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pammella's review against another edition
White is a bit of a hapless camper, but his passion shines through. Kudos to his wife for going along on camp outs even though she must know something is bound to go awry. Then again, maybe she is an ace fire builder, and White just didn't mention that because it's not important to this narrative. Loved the way White and his daughter make the rounds and talk to fellow campers--that was always my favorite part of camping as a child.
caseyulrich555's review against another edition
3.0
We enjoyed the book. It was interesting to learn a bit about the history of camping and the outdoors. The author is pretty comical, overdramatizing every outing described.
The book really ebbed and flowed between interesting/ novel and slow, detail-heavy, and overly dramatic. We listened to it on our long road trips and as avid campers/ hikers we were able to draw parallels to our experiences. Recommend if you’re in a similar situation with lots of time to kill on the road or an avid outdoors enthusiast. Otherwise, probably not going to be your cup of tea and it might drag on.
The book really ebbed and flowed between interesting/ novel and slow, detail-heavy, and overly dramatic. We listened to it on our long road trips and as avid campers/ hikers we were able to draw parallels to our experiences. Recommend if you’re in a similar situation with lots of time to kill on the road or an avid outdoors enthusiast. Otherwise, probably not going to be your cup of tea and it might drag on.
k80uva's review against another edition
5.0
Delightful quick read! Covers a lot of ground and also is a great spur for further reading (and hiking!)
bluedia's review against another edition
4.0
A really charming book about the origins of American's obsession with camping, something I feel acutely while living in the PNW. The twists and turns of the past have a number of rags-to-riches-to-ruin paths, as one expects from history, and the author's anecdotes of their research for this book brings in a funny, if sometimes a bit silly, contrast between present and past camping experiences. A great airplane/vacation book.
marcat_854's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.75
lauralh05's review against another edition
4.0
I was super excited to win Under the Stars for an early review because I have always liked camping, but have not been able to go camping in several years. It took me some time to work through initially, not because I was savoring it, but because he spent the first two thirds of the book on the history of camping prior to the 1900s. There were definitely interesting bits to the very early history of camping, however I felt like a lot of time was spent covering the personalities and character of the individuals who started recreational camping down its path. Perhaps this was necessary to fully understand why they camped. The last third of the book, filled with tales of White's own camping experiences was a much faster read for me. Those chapters took me back to my childhood and the days of camping with my parents. I am glad that I stuck with the book and finished it, as I truly enjoyed the second half of it. As others have mentioned, there is a lot of psychoanalysis on the part of the author, and an agenda with environmentalism.
lovegirl30's review against another edition
5.0
My mother took me camping for the first time when I was little. She got me interested in all things nature. We would visit various campgrounds all over where we lived. My mother and I would camp in tents. When I went camping with my grandparents when went the fancy way with an RV.
Have you ever been camping? Anyone who has knows that every trip tells its own story. Boy, does Dan White have some stories to tell. This book shows camping in all of its different situations. From how camping originated, to modern camping, RV camping or better know as glamping. I really didn't know that much about camping and now I really am glad I picked this book up.
My favorite part of this book was the beginning. Where White shares how he fell in love with camping. He talked about the great Walden by noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. I also loved when he was telling the story about hiking and being lost in the woods in the backwoods of Kentucky.
I am from Kentucky so that made me smile a bit. It is very confusing at points and I understand where he was coming from. He talks about camping through out the ages. There is the topics of the Boy scouts, Roosevelt, Muir, and the National Park System.
I really did enjoy this book more than I thought I would. I can't say camping has been a topic I have really wanted to read about. I come away from this book with a real love for the history of camping. I also want to say thank you again to I would also like to thank Henry Holt for sending me this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Have you ever been camping? Anyone who has knows that every trip tells its own story. Boy, does Dan White have some stories to tell. This book shows camping in all of its different situations. From how camping originated, to modern camping, RV camping or better know as glamping. I really didn't know that much about camping and now I really am glad I picked this book up.
My favorite part of this book was the beginning. Where White shares how he fell in love with camping. He talked about the great Walden by noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. I also loved when he was telling the story about hiking and being lost in the woods in the backwoods of Kentucky.
I am from Kentucky so that made me smile a bit. It is very confusing at points and I understand where he was coming from. He talks about camping through out the ages. There is the topics of the Boy scouts, Roosevelt, Muir, and the National Park System.
I really did enjoy this book more than I thought I would. I can't say camping has been a topic I have really wanted to read about. I come away from this book with a real love for the history of camping. I also want to say thank you again to I would also like to thank Henry Holt for sending me this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
mackenzie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This book was funny and informative. It was a nice mix of camping/hiking/etc history, dispersed with hilarious personal anecdotes from the author’s experiences outdoors. It talks about Henry David Thoreau, Theodore Roosevelt, the history of Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, the origin of s’mores, DEI issues in the outdoors, glamping, and more. This book could be enjoyed by anyone, whether they are an outdoors enthusiast or not.
robinsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I read White's CACTUS EATERS a number of years ago and enjoyed the writing and his experiences so was looking forward to reading his history of camping and turned out I found much of the history to be rather tedious, but that's because I just wasn't that interested. What I liked were his personal adventures with different types of camping (backpacking, "glamping," nude camping (where he was stung by wasps--yee-ouch!!), going on a Mt Whitney poop patrol, RVing, to name a few, and I laughed out loud a few times.
abomine's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Animal death, and Racism