I've been a fan of Ray Mears ever since my brother and I watched his first program on the TV. Since then both my brother and I have had a keen interest in bushcraft and survival skills, we've even spent a week in the Scottish highlands to put our skills into practise!
So when I saw he's written an autobiography I added to my Christmas list and then promptly forgot that I had! On Christmas morning I was pleased as anything to see this in my pile of presents and started reading it that day.
The book is quietly written and it really reads as if its his voice in your head, softly and quite understated. The pace is quite slow and at times some of the dialogue feels a little "clunky" but it doesn't distract from what is otherwise a really enjoyable read.
He's had an amazing life and has worked hard to seize any opportunity he could which would help him learn more bushcraft skills and this pursuit has taken him all over the world.
I knew little about this otherwise private man before reading this book, so it's nice to see what makes him tick and the adventures that formed him like driving across Africa, or helping the police hunt Raoul Moat. I do feel that he may have written this book a little too soon and some parts (where he deals with loss and bereavement) the wounds are still quite fresh and this shows in his writing.
I enjoyed this book but I'd say it's only really one for fans of his work, hopefully he'll write another book in 20 years time and have many more stories to tell.
I've heard of him and his work, but really don't know anything about him. I'm sure he'd be an interesting fellow.
ReplyDeleteHe did a show in llandudno recently and although it was not supported the lecture was a cracker night.
ReplyDeleteI love him
Bush Tucker Man is of a similar ilk, Kev. The book sound like it's got pathos and some good survival skills.
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 years ago they ran parts of his TV series here in the US. And then dropped it. I guess there was not enough hype to keep compulsive obsessive 12 yrs old kids entertained. I enjoyed it precisely because it lacked the hype of all the other "survival" monkeys on TV. No phony fabricated high risk scenarios like braiding your armpit hairs to abseil down a water fall or sucking the juice out of elephant dung to stay alive that seems all the rage right now. Sad to see they only ran one season of his shows here. I have managed to see a lot of his videos on youtube and it certainly is much more educational than the other phonies.
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