The Way Out: A True Story of Ruin and Survival

By Craig Childs

Book Overview

A breakout book from a writer increasingly celebrated as the 21st-century bard of the American Southwest -- a writer in the tradition of Barry Lopez, Peter Matthiessen, Terry Tempest Williams, among others. In March 2003, Craig Childs received the Spirit of the West Literary Achievement Award, given to a writer whose body of work captures the unique spirit of the American West. As a chronicle of adventure, as emotionally charged human drama, as confessional memoir, The Way Out is a transcendent book, a work destined to earn a lasting place in the literature of extremes. Not since John Krakauer's bestselling Into the Wild has a book so compellingly explored the boundary between wilderness adventure and madness.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316107034
• ISBN13: 9780316107037
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

An Incredible Journey

The Way Out is a book you'll want to read over and over again. It's just too powerful to fully absorb in one reading. As with "The Secret Knowledge of Water", Mr. Childs leads you into the very psyche of Living Land. He bears his soul and humbles himself before a chasm of rock. An absolute master of imagery and metaphor, Mr. Childs doesn't just take you into the majesty of a canyon or the solitude of the desert, he empties you out there so that you might fill again. "The Way Out" is his best work yet. Susan Haley, Author RAINY DAY PEOPLE

A hard-hitting account of discovery

A two-weep trip through the American Southwest with a good friends turns into a challenge which will test friendship and survival skills in THE WAY OUT: A TRUE STORY OF RUIN AND SURVIVAL. Any with a special affection for the Southwest will find vivid descriptions of its terrain and desolation as they enjoy this memoir of survival, a hit in hardcover and newly available in paperback to provide a hard-hitting account of discovery. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

A gem. Childs delivers another masterpiece.

I loved this book, which is a feast for the soul. The novel profiles an inner and outer journey of two men through the most intense environment. Beyond the physical endurance required to pass this route, the 2 men reflect on their past struggles with society, family and personal demons. It's another incredible book by Childs, and I think marks a change in his writing style. Rather than a collection of journeys, this is a single story which becomes a legend or tale. Read this book. It reaches into the soul of men, in a way few contemporary stories can.

A gem. Childs delivers another masterpiece.

I loved this book, which is a feast for the soul. The novel profiles an inner and outer journey of two men through the most intense enviornment. Beyond the physical endurance required to pass this route, the 2 men reflect on their past struggles with socitenty, family and personal demons. It's another incredible book by Childs, and I think marks a change in his writing style. Rather than a collection of journeys, this is a single story which becomes a lengend or tale. Read this book. It reaches into the soul of men, in a way few contemporary stories can.

the meaning of lost

Rebeccasreads highly recommends THE WAY OUT as an "Amazing Grace" vision quest that is both hair-raising & immensely satisfying. Anyone who has read Craig Childs' other books, such as THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE OF WATER or SOUL OF NOWHERE knows this man knows the desert. This time, however, the spectacular wilderness gets the better of him. Or perhaps that's what vision quests are all about: to walk through the valley of your own death to come out the other side, pounds lighter, with a clearer focus on who you are, where you came from & where you're going. Craig Childs writes like Georgia O'Keeffe paints -- spare, brilliant & memorable.