So you probably know right off the bat that the Author of this book, Andrew St. Pierre White, is someone I follow and admire on the Overland scene; I think his videos are honest and entertaining without resorting to dramatic tropes or invented drama. He, and his wife Gwynn, wrote a book about an adventure they had in their early life running a game lodge in Botswana and bellow I will review it. My wife bought me this book for fathers day, knowing that:
a. I liked his channel
b. She and I both have dreams of throwing off our lives to pursue more adventurous careers.
So I had some time to kill a week or so ago while vacationing at the only place I really feel like I can relax, and for a WHOLE WEEK! I know that’s nothing to many, but for me, that’s a big deal but I digress. Now I should say that the book isn’t about overlanding at all, but about adventure and character, which is the spirit of overland at the least.
Its hard for me to get into a book and this one was no exception but it did have 2 things going for it right off the bat that i love; the chapters were short, like 3-4 pages short, and the perspective changes every other chapter bath and forth between Andrews and Gwynn as the writer. It may not be for you, but I like that. I think the reason that it takes me so long to get into a book is because it takes me a while before I can get a handle on when the customary “leed graph” ends and when the real stories start. Maybe its my generation or just me, but I hate long drawn out introductions and I typically skip the video intro, or the first few paragraphs in magazines that are often times predictable and full of tired of cliche’s.
To get to the point, it took me until about half way through the book before I realized that the stories I was expecting weren’t coming. Chalk it up to the cover art, or perhaps just inflated expectations or...well...not knowing what to expect, but it wasn’t what i was or wasn’t expecting. That having been said, what I found was interesting and very involving, such that I found myself in that special place in reading where you can picture in your minds eye the people and places you are reading about, and finding joy in being able to connect to the characters.
The “Story”, if you want to call it one, wanders and doesn’t really have a great point but, again, I kept reading and soon I found myself looking for time to read.
What I think I found most interesting with this book was that it did for me what I think a book should do...or at least one of the things it should do; take me there. I didn’t feel like I really took a lesson away, or that I learned much, or discovered something new about myself or anything, but it was an enjoyable experience overall.
If you go into this book expecting Hemingway and stories about the cradle of existence and the grandness and brutality of Africa you will be disappointed, this isn’t that book. What this book is is the behind the scenes mini-doc for the movie; how they did it, what it was like and so on.
As a video producer myself I found this behind the curtains approach very appealing because for me, in many cases, I think that is the more interesting story.
Andrew and Gwynn aren’t what I would consider superb writers, though their technicality and style are fine, they lack that broad appeal that makes a “classic” author...and I loved this book for it. Counter culture maybe? I don’t know, maybe I just like to see the other side of the popular ideas and methods...maybe I just don’t “get” the mainstream books...
What I’m trying to get at is that this is a niche book, but that it fit me perfectly.
I would give it 4 stars, if i gave out stars, and recommend it to anyone who likes a light read about the hows and whys of the adventurous spirit.