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wwwest 
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Joined: Dec. 2002
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Posted on: Jun. 26 2012, 1:46 pm |
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Very interesting book about the disappearance of a 20 year old wilderness worshiper, in 1934.
Ruess appears to have been a person very much like Chis McCandless, and David Roberts has done a good job of tracking down the convoluted mystery of his disappearance. More twists and turns than a Hillerman novel, but trys to be non-fiction and seems to succeed pretty well.
Not as good as The Lost Explorer about finding Mallory and Irvine on Everest, but well worth the time to read, especially if you are intrigued by Into the Wild.
Personally, I think that On the Loose by Jerry and Lenny Russell is a much better book and insight into young American adventurers who are fanatical about the wilderness experience and especially the southwest. JMO
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tomas
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Posted on: Jun. 26 2012, 2:09 pm |
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I walked away with a very negative impression of Ruess after reading the book. Unlike McCandless who I'm convinced probably suffered from a mental illnes, Ruess struck me as self-centered. His constant demands for money and books from his family during the depression so that he could simply wander left me not caring about his untimely end.
It strikes me odd how many people find Ruess and McCandless so fascinating when they ignore Richard Proenneke and his accomplishments.
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To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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| Post Number: 3
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wwwest
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Posted on: Jun. 26 2012, 2:29 pm |
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Tomas, I agree with you comletely about the disconnect between fascination with the disfunctional incompetents like McCandless and Ruess and the ho hum acceptance for highly competent outdoorsmen like Proeneke.
I guess that dying young and stupid is the way to American fame!
I don't have so negative a reaction to Ruess and his selfish demands as you do however. And I suspect that he had very similar mental issues with McCandless. At least he became a more competent trekker than McCandless but with clear up and down mood swings which interfered with his accomplishments.
Roberts created more mysteries than he solved in this book.
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| Post Number: 4
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Arizona
Valhalla, I am coming
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Joined: Apr. 2007
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Posted on: Jun. 26 2012, 2:47 pm |
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I have read five of David Roberts books and found Finding Everett Ruess among his best. True, Ruess was an odd duck, talented but self centered however Roberts didn’t try to paint some kind of Strawberry Shortcake picture of him either. I found him fair on all accounts even when Roberts himself got caught up in the controversial Comb Ridge episode.
Like him or not, he traveled significantly more miles in some of the most rugged and remote canyon county than most who discuss him. One exception is David Roberts himself. He has quite a bit of experience in the same areas the book follows. He knows the terrain so to speak and follows some very interesting twists, turns and tangents.
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| Post Number: 5
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wwwest
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Posted on: Jun. 27 2012, 2:21 am |
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Good comments, Arizona.
David Roberts is a highly skilled writer, and I admire him greatly. But, he got carried away in this story and contributed to a "false positive" IMO.
On the other hand, he created a whole mystery about who the murdered Navajo in the crevice grave really was and who killed him !
Where is Tony Hillerman when we need him??
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rangersven
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Posted on: Jun. 30 2012, 9:02 am |
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I tried reading this book about six months back and only got 1/3 into it. I will pick it up and give it another try. I also have (but have not read) Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty, by W. L. Rusho.
I have to admit (and WWWest will hate this!), but I find Tony Hillerman to have been one boring writer. I read plenty of his tribal police novels and none of 'em were that exciting. He did a nice job of describing the setting, but his stories were so slow and dull.
I, too, am a big admirer of Dick Proenneke; and I found Into the Wild a fascinating read. I actually think McCandless had some good survival skills but so underestimated his Alaska journey and did not properly prepare for his trip.
Happy Trails,
RS
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"Backpacker.com's Original Provocateur"
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| Post Number: 7
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wwwest
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Posted on: Jul. 01 2012, 7:42 pm |
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He did a nice job of describing the setting, but his stories were so slow and dull.
I agree with slow, but not with dull.
I find the kind of character development and cultural ties ins used by Hillerman to be much more fascinating than the usual non-stop action mysteries that are most popular in American fiction.
But, it is good that we have different tastes, which leads to a lot more books being read!!
I am amazed that a person who sticks to non-fiction as much as you do, ranger, would find Hillerman to be too slow and dull to enjoy. Among most of the books I usually read, Hillerman is a page turner. heh
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| Post Number: 8
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John
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Posted on: May 16 2013, 6:15 pm |
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I just finished the audio book and must say that, after plodding through some slow parts in the middle of the story, I enjoyed the book. I do like Roberts' style as I've read a few of his books before.
I felt that Ruess was actually maturing from his late teen years when he disappeared.
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