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 great Aug 24, 2009
The book The Last River I have odered came fast and in excellent condition. I was very satisfied.
Tsang-Po: The Everest of Rivers Feb 12, 2009
Todd Balf chronicles a team of kayakers as they embark on an incredible journey to paddle the dangerous whitewater of the remote Yarlung Tsangpo River as it carves out one of the deepest gorges through Tibet while flowing away from the Himalayas. Despite record high level waters which made running the river exponentially more difficult and dangerous, the team decides to boat what they can and portage the rest. Early on, team member Doug Gordon inexplicably takes a dangerous line over a waterfall, fails to right his kayak, and is swept down the river to his death. The team is devastated, ending the water portion of their exploration and they begin the arduous trek out of the region. They are greeted by waves of criticism and accusation, ultimately drawing few lessons from the tragedy and coming to the simple conclusion that they practice a sport with inherent risks clearly known to all involved - any day on a river could be their last.
Balf has written an engaging and comprehensive account of the ill-fated Walker-McEwan expedition. However, the story itself is rather short and more than half of the book takes place before anyone has set foot near the river. For the non-boating reader, the lengthy intro may make for less than engaging reading. In addition, the book suffers from its incessant comparison with Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Everest mountaineering in general. The designation the "Everest of Rivers" and the constant comparison with Into Thin Air distracts the reader from the story at hand. Unfortunately for adventure writers everywhere, the coincidental circumstances which occurred on Everest in 1996, and the fact that a reporter with mountaineering skills just happened to be there to cover them, may never be duplicated and volumes such as Todd Balf's The Last River would benefit by leaving the comparisons out.
The last river, Todd Balf May 13, 2007
Great book! Unbelievable attention to detail, I felt like
I was on the river with them. The story has a great flow
and ease of readindg that makes it a joy to read from the
first page to the last! I am looking forward to reading other
books by this gifted author. In my opinion Todd Balf is one
of the best authors of our time.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 If You Liked Into Thin Air... Dec 30, 2006
Todd Balf did not do himself a favor by allowing the editors to include phrases such as the above into the dust jacket reviews. While "Into Thin Air" was certainly has its merits, Balf struggles with a number of limitations that keep his book from attaining the popular standard that was set by the aforementioned.
First and foremost is that Balf's account is not first hand, and as a result, lacks the authority and clarity of Krakauer's book. Second, is that there are no photographs. Descriptions of the big water, the individuals, and the challenges they faced would have been a lot less abstract than the scenarios created by Balf (tho I recognize the National Geographic's contract with the team probably did not allow photos from the trip to be used).
A different level of writing might have corrected the above ills - his prose was sometimes difficult to plow thru, and often times his descriptions of the rapids and environs, which were meant to envoke, only served to dull. To boot, on numerous occasions he would reference an event or conversation in the book as tho it was the first time, when in fact it had been referenced before.
Lastly, the photo of the kayak and the skull on the cover appears contrived and sensationalistic.
All of the above could be passed off as minor irritants to be sure. However, having journeyed to some remote corners of the globe, and being a sucker for anything that intersects my interests in Tibet, travel and kayaking with extra-ordinary individuals, I expect a more adept handling of the subject.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Not for the armchair adventurer Jul 25, 2005
Like others, I wondered at the number of people who slammed this book, which I found to be gripping, enjoyable, and in places hard to read for all the right reasons. The answer is simple: this book is not written for the armchair adventurer, for someone who will watch the Discovery Channel but never actually go to any of those places they'll see on the screen. It tells some hard truths, and I can easily understand why those who bought the book hoping to be entertained by someone else's tragedy would be greatly disappointed. If, however, you've ever been closer to real adventure than picturing yourself in an SUV ad, I have a feeling this book will work for you.
It is not a fun book. No book with a tragedy at its center should be fun or light reading, really. But it is fascinating, compelling, a page-turner. It is highly educational, particularly for those who are inclined to view adventure athletes as brain-dead adrenaline junkies. By taking the reader through the expedition members' hard work and preparation, the hassles and hardships they endured, the book forces us to see them as being in many ways the antithesis of the stereotype: they are patient, painstaking, and thorough.
The bottom line is that this book isn't the literary equivalent of America's Most Death-Defying Videos. It's not written to titillate the folks back home. It seeks to tell the truth about a pursuit that many people find simply incomprehensible. If read with an open mind and without an expectation of being thrilled by death-defying feats, I think it will give the reader that understanding.
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