Crusoe of Lonesome Lake

by Leland Stowe

Crusoe of Lonesome Lake

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Adventure, Survival

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1957

Reviews

[Karen Lucey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, if I could, I'd rate Stowe's book with 10 stars. This should be republished or better yet written as a children's book. Google Earth is so handy to use- a tool to find a little adventure from a comfortable chair in a mosquito free, warm, well lit space. But there is the other side of me that yearns for Lonesome Lake.

[Brenda Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful true story about a man who carved out a homestead in the Canadian wilderness. You can do anything if you try hard enough.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. My grandmother gave my father a copy of it after she read an article about Lonesome Lake in an old Field and Stream or Outdoor Life magazine. Our entire (and extended) family has found delight in this true story of a man homesteading in the Canadian wilderness. It's an incredible story of courage, endurance, fortitude, ingenuity, love and persistence. A great read!

[Alyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book! Didn't expect much, my copy came with an assuming, battered white cover. It's a story told from a journalistic perspective, about Ralph Edwards, a man who built from nothing a cabin, farm, mill, etc. in the middle of Canada's Atnarko wilderness. He got his 160 acres and went to it! All alone! Eventually he married and had 3 kids, all of whom were very hardy themselves. Just shows you what you, and any human, can do with nothing but their intelligence and a drive for knowledge.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

first read this 40 odd years ago, and have re-read several times since. always like to read about the early settlement of isolated areas, and the fact that this one is in canada just increases the enjoyment.
imagine the hardships edwards and his family faced, the fortitude they faced them with. and he built a plane and taught himself to fly in his spare time!

[Lauren Simison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book back in the 80's. It is a great story of a man deciding to get off the grid and live off the land in a remote part of Canada. Quite an adventure and facinating story. I think there is something in all of us at one time or another in our life when we would love to do the same thing.

[Matt Luttrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbelievable story by today's standards. Ralph Edwards' struggle to survive and build a home in the coast mountains really draws you in. The author paints a romantic picture of the wilderness, even through the formidable dangers and hardships. This was one of my dad's favorite books, and was the reason he moved to Canada.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the BEST books I have ever read about an amazing man who created a homestead in a remote area of British Columbia.The book is an under-stated account of one man's perseverance to fulfill a dream.

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was written in a Reader's Digest format. It's campy, repetitive, and not particularly well written. There's an interesting story here and some people who particularly want to learn about all of Ralph Edwards ingenuities are probably the only people I'd recommend this too. The 50s sexism is rampant (wow gee there's women that can be tough like men?!), and there's just a few strange episodes that I wouldn't want to spoil but that make me rethink some of the commonalities I think I have with these people. Aside from the Lonesome Lake and the trail in, there's not that much about the geographical area. This is mostly a book about how Ralph Edwards works 14+hrs a day constantly coming up with new challenges for himself and carving out, albeit enviably, a presumably great place to live.

[violette d’urso · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai adoré ce livre qu’on a trouvé avec Ty dans une petite librairie d’un ami de Chris a Vancouver :)
C’était beau de me replonger dans les paysages de British Columbia et voir comment c’était décrit.
Ça donne aussi confiance qu’on peut TOUT faire avec patience et acharnement il faut juste le vouloir.
Trudy montre aussi qu’on peut tout faire en étant une femme. J’ai adoré le moment où elle doit envoyer un trumpeter swan à la reine d’Angleterre alors qu’elle est née dans la forêt loin de tout ! J’aurais pas forcément lu ce livre comme ça mais j’ai adoré lire une biographie, ça m’arrive peu

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Myra]

Absolutely worth the read!!

[Sherry Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish what Ralph Edwards did. It's hard to believe this is a true story.

[Ross Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading one of my favorite books from childhood, and it's just as good as I remembered it to be.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a child in April 1963 and still sitting on my bookshelf.

Reread 8/15: If you want to feel like a real slacker, read this book. Not at all what I remembered but still a fascinating look at a real pioneer who carved an impressive farm out of the mountainous British Columbia wilderness. I still can't begin to imagine the ambition and stamina it took to accomplish all the clearing of trees, construction, farming and just plain hiking this man and later his whole family did. It made me tired just thinking about all that work never mind the frequent tragedies and setbacks. Lots of great stuff about nature (not fond of the early reliance on trapping for supplemental income but those were the times). Glad I kept this book for over 50 years.

[Clove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came with me on a backpacking trip, as have books like Two Against the North, before it... Turned out to be either the latest in a string of excellent camp-book choices, or definitive proof that I'm an unrepentant sucker for this genre. (Likely both.)

Entirely absorbing. Who is this family?! How, as someone who grew up in Canada, do I not know this story already?

And, beyond some awkwardly outdated and paternalistic language around gender (and the fact that the author repeatedly insisted on referring to himself and his pursuits as "roving") the writing does the story justice.

Will without a doubt make you feel decidedly less-than-badass, no matter how hard your last hike felt...

3.5

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think you may have gotten a little soft and perhaps need a little motivation to get off the couch more ... read this! OK, the prose is very dated; in some places it sounds like it was written for Reader's Digest. The metaphors are corny and the sexism is not exactly offensive but certainly paternal. The story, however, is compelling to anyone who has ever wondered how they might do in a wild land without the comforts of modern technology. I don't think I'd survive a week.

[Joel Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up on a homestead like the Edwards and it was a visitor that clued me in to this book. It was a great book about human resourcefulness and drive to accomplish something different. I could relate in so many ways.
If you live a life like this or yearn for it I highly recommend this book.
Even for those that live in NYC and have no wish for the rough and untamed it is an inspirational tale.

[Joseph Viel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is badass. His life makes for top-notch reading, not to mention Stowe describes the character such that he is able to give the reader a good feel for his personality. The things this guy did, what he set his mind to, is nothing but inspiring....Around fifty years he spent living at that lake, he has some stories to tell.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous book. The story of Ralph Edwards show what one can accomplish if one is willing to work for it. I read this book in high school but that was so long ago I couldn't remember much about the book . This time I couldn't put the book down.

[JENNIFER GRIFFIN · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book my dad enjoyed, so I read it to honor him. Although it is not material I would have chosen for myself, I learned a lot. The writing, for me, was choppy and full of superfluous adjectives which didn't fit particularly well into the telling of the story.

[Ted Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of an early west coast pioneer, it is about time I read it again.

[Leonel Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember which year I read the book but it was sometime in the 1970s. It had really impressed me at the time.

[Cindy Witte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting story of a true pioneer family.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about an ordinary man and his family that wouldn't quit. Amazing.