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jhrcook's review against another edition
4.0
Incredibly interesting and fairly well written. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes being out in the backcountry.
rosemaryandrue's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.0
In this book the authors recount various deaths that occurred in Yosemite National Park, dividing them by cause and discussing what could have been done to prevent them. One of the authors was a National Park Ranger at Yosemite for many years and is often able to give us a first-person view on various search and rescue operations that took place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
susannadkm's review against another edition
2.0
Some of the stories were interesting, but it became so boring, especially in the very long chapter on climbing deaths. The writing has lots of room for improvement, especially the transitions from one death story to the next, and these poorly written transitions occur every few paragraphs—painful.
libra17's review
5.0
I started reading Off the Wall because my sister and I planned to go hiking in Yosemite. Even though this book took me a lot longer to read than I had anticipated (I put it down for a couple months post-trip and didn't pick it up again until recently), I'm glad I read it. The chapters on waterfalls, scrambling & hiking, and lost persons were especially useful in telling us what common fatal mistakes were and how to avoid them. I can't say we ended up having a safe trip because of Off the Wall, but I can say the stuff we learned from the book helped us feel safer in the park. It's one thing to think 'I need to do ___; yeah, yeah' but it's completely another to have a name, a life, and a story attached to seemingly inconsequential things you might not think are important enough to pay attention to. Off the Wall speaks to the stories of those who have died in Yosemite, and their stories in turn help to encourage others to act in a more cautious and aware manner in the park.
restlessunicorn's review
4.0
Very interesting and forces you to realize that our National Parks, although relatively safe, can prove fatal to this who don't respect the majesty of nature. A little bit of common sense can keep you from becoming a statistic.
johnmarlowe's review
4.0
Excellent book, though I'm sure I was prejudiced by having taken a fall. It's a narrative of all deaths of any kind in Yosemite since it became a park. The chapters are broken down into the kind of death, such as: Waterfalls, Snow, Base Jumping, Aircraft Down, Freak Accidents, Falls while climbing and scrambling, Drowning, Fauna and Flora, Lost, Suicide, Homicide, Big Walls and Small Ones, Wheels..... The authors were both National Park Service rangers.
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