One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 1,657 ratings

Price: 12.78

Last update: 12-23-2024


About this item

To live in a pristine land unchanged by man... to roam a wilderness through which few other humans have passed... to choose an idyllic site, cut trees and build a log cabin... to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available... to be not at odds with the world but content with one's own thoughts and company.

Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin, and stayed to become part of the country. One Man's Wilderness is a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone, and the constant chain of nature's events that kept him company. From Proenneke's journals, and with first-hand knowledge of his subject and the setting, Sam Keith has woven a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.


Top reviews from the United States

NyiNya
5.0 out of 5 stars A Chronicle of Doing One's Best...
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2008
I think I know why Richard Proenneke was up there in the wilds alone. This gentle, unforgettable man was also a craftsman and a perfectionist. His quest for beauty in the mundane, for precision and geometric elegance would have driven me -- and lesser beings like me -- nuts. Reading about it made me able to fall in love with the man. Living it would have led to the authorities searching for the body. Having said that, however, I must also say that this incredibly readable book is a treasure. It should not be overlooked.

Author Sam Keith (who bases the book on Proenneke's journals) captured the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the bush. This is the story of a cabin. Richard Proenneke builds it by hand, to his own unbendable standards of practicality and aesthetics, and makes the reader love every minute of it. Interspersed within this chronicle are Proenneke's encounters with bears, weasels, birds, wolverines and other humans. Proenneke admires critters. It's only the two-legged varmints that offend him, offend nature, and most of the time, destroy it randomly. His encounters with animals are laugh out loud funny, touching, impressive; his encounters with humans -- or their aftermath -- do not say much for us as a species.

Recently the local PBS station ran two films about Proenneke, using his own footage. It was a thrill to see the cabin I'd so often imagined, to look closely for the wolf print on the fireplace, to share his encounters with bears, moose and various camp robbers. But best of all, for me, was to watch him painstakingly his food cache. This project is a pefect example of doing things right and doing them well. The cache was a miniature replica of the cabin, meticulously crafted on the ground, then disassembled, the pieces carried up to a high(out of the reach of bears) platform, and carefully reassembled there. How can you not lose your heart to a man who would trouble to do that...just for the sheer joy of doing it.

Proenneke was not a prig, by any means. Not an anal-retentive pencil straightener...just someone whose soul would not permit cheapjack, shoddy work. In one of the documentaries, we get a perfect example of the difference. While everything is the cabin is rough-hewn, it is aesthetically pleasing and perfectly designed. Utilitarian and, in its own way, beautiful. But when Proenneke's sister sends him a pair of kitchen curtains, our pragmatic loner finds a nice stick and uses that as his curtain rod. Perfection is never smug.

Proenneke is a hero, a man in full, an icon, and maybe the last of his kind. His book is unforgettable. I hope you experience it.
Butch Ammon
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book with a "you are there" feel to it!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2015
I just finished this book on that Kindle app on my smartphone. I took my time with this book and casually read it, page by page, and was absolutely fascinated! I have seen the PBS special a number of years ago about Dick Proenneke, and finally found the book.
This book is so incredible with such a detailed storyline, that you lose yourself in the book. You find yourself *THERE* you know what I mean? You follow the story of Dick Proenneke flying up into the Twin Lakes and you are there along for the ride. You watch him work, you see what he sees, you can smell, taste, touch, and observe the wild animals just as he did.
I have to order the next book called "More Readings From One Man's Wilderness" and continue following along with this incredibly well written, story of a tough ol' guy who lived off the land and did everything by hand!
D. Batdorff
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2009
This book is well written, and reflects the time period very well. If you liked the videos of Preoneke's Alaskan years, you will love the book. This guy literally loved the solitude (as buffered by his interactions with the small game around his cabin), and "tamed" the wilderness by his exceptional skills and planning. This is not a book about survival, as he only considers the one incident of running headlong into a grizzly as a severe threat of death. His foresight, work ethic, and skill set made an Alaskan winter somewhat comfortable.

This book takes you into the mind of a man who was in control of himself, and a man who mastered many skills through a lifetime of learning. His description of the land, animals, and the construction of his cabin are outstanding. He also shares some deeper understanding of people, as he describes his links to the outside world, and his admiration for Babe, the bush pilot. This is a guy who saw the good and the practical in all he took in. Great read!
John
4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018
After bumping into the documentary on PBS recently, and being fascinated, my wife got me this book for Christmas to learn more. She was fascinated as well. This is an easy to read, little book that is a good introduction to the Dick Proenneke story. I think it does what it intended, which was to tell you the story, gives you a flavor for the man who undertook this adventure and recount some of the things he saw and experienced. It only covers the building of the cabin and living the first full year in it. He came back year after year from what I understand for a 30 year period, but none of that is covered in this book. I guess there is some heavy editing that was done from his journals in creating this book, causing him to not consent to the use of them again unless there was no editing, so that is where the three other books: Journals of Richard Proenneke; come from. For what it is worth, the NPS doesn't have this book on their site about him, but it does have the others. The journal entries can get somewhat repetitive (what can you say on another 30 below Dec day) and the very detailed building instructions for everything can be head spinning at times, but it still is a quick, enjoyable read that gives you a sense of what it is like to live in such a raw, rugged land. I chose to order The Early Years The Journals of Richard Proenneke 1967-1973; to get the unedited story of this time frame and beyond but this book was a great appetizer. I recommend it for the curious and casual fan.
Karl Winneker
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous book about self reliance in the Alaskan wilderness.
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024
I liked the detailed account of creating a wilderness cabin with rudimentary tools , a strong will, and deep determination. Very inspiring read! ✨
Charles S. Kline
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books EVER on creating a homestead!
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2022
I've read and reread this a dozen times. Never fails to inspire me with what man can do if he puts his mind to it. Story relates going back to simpler times, when if you needed something, you made it with what you had available. One of the best books out there, and certainly highly recommended reading.

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