Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods

by Cary J. Griffith

Book Overview

In the wilderness, one false step can make the difference between a delightful respite and a brush with death. On a beautiful summer afternoon in 1998, Dan Stephens, a 22-year-old canoeist, was leading a trip deep into Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park. He stepped into a gap among cedar trees to look for the next portage--and did not return. More than four hours later, Dan awakened with a lump on his head from a fall and stumbled deeper into the woods,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873515897
• ISBN13: 9780873515894
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Borealis Books
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

An Amazing Tale of Survival

I started this book right after a visit to the area where these events took place. I met one of the rescuers and he casually mentioned the book. I bought it based on that comment but I didn't expect the book to be as well-written or as engrossing as it was. I stayed up well past my bedtime the first night and finished it a few days later in one sitting. It's all I could think about during that time. The author did an excellent job of researching the events so that the reader can feel what it was like to be in the wilderness with the lost men and with the rescuers. It's an amazing story and it's very well told. Highly recommended!

The woods are lovely, dark and deep ...

Easy to get Lost in this Gripping Narrative.... You may find this book hard to put down once you delve into it. Two parallel narratives of fairly savvy backcountry trekkers who make some mistakes for which they almost pay with their lives. We so rarely encounter The Wild in our urban and suburban lives. It helps to remember sometimes just how fragile the membrane is that separates survival from death.

I loved this book!

My title says it all, but it bears repeating: I really did love this book. It's interesting, well written, and utterly riveting. I am a sleep-deprived mom to a toddler and a baby, but this book kept me up at night reading well past the hour when I should have been asleep. I read about this book in my alumni magazine (like the author, I am a graduate of the U of MN). When I read that the book chronicles not just one man lost in the wilderness, but two, each in different years and circumstances, I wondered how the author would manage to tell both stories without confusing the reader. He does it masterfully. The stories of the two men are woven seamlessly together, in alternating chapters, and the structure adds beautifully to the suspense. This is a terrific book. I highly recommend that you buy it right now.

A Book That Puts the Reader in the Middle of the Story

I bought this book in the Minneapolis Airport with the thought I would start it on my flight. Once I started reading I immediatly could relate to the plight of the two central characters and those trying to help. This is am amazingly well written book and near impossible to put down. If you have ever wondered what it was like to be lost and looking death in the face this is one book you should not miss. This is a must read for even the casual weekend hiker who ventures into the woods for leisurely strolls.

Great writer lets facts speak for themselves

I read this book in a day -- what makes it so gripping is that the facts of each account are detailed without comment, which lets the reader come to his/her own conclusions. I was frustrated with the boy scouts (they left their guide behind!) and inspired by the team that rescued Rasmussen. While the back and forth between the two stories of survival may work for some, I prefer to read one account straight through, which is easy enough to do, since the chapters are clearly laid out. Highly recommended for fans of other survival books like Into the Wild, Touching the Void, Into Thin Air, and Alive.