Living & Working in Great Places

Favorite Books About The Seasonal World, The Road, Wandering, Wilderness...

I was chatting with Kathi just a bit ago since she is driving south to Bisbee, Arizona, for some warmer weather and I asked where she was now. Page, Arizona / Lake Powell was the answer. She then mentioned Edward Abbey and his book The Monkey Wrench Gang, which I have not read yet. Another one to add to the list. : ) I asked her if she had read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Yes, was her answer. We do this exchange often and I always come away with a new cool book to read.

That being said, I would love to know everyone's favorite books either about the road, the seasonal work, their own wanderings, the wilderness or just good books that gave them insights into the natural world and our place in it.

Tags: books, educational, favorite, inspirational, road, seasonal, wandering, wilderness

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Permalink Reply by AlaskaBound! on April 11, 2008 at 3:36am: The Road. Jack Kerouac

The Call of the Wild. Jack London

The Pathfinder. James Fenimore Cooper

Walden II B. F. Skinner (I lived on a Waldon II experiment : EastWind Community)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Robert Pirsig

The Stand. Stephen King (L O N G time killer); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kari Quaas on April 11, 2008 at 10:19pm: I also like On the Road. Have you read Big Sur? That's a trip too.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cindy Frost on April 11, 2008 at 1:20pm: Desert Solitiare--Edward Abbey

Blue Highways--William Least Heat-Moon

Voice of the Planet--Michael Tobias; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by AlaskaBound! on April 11, 2008 at 9:59pm: I love Blue Highways...He was a professor at a college real close to my home town.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by akscootr on April 11, 2008 at 2:26pm: "A Walk in the Woods" Bill Bryson
"White Fang" Jack London
"Shogun"... not quite fitting the description, but almost a crime not to read it. My favorite book of all time because of its relatively accurate description of ancient Japan. It made me laugh, cry, fume.... I have read it 4 times and will do so again.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Eugene Moseley on April 12, 2008 at 6:53am: I have a few for you:

"Lost World of the Kalahari" or anything else by Laurens Van Der Post for that matter

"A Chef's Tour" by Anthony Bordain. a great blend of food, travel, and humor

"Into Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin

just about anything by Kerouac or Hemingway can be classed as travel writing and are also excellent; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by CJ on May 5, 2008 at 10:48am: For anyone heading for Alaska, you might enjoy Dana Stabenow's murder mysteries. One series is Kate Shugak...."Killing Grounds", "A Cold Day for Murder", "A Fine and Bitter Snow" just to name a few.

She is an excellent mystery writer and you learn alot about the history and culture of Alaska.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alex on May 5, 2008 at 7:33pm: I'm surprised nobody mentioned "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.

Jack Kerouac is great. "On the road" literally got me on the road. I also liked "Dharma bums"

I really enjoy Bill Bryson's books, most of his stuff is travel related and fairly hilarious. He is kind of my hometown hero, I grew up in the same neighborhood and went to all of the same schools as him. "A walk in the woods" and "lost continent" are two of my favorites

Another adventure/travel book I really got a kick out of was "Pedalling to Hawaii" by Stevie Smith.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kari Quaas on May 5, 2008 at 10:52pm: I liked "Into the Wild" too and I read it on my honeymoon of all trips. My husband and I fought over reading it. We now have the DVD to watch and I can't wait to hear the music and see Chris' world. Nice addition to the list.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Christopher Zaoui on December 17, 2008 at 2:40am: Oh yes that is really an awsome book! After reading that my girlfriend wanted to go to Hawaii straight - we even found some homes for sale in Kauai but i guess we are a bit to shy for changes - like my Alaska dream ...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kate on December 17, 2008 at 3:10pm: I enjoyed Edward Abbey's books about the Monkey Wrench Gang (there are 2 or 3 of them if I remember right). I also REALLY love and cherish his "Desert Solitaire", about his seasons in Arches National Park, a place very dear to my heart. I have read quite a number of books on Yellowstone related nature/issues.... One that I loved was "Winter World" (forget the author. Got it in the Yellowstone Association Bookstore at Old Faithful.) It talks about how animals survive in the winter (In Maine where the author lives.) The author is a naturalist and is a fantastic, descriptive writer, giving both science and poetic information.
...let's see... Death In Yellowstone by Lee Whittelsey is a must-read, particularly for anyone going. But it's got true (but tastefully handled) stories of people who have died in the Park.
I also recommend Bear Attacks Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Hererro. good advice and information on bears by a real knowledgable guy.
There are just too many really great books out there! :)
I anticipate getting a hold of good nonfiction books on Alaska, Denali in particular. History, nature, etc. Anyone got any recommendations on that?

I also really enjoyed Into The Wild. Very good book. Haven't seen the movie.
For anyone who likes fiction and Yellowstone both, Linda Jacobs wrote three really good books: Summer Of Fire, Rain Of Fire and Lake Of Fire. VERY good! (I don't read much fiction these days but those were very well done. ); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mindy Bickle on December 19, 2008 at 3:31pm: Ansel Adams & Colin Fletcher quotes always fuel a drive for the outdoors…

Blue Highways: A Journey into America
William Least heat-Moon

Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey

Down to Earth: Nature’s Role in American History
Ted Steinberg

Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer

Monkey Wrench Gang
Edward Abbey

Playing God in Yellowstone: Destruction of America’s First National Park
Alston Chase

Remembering Yosemite
Dana Morgenson

Sand County Almanac
Aldo Leopold

The Last Season
Eric Blehm (good historical look at NPS)

The Wilderness Journals of Everett Ruess
W.L. Rusho & Everett Ruess

The Wild Muir: Twenty-two of John Muir’s Greatest Adventures
John Muir; ▶ Reply to This