Winter : Notes from Montana [Paperback]

Rick Bass (Author), Elizabeth Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 1992

This book is a classic celebration of winter in a remote Montana valley.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bass and his friend Elizabeth Hughes, a painter, spend a winter in a secluded former hunting lodge in northwest Montana's Yaak valley. "This charming celebration will give readers a fresh perception of winter," said PW. Illustrated.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this journal of a back-country winter, Bass is working in the tradition of Walden. Wishing to confront the essentials of nature and self, he heads for the most remote place he can find--the Yaak valley of Montana, with its 30 inhabitants and lack of electricity. The journal focuses on his adaptation to the harsh climate, stressing his growing knowledge of backwoods skills and lore. Unfortunately, Bass rarely goes beyond recording daily tasks and encounters. He conveys little insight into the spiritual changes he is undergoing and has surprisingly little to say about the relation of man and nature. His writing has been compared to that of Annie Dillard and Peter Matthiessen, but these flat, sketchy accounts belie such comparisons. In the end, "notes" is an all-too-appropriate subtitle for this disappointing volume, which often seems like the skeleton of a more substantial work.
-Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (January 20, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395611504
• ISBN-13: 978-0395611500
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A simple and eloquent celebration of all things natural, August 3, 1999

By 

Johnny J "JJ" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter : Notes from Montana (Paperback)

Rick Bass transports the reader to a remote valley in Montana and convincingly portrays his love and affection for all things wild and natural. This testament to the environment never preaches yet may be one of the most powerful arguments to preserve that which is still wild. It calms the mind and stirs the spirit.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solitude, Snow & Natural Beauty Prevail!, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Winter : Notes from Montana (Paperback)

Rick Bass is a gifted author with an amazing ability to make simple pleasures (like watching the snow fall) sound irresistible to even the most restless souls. "Winter" is effortlessly my favorite book of all time; a masterpiece of time and solitude. Often while reading the book, I almost want to sell everything and go off to Montana, cut wood, take great adventurous hikes and happily watch the snow fall for an entire day. We're missing the point of life - Rick Bass has captured it in this important book. Anyone who enjoyed Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods" should not miss this superior classic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nature at its purist..., February 24, 2001

By 

Mary S. Klein (Dubuque, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter : Notes from Montana (Paperback)

There is something enchanting and mystical about new fallen snow. However, along with its beauty comes danger and isolation. Winter is comprised of journal entries written by Rick Bass as he and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hughes, experience their first winter in the northern most part of the country, Yaak Valley, Montana. In the beginning of the book, the author writes about his anticipation of winter. As you read each journal entry, you find yourself enthralled in the author's excitement. When the snow finally comes, there isn't disappointment like there sometimes is when a person looks forward to an event. Bass finds a whole new world in Yaak Valley and to him each snow fall is an event. You can feel his excitement when he writes, "Perhaps all the snow in the world will fall, burying everything, such silence, and then I will come out of it in the spring, different, cleaner, not born again so much as built up." (Page 103)

Living in this remote valley with no prior experience of deadly winters, the author sometimes makes light of how truly dangerous the winter can be. He writes about men taking the safety devices off their chain saws so they can cut trees faster. He mentions dangerous wind chills of 80 degrees below zero. At one point in his writing, he describes how he found Hughes standing outside in her nightgown when he came home from cutting wood. She had been standing very close to the fireplace in order to keep warm and her flannel nightgown caught on fire. You can't help wonder just how many accidents occur, however, Bass brushes over them very lightly in his romantic love affair with the snow. The author paints a vivid picture of the local bar, the Dirty Shame Saloon. You find yourself feeling right at home as Bass shares a beer and exchanges stories with the local men and Hughes joins the ladies for a game of pinochle. The valley is friendly and typical of a small rural area. However, in this remote valley that has no electricity and dangerously cold winters, the people depend on each other for survival. We forget how the same beautiful, natural wonders like snow can also be deadly. Bass does a much better job showing us the enchanting side of living in the valley during the harsh winter than he does the life-threatening dangers that exist.

Although Bass brushes over the risks and threats of living in Yaak Valley, the book is an easy read well worth your time. I recommend the book for anyone interested in a non-fiction, down-to-earth book that leaves you with a renewed love for nature at its purist.