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A review by jdintr
Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer by David Roberts
4.0
I remember David Roberts's original story on Everett Ruess in National Geographic Adventure magazine back in 1994. It remains one of the most astounding articles I have ever read, not just for the writing style, but in the author's relentless search for the truth of Ruess's end.
I mean, Roberts spent weeks poking around one of the most remote, boring towns in the country. He climbed rock walls, he 4X4ed all over Escalante National Monument (five years before it was one). And at the end of the article, he got close enough to the truth (a pile of rocks that might have hidden a body) and no further.
Yes, I was also there to read Roberts's follow-up in 2004 about remains found on the Rez that might have been Ruess's. Amazing.
This book-length recollection is half Ruess's life and half Roberts's search. The Ruess bit is the less interesting. Roberts details his treks, beginning at age 16, throughout California and into Arizona. We learn about Ruess's preference for burro-packing his stuff around, and we see him grow as a writer, if not an artist. Still, there is so little known about Ruess's sojourn--aside from letters and an incomplete collection of journals--that it is hard to fill in the gaps with his thoughts. Krakauer was able to do better with Chris McCandless, but Krakauer had closer sources (and relentless research of his own) to fill in the gaps.
When Roberts got into the search for Ruess's remains--over a span of 70 years no less--that's when this book became one that I couldn't put down. The characters--river runners, cowboys and con men--jump into life. Roberts doles out the evidence expertly without ever getting too far ahead of himself.
By the end, the search for Ruess mirrors Ruess's own search for Truth in the Arizona/Utah badlands. It's compelling. Fascinating.
I mean, Roberts spent weeks poking around one of the most remote, boring towns in the country. He climbed rock walls, he 4X4ed all over Escalante National Monument (five years before it was one). And at the end of the article, he got close enough to the truth (a pile of rocks that might have hidden a body) and no further.
Yes, I was also there to read Roberts's follow-up in 2004 about remains found on the Rez that might have been Ruess's. Amazing.
This book-length recollection is half Ruess's life and half Roberts's search. The Ruess bit is the less interesting. Roberts details his treks, beginning at age 16, throughout California and into Arizona. We learn about Ruess's preference for burro-packing his stuff around, and we see him grow as a writer, if not an artist. Still, there is so little known about Ruess's sojourn--aside from letters and an incomplete collection of journals--that it is hard to fill in the gaps with his thoughts. Krakauer was able to do better with Chris McCandless, but Krakauer had closer sources (and relentless research of his own) to fill in the gaps.
When Roberts got into the search for Ruess's remains--over a span of 70 years no less--that's when this book became one that I couldn't put down. The characters--river runners, cowboys and con men--jump into life. Roberts doles out the evidence expertly without ever getting too far ahead of himself.
By the end, the search for Ruess mirrors Ruess's own search for Truth in the Arizona/Utah badlands. It's compelling. Fascinating.