books

BOOKS & REFERENCE

BOOKS & REFERENCE & GUIDE SERVICES

THE CAYMAN ISLANDS / CAYMAN BRAC:

Adventuring on Cayman Brac: A Guide to Great Adventures on this Small Caribbean Gem. Harper, Skip. Heel and Toe Publishing, Inc., Fort Collins, CO 80526 (2002). Now available !! at Hobbies and Books Ltd., Box 900, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, BWI (345-949-0707) and at AMAZON.COM .

THE SNOWY RANGE:

The Medicine Bows: Wyoming's Mountain Country. Thybony, Rosenberg and Rosenberg, Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, Idaho (1985). Very informative, easy reading in surprising depth, well organized and chronologically accurate.

Guide to the Geology, Mining Districts, and Ghost Towns of the Medicine Bow Mountains and Snowy Range Scenic Byway. Hausel, D., Public Information Circular No. 32, The Geological Survey of Wyoming, P.O. Box 3008, University Station, Laramie, WY 82071 (1993). Great piece of work and well researched. Detailed and well documented - good old photographs. Worth it for the historical buff.

Laramie, Rock River, Centennial Wyoming. Albany County Visitor's Guide, Albany County Tourism Board, 800 S. Third Street, Laramie, WY 82070 (2000, 2001). www.laramie-tourism.org Current information and guides to things going on....

A Climber's Guide to the Snowy Range of Wyoming. Jaquot, R. G. and Hoff, R. O. Self Published, Laramie, WY (1970). Interesting and well done from a geological / historical standpoint, climber's view on the evolution of microhistory. A must read for the climbing history of the area.

Guide to the Wyoming Mountains and Wilderness Areas. Bonney, O. H. and Bonney, L. Sage Books, Denver, CO (1962). Early accounting of the Medicine Bow Range mountains including the Snowy Range and several climbing routes. Also describes major mountain ranges throughout the state.

Roadside Geology of Wyoming. Lageson, D. R., and Spearing, D. R., Mountain Press Publishing Company, Misssoula, MT (1988). This gets right to it, down to the nitty gritty, various locations throughout the state including SE Wyoming. Not boring and academically detailed, but definitely primes one for further inquiry if necessary.

Hiking Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest. Smith, Marc., Open Space Publications, Casper, WY (2003). A trail guide to Pole Mountain, the Snowy Range, the Medicine Bow Mountains, the Sierra Madres and the Laramie Mountains. More an overview in black and white, not detailed and thorough. Also go to www.medicinebowtrails.com .

VEDAUWOO:

Go to www.vedauwoo.org

CUBA:

Cuba: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture. Hatchwell, E. and Calder, S. In Focus Series, Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. (1999). Broad view of contemporary Cuba, seemingly well balanced, a good starting point for learning about this isolated, yet exciting culture.

Fidel's Cuba: A Revolution in Pictures. Salas, O. and Salas, R. Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., Hillsboro, OR (1998). A picture's worth a thousand words ... this is masterful photography... images never seen before - or never again .... text is revealing and enlightening... very worth the money.

The Cuba Handbook. Baker, C. P. Moon Publications, Inc., P. O. Box 3040, Chico, CA (1997). Indespensible! Took this on my first two trips into Cuba, essentially planned a "quick" tour from tip to tip of the island (1800 total unbelievable miles plus lots of help from locals) with this book... It is good, accurate, reliable and falling apart from use / overuse. Don't leave home without it.... I don't (didn't) speak Spanish and this thing got me by!! Unreal... www.moon.com

An Encounter With Fidel. Mina, Gianni. Ocean Press, Distributed in the USA by The Talman Company, 150 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10011 (1991). You really want to know how 'they' are 'taught' to think in Cuba? Here it is, the philosophy and doctrine of Cuban thought.... I leave it up to you.....

PUERTO RICO and MONA ISLAND:

The Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico: 2nd Edition. Pariser, H. S., Hunter Publishing Inc., Edison, NJ (1994). Great, well organized, detailed, lots of local info, and info on the outer islands like Mona....

MEXICO, the volcanos:

SUPER BOOK:

AFRICA:

Kilimanjaro & Mt. Kenya: A climbing and trekking guide. Burns, Cameron M., The Mountaineers Pub. Co., Seattle, WA (1998). The best resource on these two mountains. You can get several, but this should be the first on your list.

No Picnic On Mt. Kenya. A daring escape, a perilous climb. Benuzzi, Felice., The Lyons Press / Globe Peqout Press, Guilford, CT (1999). Originally written and published by Dutton & Co. (1953). Great adventure novel documenting a prison escape and climb of Mt. Kenya during WWII.

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown. Theroux, Paul, Houghton Mifflin Company, New York (2003). One man's journey along the long 'road' through Eastern Africa.... with unforgettable imagery, insights and commentary on the current, rather grotesque state of affairs in this part of the world. You can see it, smell it, touch it, live it through Theroux's skillful verbal artistry. You won't put it down once you start it.

Into Africa: The epic adventures of Stanley and Livingston. Dugard, Martin. Broadway Books, New York (2003). Well researched and entertaining account of this classic story.

FRANCE, THE CHAMONIX AREA.

Easy ascents in the Mont Blanc Range. Burnier, Francois and Dominique Potard.   Vamos Books, Morgex, Italy (2002). Great introduction to the climbs in the Mt. Blanc area. www.editionsvamos.com .

Crag Climbs in Chamonix. Burnier, Francois and Dominique Potard. Vamos Books, Morgex, Italy (2005). Superb coverage of the majority of crag climbing in the Chamonix Valley including those around Les Chavants, Les Gaillands, Les Montets, L'Aiguillette d'Argentiere, Vallorcine and Barberine. www.editionsvamos.com.

GUIDE SERVICES;

            Andres DelGado, www.adventurego.com Andres is an animal. He's been up the Mexican volcanos uncountable times, as well as big mountains in most other parts of the world including Nepal, summiting Everest twice, etc. You can't go wrong with this talented climber.

            Jamie Pierce, www.summitexpeditions.com A magician on the mountain. Superb AMGA Certified guide, extremely safe, very experienced in Mexico, East Africa, Antarctia, Europe and many other locations.... .

            Friendly Mountain Service, cancholashouse@yahoo.com . Very local in Tlachichuca, Pue., Mexico. (011-52-245-451-5082). Joaquin Canchola Limon has been up the volcanos, especially Orizaba, literally scores of times. He has experienced local guides as well. Nice climbers residence. Reliable.

            Craig Luebben, www.craigluebben.com . AMGA Certified at many levels. Slide shows and Rescue Clinics. Goes almost anywhere in the world, does almost anything with skill, reliability, perfection. Highly accomplished technical climber, offwidth expert, author and world traveler.

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