Scan barcode
angus_mckeogh's review
5.0
Extremely interesting stuff. All about missing persons in our National Parks. Well researched, well written, and a great read. Reads almost like a novel.
laurenscholle's review
3.0
3.5. Amazing content and research but Billman writes stream of consciousness style and sometimes it’s hard to follow.
ghughes7's review against another edition
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.25
As a big fan of Into Thin Air, I'm (per the book description itself) the target audience for this book. I don't regret picking it up, but it falls far short of Krakauer. The book tries to be two things at once: the story of missing people on the west coast and SAR efforts work more genuinely, and the story of Jacob Grey specifically. By trying to tell both of these stories, it stretches itself too thin and gives short shrift to both.
On the bright side, Billman is a highly evocative, descriptive writer with fantastic descriptions. He also does a great job of explaining some of the more complicated concepts of SAR; I'm the furtherest thing from a hiker/camper, but could really envision the scenes thanks to Billman's clear and wonderfully detailed writing.
(A side note: I've seen some comments online that the Grey family was caught off guard by Billman's book, and that they dispute several of Billman's characterizations and claims. I haven't been able to verify this, so I'm not factoring it into my rating.)
If you do pick up this book, read the print version. The audiobook narrator was possibly the most monotone speaker I have ever heard; never did I think a harrowing, adrenaline-fueled story about trying to save lives under a literal ticking clock would nearly put me to sleep on the highway. If I was rating the audiobook alone, it would be one star.
On the bright side, Billman is a highly evocative, descriptive writer with fantastic descriptions. He also does a great job of explaining some of the more complicated concepts of SAR; I'm the furtherest thing from a hiker/camper, but could really envision the scenes thanks to Billman's clear and wonderfully detailed writing.
(A side note: I've seen some comments online that the Grey family was caught off guard by Billman's book, and that they dispute several of Billman's characterizations and claims. I haven't been able to verify this, so I'm not factoring it into my rating.)
If you do pick up this book, read the print version. The audiobook narrator was possibly the most monotone speaker I have ever heard; never did I think a harrowing, adrenaline-fueled story about trying to save lives under a literal ticking clock would nearly put me to sleep on the highway. If I was rating the audiobook alone, it would be one star.
kermitcaroline's review against another edition
This book was pretty jumbled and clunky to read. As someone who is very interested in this topic I still found it hard to follow different stories or to glean the larger thesis of this book beyond “Bigfoot? Nah… Bigfoot?? Nah!!!… Bigfoot??? Hmmm”. If you’re looking for a much better version of this book, read Trail of the Lost. This book may have stood a chance if I didn’t have that book as a reference.
thecampinglibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0