|
Paddle to the Arctic: The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World | 
 enlarge | Author: Don Starkell
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $8.95
You Save: $7.00 (44%)
New (17) Used (9) from $8.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 428103
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0771082657
Dewey Decimal Number: 797
EAN: 9780771082658
ASIN: 0771082657
Publication Date: March 25, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Soft cover with no remainder marks or shelf wear. We ship daily!
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
What do you do after you canoe from Winnipeg, Canada to the Amazon? Paddle a kayak from Hudson Bay 3,000 miles through the Northwest Passage, of course. The author of Paddle to the Amazon sets out on another epic and crazy adventure.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Mad Wonderful Honest Don Starkell December 1, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The preceding reviewer takes light account of the forthrightness of Starkell's account, as well as the supra human effort it took to complete his jounrney. Starkell is absolutely strung out at the end of it, and he gives a powerful account of his beateness, even though he succeeds. Its a heros voyage, challenging himself as he does, and its epic in scope.
Yes it was a mad journey, and yes, it was possible he wouldnt succeed. But many have ventured less, and lost more.
I think people should give Starkell a little latitude for his social faux paxs up there, and when i read about the reception he got at the DEW station, i thought, these are the people whose orbit he is trying to paddle away from.
Reading also, the crtical account of his companion who parted paths because he was too 'driven', well, thats why he is the kind of guy who completes such a journey, and why his is a book people want to read, in contrast to on golden pond.
to call a man who attempts this, who has the galls to go for it, in this day and age, with his arm chair e-critics, i say, Don Starkell, our time needs you, and i salute you. One day im coming to your door to shake your hand in Winnepeg.
 Sad old man mooches & thieves his way across the arctic August 7, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is like a train wreck. You want to do the decent thing and turn away but the gore is too compelling. This is a poorly written journal of an egotistical fool that mooched, sponged and thieved his way across the arctic. There was no-one that this creep wouldn't use, and when he's quite justifiably refused "good samaritan" help, he rants and raves about how unfair it all is.
His writing is nothing more than egocentric drivel about how brilliant and brave he is. Nothing about the beauty, the people or the history.
The journey was remarkable, but Starkells stupidity, incompetance, lack of planning and astonishing lack of ethics are a study on how not to make this type of journey. His methods of resupply consisted of sponging off people who likely couldn't afford it and stealing the rest.
Please don't buy this book. It might encourage this idiot to go kayaking again.
a fools account June 3, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
With in the first chapter i was ready to put the book down. I admite reading this book is like seeing a bad accident, horrifying, yet i had to read on to see what tom foolery was next. At points it occured to me that this may have been a comedy. But no, this is the account of a determined, driven man with no common sense.
Starkell seems to see himself as a hero. With pride he tell of his follies one after another as though over coming each near fatal mistake was a virtue in its self. I dont know what is more amazing, that he lived to tell the story or that he is willing to admite the story.
I am a professional kayak instructor and expedition guide. I have used sections of this book in classes as case studies to see if the novice students can pick out the mistakes. They usually spot them right away.
If you want to know what you should never do on a kayak expedition this is the book for you. As to Mr. Starkell, god been watching over you, and it sounds like that is a full time job for him/(her).
A good example of what NOT to do in the arctic, or in life August 15, 2004
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Another reviewer thought this tale was presented without whining; I must wholeheartedly disagree. The author continually bemoans his chosen fate, actually saying things like 'when oh when will this end?' He went up there three times with insufficient experience & no guidance; continually misreads the terrain and the weather; then is surprised when it's a really hard trip. He has little to say about any beauty he might have encountered along the way because he's only paying attention to the schedule.
He constantly complained about being behind a completely unrealistic schedule and how his companion slowed him down. He doesn't even apologize for the patronizing, dictatorial way he treated her. She was making better choices than he and was often better able to figure out their location, yet he treated her like a nuisance. He even admits to driving her to exhaustion (requiring hospitalization), then gets mad at her for not continuing the trip with him. In hindsight while telling the story, he still has no realization that he could have handled things better.
For a potential explorer, this book may provide a good idea of what to expect in the Arctic. The different adventures he encountered are often entertaining, but his attitude in telling them was intolerable. I kept hoping his companion would smack him in the head with her paddle.
For comparison, Maria Coffey's "A Boat in our Baggage" and Chris Duff's "On Celtic Tides" are glorious, well-written stories of grand kayak adventures. Both authors submerse themselves in their surroundings in an attempt to fully appreciate the experience, and they are richly rewarded for it. They had nothing but positive expressions of even the toughest events. They were not merely trying to beat the clock like Don Starkell - their goal was to find the magic of new places. They found the magic and artfully put it on paper for us to enjoy.
More irritating then inspiring January 1, 2004
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a partial review, in that I put it down after the first 2 chapters. Embarking on this epic journey, he capsizes within 50 miles of his start point and is woefully unprepared to handle it. At this point I couldn't care less about the fate of the author on his future attempts.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
