Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map (Patagonia)

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 463 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 08-12-2024


Top reviews from the United States

growman
5.0 out of 5 stars What a Life; What a Writer
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2023
I have recently read several books that communicate helpful information about Doug Tompkins, Yvon Chouinard, Doug Peacock, Rick Ridgeway, and others of the “Do Boys.” This memoir by Rick Ridgeway steals the show! Adventuresome, personal, meaningful, life affirming, genuine, and so well-written. Thank you, Rick, for making your story and the stories of your close friends so vivid and meaningful.
Mark Newman
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling adventure writing!
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021
Having read and liked all of Rick Ridgeway's previous books, I bought this one as soon as it was released. It's a helluva read. Ridgeway has lived life large and well and is as good a writer as he is an adventurer. He takes the reader all over the globe, from Everest and K2 to Patagonia, Antarctica, remotest Tibet, and so many other iconic locations. As I read the book I could picture being along on the journeys. In the course of describing extreme exploits in far-flung places he introduces the reader to an eccentric cast of characters, some of them famous in their own right, who accompany him through his decades of exploring. Ridgeway could justifiably brag about his many accomplishments, but instead he writes with a big dose of humility, humanity, and a sense of humor throughout. When I finished this book I felt like I had visited with a good friend.
Camp Runamok
4.0 out of 5 stars A life well lived.
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2022
Rick Ridgeway, along with Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia), Doug Tompkins (founder of North Face), and a varied group of climbers and businessmen, formed what they called the Do-Boys (and at the end, one Do-Gal), whose goal was to explore the highest and farthest reaches of our planet.

The Do-Boys climbed, kayaked, hauled carts across the desert, and did just about every other crazy adventure one could think of. But that said, over the course of the years, Ridgeway was involved with a number of trips where people died. While his trips were generally well financed and planned expeditions, it felt like the Do-Boys took more unnecessary risks than someone like Ed Viesturs, another amazing climber whose book I read, about climbing all the 8,000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen (first American to do so).

Viesturs took a much more careful, calculated approach, once stopping just a few hundred feet below a very important 8,000 meter summit - one he might never see again, just because he judged the conditions that day to be too risky. I feel like this is the kind of risk Ridgeway and his group might well have taken.

All in all, a super fun read, not only about the adventures of the Do-Boys, but also about the conservation efforts of Chouinard and Tompkins, two very wealthy men who have used their fortunes to conserve as much wilderness as they can. Chouinard only a month ago put his company in trust to ensure profits go toward mitigating climate change. Tompkins used his wealth from North Face and Esprit to buy immense tracts of land in Argentina and Chile, which have been used to create several immense parks.

As a writer, I can't say Ridgeway is the best outdoor journalist I've ever read. The book reads more like a letter to a friend, but the stories and messages come through loud and clear, and in the end, that's what really counts with a book like this. A big thumbs up from me.
Layne T. Oliver
5.0 out of 5 stars Great adventure and life lessons
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2024
This book about the “Do Boys” is an important book…it’s beyond fascinating.
I am so glad I got the opportunity to read it. I will be gifting copies to my family and friends.
I had the opportunity as a field tester in the outdoor industry to meet many of the people that make up this story, including the author. This story really added depth and breadth to many things, especially people and life.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great memoir
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2024
Written by one of my favorite explorers. Very well done.
Willi Prittie
5.0 out of 5 stars Life Lived Wild is about many lives lived well an to the fullest.
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2022
Wow, what a read! Of course it is well written an absorbing, it was written by Rick Ridgeway. Of course it has many short stories about trips/expeditions/adventures, it was written by Rick Ridgeway.

The unexpected part for me, was the depth of humanity and philosophy and acknowledgement of reality. Not only is this a great read, it could (and perhaps should) change your life…
Keith
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2022
I enjoyed reading all of the achievement and excitement and tragedy that the author has experienced in his life. This was a great book to read on the trail, and to keep you motivated to never stop moving.
ironmanth
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Work
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2022
A favorite author, who scripted one of my all-time cherished adventure books, Seven Summits. Rick carries us along on his quest to familiarize us with little-known areas of nature and our wild world, this with unerring and unvarnished truth in telling.

Extraordinary story-telling, with accompanying exquisite photographs. It shall ever remain a tribute to the earth, to friendships, to love, and to the dedication to make nature accessible to everyone.

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