No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb.
In Pakistan, the fearsome K2 kills thirteen of the world's most experienced mountain climbers in one horrific summer. In Valdez, Alaska, two men scale a frozen waterfall over a four-hundred-foot drop. In France, a hip international crowd of rock climbers, bungee jumpers, and paragliders figure out new ways to risk their lives on the towering peaks of Mont Blanc. Why do they do it? How do they do it? In this extraordinary book, Krakauer presents an unusual fraternity of daredevils, athletes, and misfits stretching the limits of the possible.
From the paranoid confines of a snowbound tent, to the thunderous, suffocating terror of a white-out on Mount McKinley, Eiger Dreams spins tales of driven lives, sudden deaths, and incredible victories. This is a stirring, vivid book about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
One of the best-known, most-loved TV fishing personalities, Jimmy Houston has become a bass legend. Two-time winner of the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year award, Jimmy now brings you A of the wonderful, entertaining, and instructive stories he's gathered over the years....
CAUGHT ME A BIG 'UN...
and then I let him go!
Anyone who loves fishing -- on a lake, pond, river, or ocean -- is guaranteed to love Jimmy Houston's insightful, instructive, and laugh-out-loud funny tips and tales. Whether he's fishing with sports or political celebrities or his children, Jimmy proves there's no story like a fish story, and here are his best-packed with all the know -- how that has made his name a legend.
Discover the secrets of tournament fishermen from Jimmy and other award-winning pros; get the lowdown on tackle, baits, and boats; and find out why the best anglers know that you have to understand fish in order to catch them (and how you can, too!), and more. From that first tug on the line to the last cast of the day, every angler will love Jimmy's bass fishing tips and anecdotes. Get in the boat with the master -- and turn those tall tales into reality.
"It would sweeten a man's temper at any time to read it," wrote essayist Charles Lamb some years after this novel was first published in 1653. Of course, The Compleat Angler is much more than just a 17th century "how-to" guide to catching and cooking fish. So disarming is Mr. Walton's quiet enthusiasm for the countryside and all the various delights that it contains that, even if you never have nor ever will pick up a fishing rod, you will benefit from a little time spent in the genial company of the author and his friends.
