Patagonia: At the Bottom of the World (Paperback)

by Dick Lutz (Author) "As we got off the plane at Punta Arenas a strong gust of wind blew a broad-brimmed hat off a tour group member's head..." (more)
Key Phrases: lesser rhea, Tierra del Fuego, Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Lutz presents its[Patagonia's] history, fauna and mystery with a fine realization of what is interesting (fascinating really)." -- Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal, May 12, 2002

"This book provides a comprehensive look at a magnificent region…thoroughly researched…read it and enjoy." -- Dr. Richard Ryel, CEO, International Expeditions

The overview is systematic, excellent for beginning travelers. Of particular mention, his historical journals are fascinating… -- Bard's Ink, July, 2002

Product Description
PATAGONIA is a thoroughly researched description of this region at the southern tip of South America. The book begins with a narrative account of a trip to the area and then continues with much more information. Included is a chapter on the environment, incorporating many facts about the interesting wildlife as well as the weather and the terrain. Next comes a chapter on the history of Patagonia, including the fascinating experiences of the early explorers. The fourth chpater is an excellent review of the now-extinct Indian tribes. The final chapter deals wth the present situation in Patagonia--the politics, the investment climate, and some of the controversies sparked by U.S. timber companies moving into this pristine land. With four pages of color pictures, numerous black and white photos, and graphics, including maps of the area. Extensive index and bibliography.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: DIMI PRESS; 2 edition (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931625386
• ISBN-13: 978-0931625381
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,108,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slip This One Into Your Carryon, October 2, 2003

By	Bill Stephens (London, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

In "Patagonia: At the Bottom of the World" Dick Lutz reminds us that to the European navigators who first discovered it, Patagonia was a strange region inhabited by giants, cannibals, and mysterious beasts. Occupying the tail of South America that stretches southward toward Antarctica, it remains even to the modern world a, little-known, off-the-beaten-path, sparsely inhabited region. Although politically divided between Chile and Argentina, Patagonia has a special climate, unique wildlife, and strange, and sometimes violent, history all its own. In this highly portable 206-page guidebook Lutz covers just about every aspect of this peculiar region including its history from the days of explorers and adventurers like Ferdinand Magellan and Sir Francis Drake to the Patagonia of today. An appendix includes Charles Darwins account of his 1834 trip to the region later published in The Voyage of the Beagle.
The book opens with Lutzs own account of his experiences as part of a tour to the region. You might want to read this chapter last, since the body of the text is broken up by notes that refer you to later sections of the book, and they can be intrusive. They occur only in the first chapter, so if you read this chapter last, you won't have to spend your time flipping back and forth. Still, leading the book off with this chapter is an excellent idea since most visitors to Patagonia will probably travel there as part of a similar tour group, and this lets them know exactly what to expect.
The remaining chapters in the book cover the region's environment, history, people, wildlife, and just about everything a traveler might want to know. One other bit of information is not confined to a single chapter but permeates the whole of the book and that is the author's own love of the area. There is no question that Dick Lutz considers Patagonia one of the most beautiful places on Earth. He enthusiastically describes mountains, the towering glaciers that tumble into the Strait of Magellan, and the region's interesting and diverse animal life.
He doesn't, however, gloss over the hardships the region endured throughout its early history: acts of genocide carried out against its native population, the ruthless exploitation of its forests and mineral wealth, its dubious record as a popular spot for penal colonies. As recently as the early 1970s, the political enemies of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet were confined to a prison in the area.
In short, Patagonia is a place like no other on Earth, and to take you there, youll find no better guide than this author. Dick Lutz has four previous books to his credit and writes skillfully and well. The book, quite honestly, could have benefited form a better proofreader, but most of the errors are typographical rather than textual. Despite this minor annoyance, Patagonia: At the Bottom of the World contains much solid information, and you would have to search far to find a more compact and useful guidebook. If travel to Patagonia is on your agenda, this is a good one to slip into your carryon.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Try again, January 10, 2006

By	Manuela Heinzel (Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How often do you come across a book that is really disappointing? And when it is was it your fault because you chose it because of its misleading cover picture or its contents page? Dick Lutz, asserted writer of several books on animals and out-of-the-way geographical regions has provided us with some reading which must be below the expectation of even an average book consumer. His personal account of a trip to Patagonia with a certain tour operator might well have paid for his fare, however, it leaves much to be desired in the way of writing. Simplistic, badly-put together sentences many of which are semantically ill-formed make reading a continuous strain. "We then got into the zodiacs for a ride around Tucker Island. This is a bird paradise so we refrained from landing in order not to disturb them." (p.14)

