Escape from Kathmandu

by Kim Stanley Robinson

Living in the city of Kathmandu in the Kingdom of Nepal are dozens of American and British expatriates who are in love with the Himalayas. George Fergusson is one of them--he works as a trek guide for "Take You Higher, Ltd.", leading groups of tourists into the back country and occasionally assisting on serious climbs. George "Freds" Fredericks is another--a tall, easy-going American who converted to Buddhism while in college. He visited Nepal one year and never went home.

The adventures started when George and Freds got together over the capture of a Yeti--an abominable snowman--by a scientific expedition. The thought of such a wild and mysterious creature in captivity--in prision--was too much for them to bear. And in freeing the Yeti, a great partnership was born. George and Freds will go on to greater heights as they explore the mysteries of Nepal, from Shangri-La to Kathmandu's governmental bureaucracy.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Adventure, Short Stories, Travel

319 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer. He has published 22 novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his Mars trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award. The Atlantic has called Robinson's work "the gold standard of realistic, and highly literary, science-fiction writing." According to an article in The New Yorker, Robinson is "generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers."

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of four stories by Kim Stanley Robinson, American science fiction author, born in 1952. These stories are set in Nepal and are based on his experiences there. He actually did a trek to the Everest Base Camp.
The four stories focus on two American expatriates living in Nepal and in these stories they encounter a yeti, go for the summit of Mt. Everest, and seek the enchanted valley of Shangri-La.
Hardest of all, they get involved in a battle with the Nepalese bureaucracy, a discouraging fight to be sure, harder even than climbing Everest!

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. If you are a fan of absurdist humor, and/or have spent any time in Kathmandu, this story is for you! Yes, there are Yeti. And Jimmy Carter gets involved....

I even stayed at the hotel he mentioned! The Star, maybe? Definitely in the Thamel. I remember an Austrian lady who ran a restaurant with very tasty German-style food nearby -- but that was a long, long time ago.

Wow, 1987. How time flies. Time for a reread, I think. Here's an excerpt, to get you going: https://us.macmillan.com/excerpt?isbn...

2019 notes: I just realized that my comments apply only to the 1986 novella, http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
Which was later collected with 3 other Himal-themed shorts into a collection, confusingly given the same name: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...
I've read the second, "Mother Goddess of the World" (1987), which was good, but not up to the first. I don't think I read the last 2, and never saw the collection.

Hrm. Library doesn't own it (sigh), Kindle's on the pricey side ($8), since I own copies of the first 2 stories. What to do?

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stuff I Read - Escape from Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson Review

So I read the first section of this book in the Best of Kim Stanley Robinson collection, and I was charmed by the zany story of these people in Kathmandu having crazy adventures. Jimmy Carter. A Yeti. Evil naturalists and some really weird stuff punctuated by booze and boredom. If it had been all of that I probably would have liked it more. But while the adventures are all rather odd and have some really hilarious action to them, they begin to get a little strained as the book keeps going. The first two stories I quite enjoyed, but the third was a little bit not as pleasant and then the last one didn't quite hit me the same way.

I suppose what I liked about it was the fun. There are some really weird things that happen in this book. There's the Yeti in the first part. In the second Freds and George are climing Everest with a reincarnated Buddhist lama. But even in the second part I was started to get a little uncomfortable with some of it. Especially the annoying documentary guy was just...well, he doesn't really get what's coming to him. He's creepy and abusive and keeps filming the one female climber without her permission and he basically gets away with it. He does. And that was...disappointing. The third story brings Freds and George (who become the main characters) off on an adventure to prevent a road from being built. And that's when it sort of lost me a bit. The writing is still solid, and Freds is always fun. But...

Well, at that point George really stops having fun. In the first story he's having fun, and then in the second a little less, and then by this one he's really just being tortured. He endures some really bad sickness and then the crippling bureaucracy of Nepal and then it all just doesn't work. It was hard to read because the fun disappeared. It was similarly gone in the fourth story, and I'm not sure if it's because the stories are just a bit less crazy or if it's because the focus shifts to something that's a bit more serious, namely the state of Nepal and how George and Freds and all are basically leeching off of a situation that for most of the people involved is terrible. The book does circle around that idea and shows that the characters aren't exactly saints, but then I'm not really sure how it comes down in the end.

Because the ending is just sort of "status quo upheld." And George and Freds will...just continue I guess. I'm really not sure what happens, or how I'm supposed to take the ending, because up to a point if it's just a fun series of stories, then okay. But if this is about something deeper, about the situation in Nepal or Tibet and how the corruption there is allowed to continue because it's help up by foreign money, then...what were the first two stories with a Yeti and climbing Everest. It just doesn't jive well for me. I mean, I liked it, but certainly not as much as I could have. For me, it provides some good laughs, but I was left a bit cold on parts. A 6.25/10 for me.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is four related short stories featuring a pair of American stoners living in Kathmandu in the mid-80’s, and for anyone who visited or lived in Nepal anytime between the 70’s and early 00's this is a real treat.

