Daren
Added to listNon Fictionwith 2155 books.
Despite a torturous opening page (upon reading I was ready to give up), once underway ACD has a tidy short story about three University students in rooms one above the other. At the top, Abercrombie Smith, below him Edward Bellingham and below him, William Monkhouse Lee.
While Smith our protagonist is a medical student, Bellingham is a languages scholar, who engages in Egyptology and a hobby. In fact he takes his hobby quite seriously, judging by the mummy kept within his room.
Short stories need no more plot outlining for fear of spoiling the whole story, but one can clearly imagine that the mummy, which was purchased at auction (lot 249), is at the centre of strange goings on on campus, and Smith becomes the vigilante to put this to an end.
I do believe I enjoyed this more than some of his Sherlock Holmes short stories.
4 stars.
Despite a torturous opening page (upon reading I was ready to give up), once underway ACD has a tidy short story about three University students in rooms one above the other. At the top, Abercrombie Smith, below him Edward Bellingham and below him, William Monkhouse Lee.
While Smith our protagonist is a medical student, Bellingham is a languages scholar, who engages in Egyptology and a hobby. In fact he takes his hobby quite seriously, judging by the mummy kept within his room.
Short stories need no more plot outlining for fear of spoiling the whole story, but one can clearly imagine that the mummy, which was purchased at auction (lot 249), is at the centre of strange goings on on campus, and Smith becomes the vigilante to put this to an end.
I do believe I enjoyed this more than some of his Sherlock Holmes short stories.
4 stars.
Added to listNon Fiction Short Story Ieswith 110 books.
A fantastic book in which the author describes he taking up employment in 1955 as a trader in the Northwestern Territories of Canada (as it was known then - now Nunavut, which is largely the area Pryde lived, is a separate territory).
As a brief introduction (given in the book blurb, and covered at pace at the beginning of the book), Duncan Pryde is a Scotsman who left school at 15 and joined the Merchant Navy. He was involved in an accident that resulted in some damage to an eye, which meant he had to leave his job. The details of this aren't explained and he describes no effects of this on his time in the North. After working in a factory and finding that dull he responded to an advertisement by the Hudson's Bay Trading Company for a trader in Canada's frozen north.
"Fur traders wanted for the far north... single, ambitious, self-reliant young men wanted... far north of Canada... must be prepared to life in isolation... willing to learn native language... fur trade... salary $135.00 per month
And so begins his time, first as an apprentice trader in Baker Lake, under the watch of Sandy Lunan."
For a man with limited schooling, Pryde proves himself very able to write, and his meticulous learning of the Inuktituk language (this book makes use of the terminology Eskimo throughout, although the reader will be aware this is not used as any slight, it was simply the usage of the time) through recording words in phonetics his own dictionary, one not being available at the time. Prydes writing is nothing short of excellent in his ability to communicate complex concepts, describe techniques for sled and canoe setups, fishing and hunting etc, but also to explain to the novice the Eskimo culture and way of life.
As Pryde gains experience with running the trading station, and beginning to learn the Eskimo way of life he changes his own lifestyle, understanding that it is far more suited to the environment he is living in. He is respected for his eagerness to be involved in learning the language, in participating in hunting and fishing and in genuinely bonding with the people. Soon Sandy retires, and a new trader is brought in while Pryde remains for the transition, and is then transferred to run his own trading station at Spence Bay.
Before long he is asked to take on a more remote trading station at Perry Island, where there are some significant issues that the previous trader was unable to resolve, and in fact contributed to with his lack of control. This involved many of the local men giving up trapping to draw welfare, excessive drinking and violence. The trading stations, probably because they were intimate with the community, also administered the welfare payments (as well as playing a role in medical care and also radio communications for the community). So Pryde had to come in with a heavy hand, cut all welfare, stop supply of the raw product being bought to make the dodgy booze (methyl hydrate, provided for the lighting of kerosene primus stoves in the very cold) and force the men back out to trap to earn money to survive. This is a tough role for a young man without the support of another whiteman (another of Prydes terminologies he uses for non-Eskimo people in the NWT) for hundreds of miles. There were some touchy moments and violent reprisals to be dealt with for the rules he instigated - again all very well told in this book.
Wrapped around the story of Pryde's trading life are stories of his many hunting, trapping and fishing expeditions, his dog sledding and canoe explorations and very good descriptions of Eskimo life. The period of late 1950s and early 1960s was a major cultural shift for the Eskimo people. Pryde describes how the way of life has already changed by the introduction of the traders. The Eskimo have gone from being subsistence hunters to being trappers because the traders have product they want, and their only currency is furs. They have gone from running three husky's to needing teams of 13 husky's to carry the furs. The consequence of which is needing to hunt and fish extensively to feed the dogs.
In the 1960s they were on the cusp of the motor age with the first introduction of snowmobiles. Rifles were already established of course, and outboard motors. When Pryde arrived the only permanent buildings in the places he lived were those of the trading company. The Eskimo lived in snowhouses in winter and tents in summer.
Also well described in the book are the birds and animals of the area, of which the Eskimo have a deep understanding. Caribou, seals, polar bears, artic foxes, wolves, wolverine and the multitude of birds in particular.
Towards the end of the book Pryde is convinced to enter politics, and due to the time constraints of that role he ends his employment with the trading company, but with a significant reduction in income he maintains living in the Eskimo lifestyle, trapping to make up his earnings. In his role as a member of parliament Pryde and his other far northern colleagues provide meaningful representation for the Eskimo. They effect change to the remote schooling and hunting quota system.
There was much more covered in this book than I have touched on here (albeit I have rattled on into quite a long review, even for me). Clearly this book preserves clear description of a way of live now forever changed, and as such is important. Obviously, I recommend this anyone with an interest in this culture and way of live, or is interested in a well written biography. The only note I would add it that the Eskimo way of life involves hunting and killing of animals - this in intimately described in the text, so those sensitive to this are unlikely to want to persist with reading.
5 stars.
A fantastic book in which the author describes he taking up employment in 1955 as a trader in the Northwestern Territories of Canada (as it was known then - now Nunavut, which is largely the area Pryde lived, is a separate territory).
As a brief introduction (given in the book blurb, and covered at pace at the beginning of the book), Duncan Pryde is a Scotsman who left school at 15 and joined the Merchant Navy. He was involved in an accident that resulted in some damage to an eye, which meant he had to leave his job. The details of this aren't explained and he describes no effects of this on his time in the North. After working in a factory and finding that dull he responded to an advertisement by the Hudson's Bay Trading Company for a trader in Canada's frozen north.
"Fur traders wanted for the far north... single, ambitious, self-reliant young men wanted... far north of Canada... must be prepared to life in isolation... willing to learn native language... fur trade... salary $135.00 per month
And so begins his time, first as an apprentice trader in Baker Lake, under the watch of Sandy Lunan."
For a man with limited schooling, Pryde proves himself very able to write, and his meticulous learning of the Inuktituk language (this book makes use of the terminology Eskimo throughout, although the reader will be aware this is not used as any slight, it was simply the usage of the time) through recording words in phonetics his own dictionary, one not being available at the time. Prydes writing is nothing short of excellent in his ability to communicate complex concepts, describe techniques for sled and canoe setups, fishing and hunting etc, but also to explain to the novice the Eskimo culture and way of life.
As Pryde gains experience with running the trading station, and beginning to learn the Eskimo way of life he changes his own lifestyle, understanding that it is far more suited to the environment he is living in. He is respected for his eagerness to be involved in learning the language, in participating in hunting and fishing and in genuinely bonding with the people. Soon Sandy retires, and a new trader is brought in while Pryde remains for the transition, and is then transferred to run his own trading station at Spence Bay.
Before long he is asked to take on a more remote trading station at Perry Island, where there are some significant issues that the previous trader was unable to resolve, and in fact contributed to with his lack of control. This involved many of the local men giving up trapping to draw welfare, excessive drinking and violence. The trading stations, probably because they were intimate with the community, also administered the welfare payments (as well as playing a role in medical care and also radio communications for the community). So Pryde had to come in with a heavy hand, cut all welfare, stop supply of the raw product being bought to make the dodgy booze (methyl hydrate, provided for the lighting of kerosene primus stoves in the very cold) and force the men back out to trap to earn money to survive. This is a tough role for a young man without the support of another whiteman (another of Prydes terminologies he uses for non-Eskimo people in the NWT) for hundreds of miles. There were some touchy moments and violent reprisals to be dealt with for the rules he instigated - again all very well told in this book.
Wrapped around the story of Pryde's trading life are stories of his many hunting, trapping and fishing expeditions, his dog sledding and canoe explorations and very good descriptions of Eskimo life. The period of late 1950s and early 1960s was a major cultural shift for the Eskimo people. Pryde describes how the way of life has already changed by the introduction of the traders. The Eskimo have gone from being subsistence hunters to being trappers because the traders have product they want, and their only currency is furs. They have gone from running three husky's to needing teams of 13 husky's to carry the furs. The consequence of which is needing to hunt and fish extensively to feed the dogs.
