Books to bring hiking

[EWS]

Pale Blue Dot or Demon Haunted World.

Carl Sagan's books are great, and Comos is a fantastic one as well. Just watch out, you'll be questioning a lot of the hoopla most people revolve thier lives around.

[AlbertaHiker23]

Good stuff, I actually heard of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. A university instructor mentionned it in a class, said it was a book that you need time to contemplate...i will definetly look into that one.

[AlbertaHiker23]

Just watch out, you'll be questioning a lot of the hoopla most people revolve thier lives around.

I'm pretty sure I am already there...

[jrwiesz]

Carl Sagan's books are great, and Comos is a fantastic one as well. Just watch out, you'll be questioning a lot of the hoopla most people revolve thier lives around.

It is just so unfortunate for our planet to loose such a forward thinking individual. I haven't read all his works as of yet; but, they have me wanting to return to school, and contribute what little I may still have to offer.

[EWS]

Yes, his death was very unfortunate, and his books do inspire one to better one's self. The man could write too, which along with his brillance in other areas, was astounding.

For those who don't know about him, this is his Biography from his website:

CARL SAGAN was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He played a leading role in the American space program since its inception. He was a consultant and adviser to NASA since the 1950's, briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon, and was an experimenter on the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo expeditions to the planets. He helped solve the mysteries of the high temperatures of Venus (answer: massive greenhouse effect), the seasonal changes on Mars (answer: windblown dust), and the reddish haze of Titan (answer: complex organic molecules).


For his work, Dr. Sagan received the NASA medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service, as well as the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. Asteroid 2709 Sagan is named after him. He was also awarded the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society, the Explorers Club 75th Anniversary Award, the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal of the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation, and the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society, ("for his extraordinary contributions to the development of planetary science…As a scientist trained in both astronomy and biology, Dr. Sagan has made seminal contributions to the study of planetary atmospheres, planetary surfaces, the history of the Earth, and exobiology. Many of the most productive planetary scientists working today are his present and former students and associates").


He was also a recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences (for "distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare…Carl Sagan has been enormously successful in communicating the wonder and importance of science. His ability to capture the imagination of millions and to explain difficult concepts in understandable terms is a magnificent achievement").


Dr. Sagan was elected Chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, President of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union, and Chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For twelve years he was the editor-in-chief of Icarus, the leading professional journal devoted to planetary research. He was cofounder and President of the Planetary Society, a 100,000-member organization that is the largest space-interest group in the world; and Distinguished Visiting Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.


A Pulitzer Prize winner for the book The Dragons of Eden: Speculations of the Evolution of Human Intelligence, Dr. Sagan was the author of many bestsellers, including Cosmos, which became the bestselling science book ever published in English. The accompanying Emmy and Peabody award-winning television series has been seen by a billion people in sixty countries. He received twenty-two honorary degrees from American colleges and universities for his contributions to science, literature, education, and the preservation of the environment, and many awards for his work on the long-term consequences of nuclear war and reversing the nuclear arms race. His novel, Contact, is now a major motion picture.


In their posthumous award to Dr. Sagan of their highest honor, the National Science Foundation declared that his "research transformed planetary science… his gifts to mankind were infinite."


Dr. Sagan's surviving family includes his wife and collaborator of twenty years, Ann Druyan; his children, Dorion, Jeremy, Nicholas, Sasha, and Sam; and grandchildren.

[ASUGrad]

I recommend Rules for Old Men Waiting by Peter Pouncey. It's small and very deep.

[Spirit Walker]

I don't generally read much when I'm starting a long hike. At first, the trail and the people around me are enough to think about. Plus I'm tired, so don't have a lot of energy for reading at the end of the day - it's hard enough to write in my journal. But as I get more in shape, and as the days get longer, I find I enjoy escaping for a while into the world of fiction.

On my first long hike, I thought I would read various classics that I'd never had time to read. Well, I didn't read them on the trail either. They got left behind in the hiker boxes. When I am hiking, I want something that will take me completely into another world for an hour or two, not something realistic or dense. So I read sci-fi/fantasy or adventure novels or mysteries - light stuff that was a complete change from guidebooks and the usual discussions of the AT. Tolkien worked well. So did Heinlein. Or Grisham. The only non-fiction I read that worked for me was some adventure travel type literature - Lady Isabella Bird, The Longest Walk, etc. But only because that was sufficiently different from my reality to be a mental break.

[Uncle Silly]

I read "The Life of Pi" when I was on the trail -- donated by a NYC librarian. Great trail read. I also read Hunter S Thompson's "Hell's Angels", which was amusing to no end, but I would've enjoyed it whether on the trail or not. "Pi" however was good food for thought.

[rswanson]

I'd recommend taking along sections of Daniel J. Boorstin's The Creators. In short, its a historical account of the creative works of man, from the beginnings of religion to art and literature in the modern age. Really a fascinating book from an amazing writer.

[ImkerVS]

I'd recommend Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Ol' fashioned page turner, keep ya up. Interestingly, on E-bay often you can get the entire work on audio CDs, unabridged, for less than the new book.

[Webs]

if you want an exciting page-turner, read The Scarlet Pimpernel. Sure, it's not the most intellectually stimulating book on the shelf, but it's well-written, especially for the sore hiker looking to lose himself in a good story for an hour or two.

[steve43]

books are my one luxury i bring on the trail. i usually bring anything by steinbeck and most recently i brought "the boys of winter" which details the 1980 usa hockey victory at the olympics. wonderful choice if you're a hockey fan.

the only book i ever regretted bringing on the trail was "in cold blood" by truman capote. truely an excellent book without so much as one comma out of place. unfortunately the book inspired my imagination a little too much and i spent too much time looking over my shoulder fearing some thrill killer was lurking in the shadows. great book, just the wrong time to read it.

if you're looking for book to inspire a new sense of spirituality, then i would have to agree with a previous poster's recommendation of the "celestine prophecy". the message and insights can be life changing.

[RadioFreq]

Many years ago I began my subscribtion to Asimov's. A couple of years ago I fell about a year behind in my reading. Today I am still about a year behind. I figure by 2010 I will still be a year behind. On the trail is where I plan to catch up. I find that at the end of a strenuous day short stories are ideal to help me fall asleep.

[FFTorched]

I would recommend Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire." Great book to get lost in and evaluate what is happening to the wilderness of this country.

Another good book would be "Slaughterhouse-5" by Kurt Vonnegut. I read it during my Combat Medic training in my free time and even though it's an anti-war book, I was still entertained by it. Unfortunately Vonnegut just died last Thursday. "So it goes."

I really enjoy reading in the woods on a log or something. I feel as if I can really enter the book and not be distracted by what's around me.

[leeki pole]

Anything by Tom Clancy. Makes me appreciate this great country.

[lastrada]

I don't know if it's been metioned yet but I really enjoyed "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. It's a tale of a journey by a shepherd boy. If your looking for one of theose books that gets you thinking about life, this would be one of them.

[BigwaveDave]

Albertahiker23,
Get you a copy of "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. One of the funniest books you'll ever read. Laughter is the best medicine.

[echo]

can't go wrong with Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintinence

This one's lookin' like the winner, and no, it's not about fixing your motorcycle, but ironically, he did make his start as a writer writing instruction manuals. I guess he decided it made more sense to teach some common sense.

[bfitz]

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene. Cosmic concepts.....

[Nightwalker]

They're printed on something like onionskin, which dramatically reduces the volume of the pages and weight.

Woah! Way cool...