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Baidarka: The Kayak Paperback – June 1, 1986

by George Dyson (Author)

10 customer reviews

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George Dyson, the son of distinguished physicist Freeman Dyson, grew up immersed in the world of groundbreaking science. His previous books include the acclaimed ""Darwin Among the Machines,"" He and his father are also the subjects of Kenneth Brower's dual biography, ""The Starship and the Canoe,"" Dyson lives in Washington State.

Paperback
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books (June 1, 1986)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 088240315X
ISBN-13: 978-0882403151
Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 0.4 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
Average Customer Review: 10 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #965 in Photo Essays (Books)
- #924 in Ships (Books)

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M. Mac

Great book but watch for Fakes!

July 15, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great book use it for teaching! Be careful of your source;

Lately off shore "international" or "print on demand" book copiers have been dumping books into the market place. These books have color copies of original covers ( in the ads) and under inspection I find the following: Weak non-stitched spines, poor paper quality (laser paper) Black and White reproductions (poor quality scans or photocopy) pictures that are difficult to see details, This make it impossible to read because your seeing three pages of text or pictures - or worse, no ability to put on a projector for educational purposes or loss of eye sight assistance. Trimming errors up to a 1/8 inch or more and duplication's or missing sections. Technical support said because of their volume they could not tell me if the book I was buying was the genuine or these sham books. If you don't have a policy - get one! I will not waste my time returning books after I have done your quality control.

7 people found this helpful

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DeeMee

A journey worth taking

May 24, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a somewhat hard to categorize work. Some history of the Aleutian kayak and the people who developed it. Then a modern interpretation of it. But it also is much more than that. You get a look into the soul of the writer as well.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

The book is good, not as many charts and diagrams as i ...

March 5, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book is good, not as many charts and diagrams as i would like but their were some. I didn't realize it was shipping from Canada, felt like i was waiting forever.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

fantastic book

February 9, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I wish they re-printed it, this is a must have book if you are interested in traditional Skin On Frame Kayaks and their modern implementations.

2 people found this helpful

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jay Benton

Five Stars

January 22, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very informative

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Peter Dallman

I crafted the baidarka

October 10, 2010

Format: Paperback

First, I built several of the Dyson baidarkas and paddled them for years. People saw my boat and were inspred to build them too. Last outing several years ago there were over ten Dyson Baidarkas. Not so simple to bulid, you need a complete set of plans and instructions which I do not know if Geroge sells anymore. I have all the complete sets for all the boats still saved, decades later. These botas are revolutionary. I live in Newport Beach where the Olympic kayak racers practice. My boat is faster and a hell of lot more seaworthy than their composites, yar. You have to very comitted and talenetd to complete one of these yaks. They look simple but that is deceptive. I knew George and we corresponded. That was before the internet or PCs. Understand he is a genius. His father and Grandfather are uber-minds, won Nobel prizes. The engines in the Starship Enterprise, warp anti matter, are real designs that can work. Again, the Nobel prize isn't given to idiots. As a matter of fact the Next Generation start trek devoted an entire show to his father's genius when Scotty got trapped in a Dyson Sphere. George is as smart as his parents and lives in a place above us mortals. But I digress. The book attempts to capture a mind that is so free and flowing. It is part poetry of the mind and eye. OK, I understand if some of you do not get the vison, He is Thor Hyerdal and his theories are now being proved and shown just last week on cable "Who discovered America." Hid dad's engines will take a litte longer to prove. OH, I love this book.

15 people found this helpful

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Chris B

Paddling through time ...

June 30, 2002

Format: Paperback

George Dyson has written such diverse books as Baidarka, Darwin among the Machines and Project Orion. "Baidarka" with its wonderful photographs lets us look over George Dyson's shoulder.
Into history: Old sketches and lithographs show the "white man's" perception of the aleut kayak and kayaking life. Well chosen excerpts take you back in time.
At the "Dyson Baidarka": Information on materials and tantalizing scattered bits on how to build an ancient style kayak with space age materials. The Aleuts used the best possible materials, didn't they? A "how to" manual it is not, but it is essential if you want to build one. And if you build one you are rewarded with a sturdy, elegant boat.
At his own life: The he spent living in a tree house high up in a douglas fir :-) And of course ... he was building baidarkas. I love the images of the aluminum skin on frame boat in the tree house. By the way, many believe that George Dyson single-handedly revived the home-built kayak. "He who has a baidarka is rich" (Gavriil Davydov, 1804) - Thank you George, for making our lives so much richer.

5 people found this helpful

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Mark M. White Tech

Baidarka

March 2, 2011

Format: Paperback

A tremendous amount of research and documentation went into this book. First, there is the history of Russian exploitation of coastal Alaska, and indeed of the entire west coast of North America, all the way down into the Mexican Peninsula. I have personally witnessed the author, George Dyson, delivering a slide-illustrated lecture on Russian American history, and was impressed. Wow! The Russians and the natives could not have done what they did without the highly developed native kayak. Second there is a bit of study on why the Baidarkas/kayaks were built as they were, with a bit of personal indulgence and whimsy thrown in. Third, there is the author's experimentation with the use of steel and aluminum tubing (instead of wood) and nylon fabric (instead of animal skin)in the construction of kayak-like vessels, from a length of 16-feet, all the way up to 48 feet. One would need to be practiced and skilled in order to build a kayak with the use of this book, but it does provide the basics of construction.

I was humbled, and finished reading the book feeling impressed with the totality of effort involved.

3 people found this helpful

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Baidarka: The Kayak Paperback – June 1, 1986