In the 1960s they were on the cusp of the motor age with the first introduction of snowmobiles. Rifles were already established of course, and outboard motors. When Pryde arrived the only permanent buildings in the places he lived were those of the trading company. The Eskimo lived in snowhouses in winter and tents in summer.
Also well described in the book are the birds and animals of the area, of which the Eskimo have a deep understanding. Caribou, seals, polar bears, artic foxes, wolves, wolverine and the multitude of birds in particular.
Towards the end of the book Pryde is convinced to enter politics, and due to the time constraints of that role he ends his employment with the trading company, but with a significant reduction in income he maintains living in the Eskimo lifestyle, trapping to make up his earnings. In his role as a member of parliament Pryde and his other far northern colleagues provide meaningful representation for the Eskimo. They effect change to the remote schooling and hunting quota system.
There was much more covered in this book than I have touched on here (albeit I have rattled on into quite a long review, even for me). Clearly this book preserves clear description of a way of live now forever changed, and as such is important. Obviously, I recommend this anyone with an interest in this culture and way of live, or is interested in a well written biography. The only note I would add it that the Eskimo way of life involves hunting and killing of animals - this in intimately described in the text, so those sensitive to this are unlikely to want to persist with reading.
5 stars.
I am a little confused, having read this book, returned to the blurb, and had a look on the internet for the 'documentary film' referred to in the blurb. Author Franz, brother Edgar and a friend Bayer, all German, set out for the Amazon to make a film.
The narrative of the book is all about a (quite terrible and cliched) fictional film about an action man type figure making miraculous escapes, getting the girl, losing the girl, surviving scrub fires, Indians, drowning, a piranha attack, any number of other events associated with the Brazilian Amazon. At the conclusion of the book the author refers to the film being called Kautschuk.
IBDB and Wikipedia credit Franz Eichhorn as a writer of a film with this name, which is the story of how the British broke the Brazilian monopoly on natural rubber - ie Englishman Henry Wickham, who smuggled rubber seeds to England in 1876 to break the Brazilian monopoly. Franz's brother Edgar is credited as a photographer.
In the book Franz and a local cowboy named Jose star in the shooting of the film. The narrative follows their adventure in reaching the film locations, trying to entice local talent to feature in the film, and physically filming. There are plenty of heart stopping moments, much illness, injuries and other difficulties associated with travelling around and up the Amazon. The plot of the movie is filmed out of sequence, and aspects of the plot are shared as they film, so the reader never gets a real overview (unless they could be bothered reassembling the parts in order), but as the film they made doesn't seem to exist in the form they filmed it I am really at a bit of a loss as to how it all ties together!
Within the book are fifty black and white photographs, which almost all tie in with the narrative. Many are of flora and fauna (they are big on birds) and people they meet. They are pretty good photographs. Along the way they are helped hugely by a number of individuals who take on guide and fixer roles helping with locations, transport , actors and often inspiration.
While the book isn't confusing per se, the blurb and the actual outcome with films do not all tie up.
A confusing 3 stars!
I am a little confused, having read this book, returned to the blurb, and had a look on the internet for the 'documentary film' referred to in the blurb. Author Franz, brother Edgar and a friend Bayer, all German, set out for the Amazon to make a film.
The narrative of the book is all about a (quite terrible and cliched) fictional film about an action man type figure making miraculous escapes, getting the girl, losing the girl, surviving scrub fires, Indians, drowning, a piranha attack, any number of other events associated with the Brazilian Amazon. At the conclusion of the book the author refers to the film being called Kautschuk.
IBDB and Wikipedia credit Franz Eichhorn as a writer of a film with this name, which is the story of how the British broke the Brazilian monopoly on natural rubber - ie Englishman Henry Wickham, who smuggled rubber seeds to England in 1876 to break the Brazilian monopoly. Franz's brother Edgar is credited as a photographer.
In the book Franz and a local cowboy named Jose star in the shooting of the film. The narrative follows their adventure in reaching the film locations, trying to entice local talent to feature in the film, and physically filming. There are plenty of heart stopping moments, much illness, injuries and other difficulties associated with travelling around and up the Amazon. The plot of the movie is filmed out of sequence, and aspects of the plot are shared as they film, so the reader never gets a real overview (unless they could be bothered reassembling the parts in order), but as the film they made doesn't seem to exist in the form they filmed it I am really at a bit of a loss as to how it all ties together!
