From Library Journal
This collection of 30 adventure essays by celebrated Arctic enthusiast Millman features 17 new pieces along with those that have appeared elsewhere: in his previous books (Last Places; Northern Latitudes; An Evening Among Headhunters), magazines (Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, Islands) and as introductions to other works. Brought together in this way, these varied pieces reveal that Millman specializes in unsolved mysteries, odd myths, and extremely dangerous situations, and the stories he recounts are always highly amusing and unpredictable: he encounters Kodiak bears in Alaska, fortune-tellers on Yap, and leeches on Sarawak, to name just a few incidents. In the strongest pieces he pays homage to other explorers and adventurers, such as Henry Hudson, George Street, Harry Radford, Hassoldt Davis, John Cowper Powys, and Maurice Wilson. The fiction pieces interspersed among the travel narratives are somewhat weaker and not as well written as the nonfiction, a genre in which Millman clearly has few equals. Recommended for all public and large academic libraries.Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Morning News, December 1, 2002
"Wild, offbeat adventure ... with viscera and wit. For the armchair explorer, this is a ticket to the bizarre and quirky."


Rand Richards Cooper, The New York Times, December 8, 2002
"Again and again, Millman extends a generous invitation for the reader to experience schadenfreude at his expense."


Sally Gragin, Boston Globe, December 8, 2002
"He has a gonzo intrepidness ... Millman is rightfully beloved by travel writers."


Charles Wilson, The Washington Post Book World, February 9-15, 2003
"Millman is a modern-day Rousseau."


Book Description
Lawrence Millman writes stylish, often wildly amusing tales of remote places and offbeat characters (from the South Pacific islands of Yap to eccentric author and explorer Hassoldt Davis, a literary man-of-action whose many brushes with death including being paralyzed by an African sorcerer). He specializes in unsolved mysteries (what really happened to the great explorer Henry Hudson after his men mutinied and cast him off in an open boat?) and odd myths. And he is not immune to misadventures of his own, often landing in extremely uncomfortable or dangerous situations in his pursuit of new—and sometimes very, very old—places, cultures, and experiences. From the experience of being marooned on an uncharted island in the Arctic to an encounter with Kodiak bears in Alaska, this collection features 17 new pieces—punctuated by a scattering of Millman’s best work from more than two decades. Readers will meet Icelandic revolutionaries, visit museum exhibits of penis pins, and unearth the remains of frozen explorers—whose fate Millman has so far managed to avoid—and will quickly come to understand why this writer’s work has evoked favorable comparisons with the likes of Redmond O’Hanlon and Bruce Chatwin. "Millman’s a genius."—Annie Dillard "He is that rare traveler—a person with guts and a sense of humor. He is also a wonderful writer."—Paul Theroux

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Lawrence Millman writes stylish, often wildly amusing tales of remote places and offbeat characters (from the South Pacific islands of Yap to eccentric author and explorer Hassoldt Davis, a literary man-of-action whose many brushes with death including being paralyzed by an African sorcerer). He specializes in unsolved mysteries (what really happened to the great explorer Henry Hudson after his men mutinied and cast him off in an open boat?) and odd myths. And he is not immune to misadventures of his own, often landing in extremely uncomfortable or dangerous situations in his pursuit of new—and sometimes very, very old—places, cultures, and experiences. From the experience of being marooned on an uncharted island in the Arctic to an encounter with Kodiak bears in Alaska, this collection features 17 new pieces—punctuated by a scattering of Millman's best work from more than two decades. Readers will meet Icelandic revolutionaries, visit museum exhibits of penis pins, and unearth the remains of frozen explorers—whose fate Millman has so far managed to avoid—and will quickly come to understand why this writer's work has evoked favorable comparisons with the likes of Redmond O'Hanlon and Bruce Chatwin.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This collection of 30 adventure essays by celebrated Arctic enthusiast Millman features 17 new pieces along with those that have appeared elsewhere: in his previous books (Last Places; Northern Latitudes; An Evening Among Headhunters), magazines (Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, Islands) and as introductions to other works. Brought together in this way, these varied pieces reveal that Millman specializes in unsolved mysteries, odd myths, and extremely dangerous situations, and the stories he recounts are always highly amusing and unpredictable: he encounters Kodiak bears in Alaska, fortune-tellers on Yap, and leeches on Sarawak, to name just a few incidents. In the strongest pieces he pays homage to other explorers and adventurers, such as Henry Hudson, George Street, Harry Radford, Hassoldt Davis, John Cowper Powys, and Maurice Wilson. The fiction pieces interspersed among the travel narratives are somewhat weaker and not as well written as the nonfiction, a genre in which Millman clearly has few equals. Recommended for all public and large academic libraries.-Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews