insert witty title here

Here's what's at eye-level on my bookshelf:

"Sensible Cruising - A Philosophic and Practical Approach to Cruising" ~ by Don Casey and Lew Hackler. No, it's not cruising as in Al Pacino...it's a sailing book.

"The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock"~ by Jerome Belanger. Mostly it's a souvenir of when my ex and I were young enough to want to live out in the wilderness.

"Plants of Coastal British Columbia"~ by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon. Kinda self-explanatory I guess...

"The People's Guide to Mexico"~ by Carl Franz. It has to be one of the best Mexico travel books ever written.

"Bear Attacks - The Deadly Truth"~ by Gary Shelton. Despite the lurid title, Gary knows what he's talking about. He lived down the road from me in Hell. I guess it's my souvenir of the place.

"The World's Most Dangerous Places"~ by Robert Pelton. Pelton, like Shelton, knows his stuff. Contains lots of tidbits that they leave out on Lonely Planet.

"The Outward Bound Wilderness First-Aid Handbook"~ Jeff Isaac (P.A.-C.) and Peter Goth (M.D.). Because 'put pressure on and wait for the ambulance' isn't always an option.

"A Few Flies and I, Haiku by Issa"~ Translated by Jean Merrill and Ronni Solbert. I refuse to succumb to the cliche of posting haiku within my blog so you'll just have to take my word that it's good stuff.

"The Koran"~ by Allah. Been lugging this one around since long before 9/11. It's my reference for the next one on the shelf:

"The Way of the Sufi"~ by Idries Shah. I've been intrigued with Sufism ever since I saw "Meetings with Remarkable Men" in 1980.

"How the Irish Saved Civilization"~ by Thomas Cahill. A follow-up to "The Gifts of the Jews" (which I gave to someone under the mistaken belief that I was only lending it to them). Interesting stuff.

"The Dharma Bums"~ by Jack Kerouac. One of my all time favorite books.

"The March of Folly - from Troy to Vietnam"~ by Barbara Tuchman. Babs knows her history, that's fo' sho'. I think I was 21 when I first read this. The section on the Renaissance Popes is really an eye opener.

"Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls"~ by Edward Leslie. You think you have it tough? These are some accounts of shipwrecked and marooned people who gritted their way through some nasty shit. The one that always stays with me is the poor bastard who, in 1615, was shipwrecked on a barren rock off the coast of Scotland for over a year - with nothing but a bag of sugar.

"Motorcycle Owner's Manual"~ by Hugo Wilson. Another self-explanatory one.

"The Confessions of Nat Turner"~ by William Styron. A fictional account based on true events. The real Nat Turner was hung and his skin tanned and used as a change purse.

"Living on 12 Volts with Ample Power"~ by David Smead and Ruth Ishihara. Another sailing reference, it's also handy if you ever need to live in your car.

"The Aftermath: The Human and Ecological Consequences of Nuclear War"~ edited by Jeannie Peterson. A scientific treatise, not some Cassandra-like wailings by anti-nukers. Not that I'm pro-nuke...

"Under the Black Flag - The Romance and the Reality of Life among the Pirates"~ by David Cordingly. Johnny Depp has left the building. I bought this one in 1998 so don't think I'm some trendy movie geek. Geek yes, trendy no.

and lastly,

"The Gary Snyder Reader - Prose, Poetry, and Translations"~ by Gary Snyder. Mr. Snyder was who Kerouac based his "Japhy Ryder" character on in "The Dharma Bums".

There. I'm done. I'll spare you the other 11 shelves.