What is meant to be helpful advice for a future would-be traveller to the place unfortunately does not go beyond a rudimentary enumeration of lengthy bus rides between unnamed destinations and occasional lunch menus. "We took the small boats to shore where we were met by buses and vans that took our group through the town of Porvenir and also to an estancia (ranch)." (p.15) Sentences like the following would not go uncorrected by any editor with a minimum of pride in their occupation and one must wonder if this book received a second reading by anyone at all before going into print. "The drive through the countryside was different from what we had seen until now." (p.15) and "After driving awhile and seeing some more astounding vistas we next visited another spectacular locale." (p.17) At some stage the reader must ask themselves if the book was intended for children and incredulously reads on page 79: "Since there is a Lesser rhea, it follows that there is also a greater rhea."

The chapters on the land, its history and its people certainly provide the unitiated reader with much new and useful background information although also here textual continuity is sporadic and superficial. Quotes are not always sourced and the few photographs receive no comments. The book does, however, have a good word index and provides an extensive bibliography.

Should you buy this book? Only if you really need to.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patagonia, here I come!, June 21, 2003

By A Customer

In a remote and nearly desolate area on the tip of the continent of South America lies a region steeped in history and beauty unrivaled by many places in the world. Author Dick Lutz, in his book Patagonia: At the Bottom of the World, takes his readers on a trip through time and space in a journey that leads the reader from the area's earliest age of recorded exploration through the author's recent visit to this spectacularly scenic region.

Readers will come to this work looking for information about the region as they plan a travel adventure or they may choose to read the book to quench a need to understand the history and environs of Patagonia. Whatever the reason, readers who pick up Patagonia, will come away from their experience with a greater sense of understanding of this region and, perhaps as this writer does, a desire to see the land itself.

Throughout his book, Dick Lutz weaves a beautiful narrative of this picturesque area from his own experiences, the prose of some of the world's most famous early explorers and the storied history of this rugged land. For those who don't know, it was Magellan who named the region Patagonia during his epic journey to circumnavigate the globe. Setting sail from Spain on September 20, 1519, Magellan and his men encountered hardship, mutinous crew members and sheer adventure. Of the 200 men who set sail on the journey, only eighteen men and one ship were to return. Perhaps the best-known discovery of the journey was the famous waterway The Straits of Magellan. Interestingly enough, it was not Magellan who gave the strait its current name; he called it the strait the Channel of All Saints. Some of his men had other names for this waterway: Victoria Vessel Strait and Patagones Strait were but two of these. Perhaps history itself was the one to name this waterway after the expedition's leader.

One of the expedition's surviving crewmen was the journey's chronicler. Antonio Pigafetta, wrote of the Strait, "We found by a miracle a strait which we call the Strait of the Eleven Thousand Virgins; this strait is a hundred and ten leagues long which are four hundred and forty miles, and almost as wide as less than half a league and it issues into another sear which is called the Peaceful Sea; it is surrounded by very great and high mountains covered with snow . . . I think there is not in the world a more beautiful country, or a better strait than this one."

This book takes the reader through Dick Lutz's journey to Patagonia starting from his experience stepping off the plane at Punta Arenas to his subsequent excursion through this wind-swept and sparsely populated region encompassing the southern tip of the South America. Throughout the work, the author offers us information on the area's environmental facts including the region's wildlife, terrain and climate. There is a fascinating chapter on the history of Patagonia and the experiences of early explorers like Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Cook, and Charles Darwin. Lutz then segues to an account of the now extinct Patagonian Indians, their patterns of life, lore and legend.

Wrapping up his story, Dick Lutz provides us with an overview of the situation today in this region that spans Chile and Argentina. I particularly enjoyed the appendix that is an excerpt from Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. The bibliography will also prove useful to those wishing to learn more about this strikingly beautiful and fascinating region.

As Dr. Richard Ryel, CEO of International Expeditions, Inc. states: "Read it and enjoy!"

--- Reviewed by
Timothy E. McMahon, M.S.