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emilybh's review against another edition
4.0
‘To be present in the moment, to concentrate and orientate yourself [...] towards a shelter, mindful that you do so on the landscape’s terms, conscious of the physical world around you, reminded of your smallness, is a great eye-opener.’
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I really enjoyed Outpost, a book about wild places written with warmth and humour. As Richards traipses across hills, hitchhikes or travels by boat, you feel you are travelling with him, enjoying his observations and ‘the sense of having made a journey and crossing an uncommon threshold’. From Scottish bothies and a French lighthouse to a temple perched on the side of a mountain in Japan and an abandoned Russian mining town in Svalbard, he is able to reflect on the enduring appeal of these places, their beauty, mystery and remoteness.
.
I really enjoyed Outpost, a book about wild places written with warmth and humour. As Richards traipses across hills, hitchhikes or travels by boat, you feel you are travelling with him, enjoying his observations and ‘the sense of having made a journey and crossing an uncommon threshold’. From Scottish bothies and a French lighthouse to a temple perched on the side of a mountain in Japan and an abandoned Russian mining town in Svalbard, he is able to reflect on the enduring appeal of these places, their beauty, mystery and remoteness.
beckylouise2904's review against another edition
4.0
For the armchair traveller this is a fascinating read about the exploration of some of the remotest places on Earth. Easy to dive into each chapter, and well written.
Shame that there are not colour photos to accompany the text but then there is always Google!
Shame that there are not colour photos to accompany the text but then there is always Google!
emiek's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Not what I expected, but I liked the Iceland and Scotland story.
itsneverbecky's review against another edition
2.0
While Richards does present a much more realistic picture of travelling, particularly to far flung places, this is less a nature or travel book & more a book about art & literature, with some nature & travel thrown in. The style is also as an exploration of writing the book, than actually presenting one addressing wilderness landscapes & their protection - something he hastily attempts an answer to in the epilogue. Or rather he quotes a friend who does. It’s not really a bad book, just not the one that was sold to you.
hollyfromthebigsky's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great series of travel essays and investigations of the remote. I really enjoyed it and if you're inspired by wanderlust, creativity, or the far reaches of the world, I highly recommend it!
vilhelmr's review against another edition
2.0
The author really tried to spin out a much shorter book, with pointless and never ending descriptions of scenery.
thenarrative's review against another edition
3.0
Outpost: A Journey To The Wild Ends Of The Earth By Dan Richards
Rating: 3 / 5 Stars
Publication Date: 8/11/2020
** Thank you to Netgalley, Canongate Books, and of course, Dan Richards, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am a travel addict, and with 2020, I've found that I have to resort to travel writing and travelogues in order to get my fix. So when it came time to review Dan Richards’ book of far flung places in wilderness and remote locations, I was sold.
Dan’s writing perfectly encompasses his experiences. You feel you are visiting them with him, crossing the mountains and on the hunt for remote villages. I would say, 80% of these locations have not been on my list before reading this book, but they are now.
My issue was the idea that Dan didn’t reach his argument fully. I felt the book to be slightly unsatisfying in that way. Yet, at the same time, travel is unique to everyone and in his mind, he did reach it! I also found the flow of reading to be a bit broken up with the word choice.
I still recommend for any travel lover!
Rating: 3 / 5 Stars
Publication Date: 8/11/2020
** Thank you to Netgalley, Canongate Books, and of course, Dan Richards, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am a travel addict, and with 2020, I've found that I have to resort to travel writing and travelogues in order to get my fix. So when it came time to review Dan Richards’ book of far flung places in wilderness and remote locations, I was sold.
Dan’s writing perfectly encompasses his experiences. You feel you are visiting them with him, crossing the mountains and on the hunt for remote villages. I would say, 80% of these locations have not been on my list before reading this book, but they are now.
My issue was the idea that Dan didn’t reach his argument fully. I felt the book to be slightly unsatisfying in that way. Yet, at the same time, travel is unique to everyone and in his mind, he did reach it! I also found the flow of reading to be a bit broken up with the word choice.
I still recommend for any travel lover!
doobage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
jayablanchard's review against another edition
2.0
The good: Richards' chapter on Iceland is masterful. Evocative imagery and warm humor paint the country's unique landscape in vivid tones. Throughout this memoir of sorts, Richards' unfailing good humor, frequently the self-deprecating sort, saves him from dozens of otherwise fatal faux pas.
The bad: The intended thesis of Outpost is Richards' journey to the "ends of the earth" where he specifically finds places that serve as outposts for humanity and takes various lessons from those outposts. It feels like the man's editor felt that there needed to be a unifying arc to Richards' exploits and sort of imposed that idea on a book that is realistically a set of dissimilar stories.
Richards travels the world as only a well-connected, white man can. He finds himself absolutely stranded in various places but miraculously knows someone who knows someone who rescues him from debacles of his own making. He cannot swim, and yet jumps into the ocean just to experience it and someone has to save him. The man cannot drive, and yet embarks on countless road trips. He supposedly journeys to the ends of the earth, but the only non-white country he goes to is Japan. Is this really a tale of some impressive, worldly adventurer? I think not.
I don't dislike this book because Richards is surprisingly aware of his own failings. His humor is the laugh-out-loud sort. It manages to save the entire endeavor. He also has some worthwhile musings about the importance of the experience of being alone in nature for the human psyche. He has nuanced thoughts about the global-warming-causing issues of travel balanced with the human need to see the world.
The bad: The intended thesis of Outpost is Richards' journey to the "ends of the earth" where he specifically finds places that serve as outposts for humanity and takes various lessons from those outposts. It feels like the man's editor felt that there needed to be a unifying arc to Richards' exploits and sort of imposed that idea on a book that is realistically a set of dissimilar stories.
Richards travels the world as only a well-connected, white man can. He finds himself absolutely stranded in various places but miraculously knows someone who knows someone who rescues him from debacles of his own making. He cannot swim, and yet jumps into the ocean just to experience it and someone has to save him. The man cannot drive, and yet embarks on countless road trips. He supposedly journeys to the ends of the earth, but the only non-white country he goes to is Japan. Is this really a tale of some impressive, worldly adventurer? I think not.
I don't dislike this book because Richards is surprisingly aware of his own failings. His humor is the laugh-out-loud sort. It manages to save the entire endeavor. He also has some worthwhile musings about the importance of the experience of being alone in nature for the human psyche. He has nuanced thoughts about the global-warming-causing issues of travel balanced with the human need to see the world.