On the Loose

by Renny Russell, Terry Russell

On the Loose is a journey through the American West, led by two adventurous brothers, Terry and Renny Russell. It is a chronicle of triumph and tragedy-the triumph of gaining an insight about oneself through an understanding of the natural world; the tragedy of seeing its splendor increasingly threatened by people who don't know or don't care. The photographs, all taken by the authors, capture Yosemite, Point Reyes, the High Sierra, the Great Basin, and Glen Canyon in the 1950s and 1960s.


Despite the fact that On the Loose has been out of print for more than a decade, contemporary readers have not forgotten this timeless classic. Readers have described On the Loose as moving and inspirational. One reader says, "This book made me cry at [age] 16, and it still does at 45." Another reader notes, "This book expresses that deep yearning to wander, to explore, to live fully like no other artistic expression I have ever come across."

On the Loose is available only at http://www.rennyrussell.com

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Travel, Photography

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1966

About the author

Renny Russell was born in 1946 in South Pasadena, California. At a young age he immersed himself in the work of Albrecht Dürer, Diego Rivera, and landscape artists Maynard Dixon, Charles M. Russell, and Albert Bierstadt. Mentor and renowned landscape painter Conrad Buff offered early instruction.
In the early 1960s, Renny attended the College of Arts and Crafts and the San Francisco Art Institute. The counterculture of the 1960s and artists Max Ernst, René Magritte, Hieronymus Bosch, and N.C. Wyeth influenced his work.
In 1969 he moved to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, where he’s been since. His work is inspired by the myriad landscapes of the Southwest and by those things that are timeless and most free of human limitations. In the mountains, rivers, and canyons, the forces of nature and “the mystery” consume him and manifest themselves in his work.
Renny recently studied under Giovanna Paponetti at the University of New Mexico and has expanded his artistic reach, painting large abstract oils. His paintings have been purchased by writer Ed Abbey, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator Tom Udall, and can be found in many private collections throughout the Southwest. His calligraphy work graces the walls of Terry Tempest Williams, Derrick Jensen, and Jon Krakauer.

Reviews

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book when I was in college. I must have picked it up at a meeting of the local chapter of the Sierra Club. I loved the photography and the quotes and observations. Sometime later, it got put away for a couple decades--during which time I explored much of the country Terry & Renny Russell explored back in the 60s--from the Sierras to the Utah Canyons to the Mojave and Death Valley to Central Nevada--all places of intrigue. Four years ago, I left the Great Basin for the Upper Midwest and every few months I pull the volume off my shelf and stare at the photos and ponder once again the quotes.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a formative book for me when I was a senior in high school and in later college years. It expresses so eloquently how I feel about wilderness and what is left of our natural environment. "Hurry and take the road to the roadless area, because it won't be roadless long." Written in 1966, and more true than ever, now. "Not to forget but to remember". Thanks for reminding me, Janis.

[Mark Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book. Nice effort to seek the outdoors and react in a poetic sense.

Some nice excerpts:

Nature might have made Sphinxes in her spare time/Or Mona Lisa with her left hand, Blindfolded

After the first Artist/Only the copyist

Very 1960's...in a good way.

[Дейв Джонсон · Rating 5 out of 5]

In high school I used to dream of visiting National Parks and wilderness places and hopping freight trains across British Columbia. I would go to the school library and get giant photo books by Ray Atkeson of Colorado, Utah, Washington, etc. I would sit at a far corner table and flip through the pages dreaming of carved sandstone canyons and wild rivers and bristlecone pine trees in the high Sierra. One time the librarian came over and handed me a copy of On The Loose and said keep it, it’s yours, you deserve this book. Then she walked away. I was kind of shocked. I started reading it and was completely blown away. It still remains my favorite book of all time.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A love poem to wilderness…
my personal favorite:
“Nature might have made Sphinxes in her spare time
Or Mona Lisas with her left hand,
Blindfolded.
Instead she gave the grain of sand,
The polished river stone,
The Grand Canyon.”


[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in the 1960s, I read this in my teens in the 1970s and it led me to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and wisdom through playing in the woods. Thanks guys. Beautiful life.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry and Renny are my kind of guys. Good job, friends. You did it right.

Recommended for nature poets.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great little photography book from the 1960’s which discusses how we should fight for earth. A neat little read.

[Fabian Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wondrous catalogue of journeying, tied into some of the most notable opinions on the discovery of life without the cliche passings of those who never bother to search the world and themselves.

I was given this by my father upon graduating from college, a very personal thing that he loves to do. It shaped him, I am sure, and it has done wonders for me. I am surprised to find that I am actually the first to even review it - it has been out for decades and is really a rare find in terms of quality, opaque, inward revelation.

I am not a pushy person. However: get out there and read it! :)

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other reviewers have said what needs to be said. I'll only say that I agree, and that there's a Christian edge to some of the writings, but it wasn't enough to put me off, even with the biblical styled font. Also, I didn't realize until I had my hands on a copy, that it's not really a book, in the usual sense, but more a series of block quotes and pictures. Probably takes an hour or so to read.

[Jen Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever, it is so beautifully written it makes my heart ache. You can pick it up and immediately you're immersed in the Sierras, or on the California coast...beautiful photographs accompany the descriptive, hand-written passages that stand the test of time even as our wilderness dwindles.

[Kerri Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, full of vibrant imagery and poetry and stories as much about brotherhood as experiencing and reveling in life lived from forest to forest, mountaintop to mountaintop. My only criticism is I wish there were more stories, more words, more images to perpetually enjoy.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites... and one I wish I could say I'd read more recently. Everything I love about living in the world around me is in here... and makes me wish I could somehow live it and reread these lines at the same time.

[Jess Colindres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was a quick and crazy inspirational read. If you love the outdoors and have a desire to experience it to the fullest, this book will inspire you to just grab your pack and start walking into the wild unknown.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books when it came out in the late Sixties. I still read it from time to time and think about the spirit of adventure.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very unique book. A lot of cool photos. And a little bit of a story to tell.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. I am completely inspired to venture into the unknown.

[Kelty Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had a bible, not a biblical bible, you know, but a bible of kelty, this would be it. Beyond this, words fail. (But don't they always?)

[Barbara Carder · Rating 5 out of 5]

pivotal book in my life . . . . . hiked the Wind River Mountains in '73 with Cold Mountain School.

[Carie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It was not what I anticipated, but it is beautiful and moving and I imagine I will read it over and over. I'm so glad my father-in-law introduced me to it

[Richard Kravitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little esoteric, almost like poetry. Great "old" shots of some interesting areas of the Sierra Nevada.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars