking interesting). His essays of "place" about his affection for his new home in the west ring hollow to me, as if he desperately wants to believe what he has written. The book has its good moments, he occasionally turns a few good paragraphs when he is talking about something other than himself. But they seem like window dressing when viewed in the context of the whole. This was a hard book to finish because I just didnt care.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ramble on...., July 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Devil's Thumb (Hardcover)

It sounded good. And I could relate to parts of it, as a recent transplant to Denver and having just experienced the deaths of close relatives. But the pomposity was too much. Some interesting stuff, but a lot of disorganized rambling. It feels like Gessner is just trying too hard to write the book he wants to be so proud of. The word "narcissistic" pops up a lot in the book. Totally appropriately. Does the guy mention beer in every single essay in the book? Yes, David, you're cool - you carried beer along on your hike.