Within the book are fifty black and white photographs, which almost all tie in with the narrative. Many are of flora and fauna (they are big on birds) and people they meet. They are pretty good photographs. Along the way they are helped hugely by a number of individuals who take on guide and fixer roles helping with locations, transport , actors and often inspiration.
While the book isn't confusing per se, the blurb and the actual outcome with films do not all tie up.
A confusing 3 stars!
Added to listMulti Continentwith 426 books.
Added to listSyriawith 73 books.
Published in 1900, his book s suffers most from my proximity of reading Harry Franck's A Vagabond Journey Around the World, which is in a similar setting, and leaves this for dead.
In the Preface, it is noted that "The author's motives, however, are purely selfish. His wanderings have been as aimless as a crooked path in the desert: his impressions of the men and places he visited are necessarily fragmentary. But these impressions are pleasant to look back upon."
Candler's book is made up of four strangely disconnected parts, and fluctuates from interesting and spirited to mundane and repetitive, in about equal parts.
There is a map at the front which shows his route from Tavoy in Burma (Myanmar now) across the Malay peninsular to Bangkok in Thailand, then a sea route in the Gulf of Thailand to Chanthaburi (still Thailand) and into Cambodia and then south east to Vietnam via the Mekong River to MyTho and on to Saigon. This journey coves the first of the sections of the book, entitled Off the Beaten Track
The second section, titled Himalayan Sketches is a fast jump to a very different location, not foreshadowed at all... This section is a series of short unrelated chapters set in the Indian Himalaya, another either in Nepal or at the Nepalese border, a dreadful poem of the Himalaya, another story set on the Nepal / India border, another in Sikkum. On balance, I think these are all set (or stories told to the author) in the Sikkim and West Bengal states of India, which it probably where the author was stationed as he indicated his work was in the 'Indian Hill Stations'.
In the Near East is the third section, and it charts the authors journey from Baghdad to Damascus, through very dangerous Bedouin controlled desert areas.
The final section covers the authors journeying in the Shan States what are now a part of Myanmar. At the time these were small feudal princely states. this chapter, aptly titled In the Southern Shan States
In each of these sections, the author engages with the local naive people, sharing aspects of their culture, their history and other interactions. He describes their individual character and his interacts with them. In places he refers to flora and fauna, to hunting opportunities, the natural landscapes. Towards the end he gets a bit philosophical, contemplating the nature of travel, the motivations behind it, and the experiences gained.
Overall I was disappointed with this, which should have been far more gripping and exciting than it was.
3 stars
Published in 1900, his book s suffers most from my proximity of reading Harry Franck's A Vagabond Journey Around the World, which is in a similar setting, and leaves this for dead.
In the Preface, it is noted that "The author's motives, however, are purely selfish. His wanderings have been as aimless as a crooked path in the desert: his impressions of the men and places he visited are necessarily fragmentary. But these impressions are pleasant to look back upon."
Candler's book is made up of four strangely disconnected parts, and fluctuates from interesting and spirited to mundane and repetitive, in about equal parts.
There is a map at the front which shows his route from Tavoy in Burma (Myanmar now) across the Malay peninsular to Bangkok in Thailand, then a sea route in the Gulf of Thailand to Chanthaburi (still Thailand) and into Cambodia and then south east to Vietnam via the Mekong River to MyTho and on to Saigon. This journey coves the first of the sections of the book, entitled Off the Beaten Track
The second section, titled Himalayan Sketches is a fast jump to a very different location, not foreshadowed at all... This section is a series of short unrelated chapters set in the Indian Himalaya, another either in Nepal or at the Nepalese border, a dreadful poem of the Himalaya, another story set on the Nepal / India border, another in Sikkum. On balance, I think these are all set (or stories told to the author) in the Sikkim and West Bengal states of India, which it probably where the author was stationed as he indicated his work was in the 'Indian Hill Stations'.
In the Near East is the third section, and it charts the authors journey from Baghdad to Damascus, through very dangerous Bedouin controlled desert areas.
The final section covers the authors journeying in the Shan States what are now a part of Myanmar. At the time these were small feudal princely states. this chapter, aptly titled In the Southern Shan States
In each of these sections, the author engages with the local naive people, sharing aspects of their culture, their history and other interactions. He describes their individual character and his interacts with them. In places he refers to flora and fauna, to hunting opportunities, the natural landscapes. Towards the end he gets a bit philosophical, contemplating the nature of travel, the motivations behind it, and the experiences gained.
Overall I was disappointed with this, which should have been far more gripping and exciting than it was.
3 stars
Added to list4 Starwith 769 books.
Added to listPoetrywith 9 books.
Added to listK Ownswith 10 books.
