On the Loose
by Renny Russell, Terry Russell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Renny Russell, Terry RussellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-05-10
ISBN: 0879059958
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers
Book Reviews of On the Loose
Book Review: A timeless classic of man and wilderness
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1969, to celebrate our recent graduation from high school, my best friend and I took a backpacking trip in the wilderness area of northern Yosemite National Park. I was a seasoned backpacker by then, at 18, and he was a neophyte. Our first night as we lay under the magnificent canopy of the Milky Way, I explained to him how the sweat, grit, and toil of the trail recharged me. The panoramic vistas, the roll of thunder in the canyons, the flora and fauna, the clean air and quiet - all unavailable to the motorized tourist - were only some of the rewards for the labor. Blisters from our low-tech footwear, cold knees from the ice-water stream crossings, partially cooked food from wet-wood campfires at high altitude, hard cold leather boots after a chilly night - they were all worth it for the experience of wilderness. Later that year, my friend presented me with my copy of On the Loose. I found within its pages an affinity for my wilderness experiences that were hard to communicate to my peers.
On the Loose is a unique book. Over the last four decades, I have returned to it many times, and I can say that it ages very well. Within its covers the wilderness experience is portrayed with all of the grit and discomfort - along with the pastel beauty of the photographs. These elements of the wilderness are timeless, so while the book contains a picture chronicle of two brothers and their travels in the 1960s, its essence is the never-changing spirit of the wilderness experience. At the same time it is a memorial to the wondrous wilderness that has been lost to "progress." From these pages, the reader can get a sense of the wilderness - how small and inconsequential man is, yet, at the same time, the capacity of man to destroy.
Forty years later, I remain a passionate wilderness hiker. I still consider that the Russell brothers were, and are, my kindred spirits. On the Loose is inspirational, yes, life-changing perhaps, to some - but still a classic portrayal of the wilderness experience. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any dedicated wilderness backpacker, hiker, rafter, whatever, as well as to those who wish they could.
Summary of On the Loose
First published in 1967 by the Sierra Club, On the Loose went on to sell more than one million copies. Now Gibbs Smith, Publisher, is re-releasing this underground wilderness classic for a new generation of readers.On the Loose is a journey through the American West, led by two adventurous brothers, Terry and Renny Russell. It is a chronicle of triumph and tragedy-the triumph of gaining an insight about oneself through an understanding of the natural world; the tragedy of seeing its splendor increasingly threatened by people who don't know or don't care. The color and black-and-white photographs, all taken by the authors, capture Yosemite, Point Reyes, the High Sierra, the Great Basin, and Glen Canyon in the 1950s and 1960s.
This is a most wondrous and unusual book. Its scattered text and stunning photographs convey a spirit of reverence and adventure that will cause readers to recall their own private epiphanies gained through contact with the natural world. Originally published by the Sierra Club in 1967, On the Loose sold more than a million copies before going out of print a decade ago; this gorgeous re-release is bound to find a new generation of readers.
The artful photographs, mostly taken by the Russell brothers, capture Yosemite, Point Reyes, the High Sierra, the Great Basin, and Glen Canyon in the 1950s and 1960s. The text--quotes, poems, pithy observations--perfectly complements the images as the Russells write about both the wonder of the American West as well as humanity's role in its destruction. Rather than preach or admonish, they offer an eloquent plea for compassion and understanding on behalf of the places that touched them deeply:
We live in a house that God built but that the former tenants remodelled--blew up, it looks like--before we arrived. Poking through the rubble in our odd hours, we've found the corners that were spared and have hidden in them as much as we could. Not to escape from but to escape to: not to forget but to remember.There is a wisdom and sincerity on these pages that belies their age (Terry was 21 when they wrote the book; Renny was 19) and the book is filled with memorable quotes such as, "It feels good to say 'I know the Sierra' or 'I know Point Reyes.' But of course you don't--what you know better is yourself, and Point Reyes and the Sierra have helped." Tragically, Terry died in 1965 while on a rafting trip down the Green River with his brother to celebrate the impending publication of their book.
At its core, On the Loose is an elegant invitation to gain insight by looking outward: "The point of it all is Out There, a little beyond that last rise you can just barely see, hazy and purple on the sky. These pages are windows. And windows are to see through." And what a view it is. --Shawn Carkonen
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