One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
by Richard Proenneke, Sam Keith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Richard Proenneke, Sam KeithBrand: PBS
Photographer: Richard Proenneke
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-05
ISBN: 0882405136
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Book Reviews of One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
Book Review: 5 Stars is not enough
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read Sam Keith's book, co-authored by Dick Proenneke, several times and have found it one of the most informative how-to books on living in the wild. From his masterful work on building his cabin to the photographs and video Proenneke shot, Dick imparts his day to day fears and uncertainty on living in the wild, his quest for food on a day to day basis and his criticism of those who visit the area for a few days and leave behind their garbage and trash for others to pick up. He doesn't particulary criticize all hunters, just points out how lazy many of them are in not salvaging ALL of the meat of game they've taken. Many of them are just trophy hunters, but, they are required to respect the game and harvest all of the edible meat of game they kill. As for the man he refers to as Boss Hunter, he's referring to the Outfitter/Guide who transports the hunters in and out of the area for their hunt. Proenneke doesn't say it, so I will. Whoever that outfitter was has the responsibility of keeping a clean camp and taking ALL of his garbage back to a landfill in his home base and disposing of it properly. You can tell by comments that Proenneke made, that he was thoroughly abhorrent of transient hunters and campers coming in and using such a beautiful and pristine area and leaving it trashed. I know what I'm talking about too, because I have a place in Alaska about 400 miles north of Twin Lakes and spend several weeks a year there. All of my trash goes out with me when the float plane or ski plane pilot picks me up and goes to Fairbanks to a trash receptacle where it is then disposed of in a landfill. If you have property in the Bush of Alaska, you are much more respectful of the area and take care of it, than if you're one of these "in and outers" who just "slash and burn" an area. I've seen this repeatedly by outsiders and have cleaned up their messes, bagged it up and taken it out with me when my trip is over.
In the first part of the book, there is a poem by Robert Service entitled "I'm Scared Of It All", which compares living in the wild with living in civilization, where there are traffic snarls, danger and doom, tumult and terror in the streets and the faces of people he meets in the street," not one has the face of a comrade to me", and he closes the poem by stating "I've got to get back to my thousand mile beat (meaning the wilderness), Goodbye, (to civilization) for it's safer up there". There is an interesting entry in his diary on the 4th of July where Proenneke says something to the effect that "no one died at Twin Lakes this day, I wonder how many in the Lower 48"?
Dick was a complicated man who, at the age of 51, basically was fed up with the 'dog eat dog' mentality of the workplace and society in general, and longed for the solitude of the wilds and wanted to prove to himself that he could survive the harshness of the environment, he wanted to build a cabin with his own two hands, something he could be proud of, and he obviously loved wildlife, the idea of going to sleep at night to the sounds of the trickling waters of the nearby creek and the occasional howls of the wolves in the distance. He referred to it as nature's sleeping pill. I can identify with him, because on many nights I've gone to sleep listening to the beautiful sounds of the loons on my lake and the wolves back in the hills.
In reference to his love of wildlife, he had started a garden to see what he could do with it. At one point, a snowshoe hare (he called it a rabbit), had been eating the leaves of the peas he'd planted and then later he stated that the "rabbit had changed his menu. He cleaned half a row of rutabagas. Bet he never tasted them before, either". But not once did Proenneke say anything about killing the offending rabbit. He just stated that he really didn't need the peas, so he just let the rabbit dine unmolested.
I've picked up more each time I read the book and watched the video, little items I glossed over initially. I even bought the DVD entitled Silence and Solitude, where an author and his son went up to Twin Lakes and filmed in the area. They included Dick in their documentary and Dick was in his seventies then. At the end of their presentation they noted that Proenneke had died in 2003. His cabin is being maintained now by the National Park Service as an Historic Site.
When Proenneke went to Twin Lakes at the age of 51, he was desperately seeking solitude, he yearned for simplicity, he loved the beautiful country of what is now Lake Clark National Wildlife Refuge, and, after he met the challenge of surviving a year on his own, especially through the bitterly harsh winter, he realized he'd found his niche. No bills to pay, the most beautiful country in his world and he apparently had enough money to buy food he couldn't grow or harvest at the lake, and he was a contented man. He didn't require much. He left the world of Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Thieves and such for a simple place. He wrote and received many letters that arrived periodically on the bush plane, he referred to his brother, who he wanted to come up and see the place with him and he was friendly and congenial to those who approached him.
Some might see Dick Proenneke as a drop out, a hermit who disliked others. But, to the contrary, I see him as someone totally at peace with himself, someone who'd succeeded in the workplace and civilization for 51 years, and yearned for a change. He seemed to have found peace around him, and within himself, and was content to spend the remainder of his life with that inner peace that many of us strive for, but never really find. I saw a very happy, contented and proud man, in Mr. Richard Proenneke. Not once did I see any profanity used by him and not once did I see him wish ill will toward others. I felt so very good inside after reading the passages of the book and I was at peace with myself and felt comforted each time I picked up the book. It was truly medicine for my soul, and so uplifting to see a man so content and happy with his life. I know that many could pick apart his lifestyle, trod on his successes, try to read something into many of the things he said or did.
But.....I saw and heard what I'd like to believe was...a decent man.
Respectfully, Jim Calvert
Summary of One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
To live in a pristine land . . . roam the wilderness . . . build a home. . . . Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. Here is a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.
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