The stories themselves are best described as “absurdist humor” (stealing that from my friend Peter), and generally deal with [1] the search for yetis (aka, “the abominable snowman”), [2] the search for George Mallory’s body (which culminates in an illegal summiting of Mount Everest), [3] the search for Shangri-la (which touches too-briefly on the tragic betrayal of Tibet's anti-China guerillas by Richard Nixon) and [4] a system of (I'm assuming fictional??) millenia-old tunnels running from the Tibetan border to the Terai (which involves a ridiculous kidnapping of Nepal's then-King Birendra; this last story is not only the weakest of the four but is somewhat uncomfortable to read, in light of the massacre of the entire royal family some 15 years later).

But for me, the stories – none of which frankly rate more than 3-stars in themselves – really aren’t the point here. It’s the combination of Robinson’s style and voice (which perfectly captures the type of hippie-dippy American expat one encounters endlessly in Nepal - tour/trekking guide, Buddhist convert, trader/hustler/drug dealer, etc.), with the endless minutiae and memories of daily life at the "Roof of the World:"

Thamel and Freak Street; unexpectedly delicious Western food (either prepared by European emigres or former Gurkha army cooks); switchback mountain drives sitting in the luggage rack of rickety buses; deep valleys and forests of pink rhododendron; street-side vendors selling unused Western meds abandoned by returning trekkers (which helped me cure a nasty case of Giardia); Tibetan carpet shops and niche bookstores…the overwhelming poverty and corruption.

I love Nepal – have taken three trips and spent probably two months there between 1985 and 2013 – but doubt I have the fortitude to ever live there; sadly, at this age I love my comfort even more. But once COVID is resolved, I certainly plan to return. Kathmandu may not be the most beautiful city I've ever visited, but it's certainly the most photogenic, and while it’s hard NOT to take a photo that looks like these:





…my all-time favorite photo is this one, which in my mind sums up both the backwardness and yet optimistically can-do spirit of the local people:

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while I was volunteering at an orphanage in Kathmandu, and I loved it from the first page. Nepal is a magical place; Kim Stanley Robinson captures its essence in these interconnected stories. There's a yeti. There's a monk who can sleep outside in the snow without getting cold. There's a secret city underneath the streets of Kathmandu. Having lived in Kathmandu for several months, I needed only the slightest suspension of disbelief to accept these phenomena. But anyone who's stayed in the Thamel district of Kathmandu knows that the real fantasy element is the consistent hot water George has in his hotel shower...

I love this book; it makes me homesick for Nepal. Cold water and all.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course I had an idea what I might be trading glances with. The yeti, the mountain man, the elusive creature of the snows. The Abominable Snowman, for God’s sake! My heart’s never pounded faster. What to do? The white of its eyes…

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok I was wrong, there were four parts. The first one was the funniest by far. The rest are more adventure, less comedy but still comical. Having no background knowledge on the subject, I had fun with it. I read it 20 odd years ago, I remembered it and I enjoyed it again. That should say everything.

[J.M. Brister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's one of my favorite's from Robinson because it has so much humor to it. This is the second time I have read it, and I still got weird looks from my husband as I literally was laughing out loud at parts. I recommend this one hundred percent.

[Theresa Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books ever....though I read it ages ago.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an oldy-but-a-goody. It was originally published in 1989, though I read a 2000 edition that I bought in Pokhara. Nepal is probably the only place one is likely to find this book on the shelves of a bookstore (other than used book sellers.) If you didn’t get your copy in Nepal (or haven’t been to the Himalaya) the one thing you need to know to admire the quirkiness of this book is that the grandiosity of what you experience in the Himalaya makes lost cities (ala, Shangri-La) or lost species (ala, the Yeti) seem less unlikely than you would ordinarily think them.

This isn’t so much a novel in the sense of a work with a single narrative arc as it is a novel-in-stories that consists of four adventure stories featuring the same lead characters -- George Fergusson and George “Freds” Fredricks -- some overlapping minor characters, and all of them set somewhere within Nepal. The cross-cutting theme of these stories is that of trying to rescue the magic of Nepal (dusty and dilapidated as it can sometimes be) from modernity and the grasping hands thereof. The point-of-view character varies from one story to the next (though not within stories.) The setting criss-crosses Nepal from Everest to Chitwan forest to ill-defined border areas, but always going back to -- or cutting through -- Kathmandu.

The titular first story of the book is about an attempt to rescue a Yeti that has been captured and taken King Kong style back to civilization by way of Kathmandu. The second adventure presents a race to hide the body of a famous deceased climber before it can be found and plundered by individuals who would like to take it from Nepal to make their names from the investigation of it (or, possibly, the novelty of it.) [You may or may not be aware that the bodies of most of the people who’ve died climbing Everest remain up there – often buried in snow and ice but, occasionally, exposed.] The penultimate story is about trying to save Shangri-La by stopping a road that is to be built too close to it for comfort. The final adventure imagines that there are ancient of tunnels under Nepal and centered in Kathmandu. In this story, the conflict between the old and modernity is brought to a head is a most challenging way by the fact that the threat to the secret, ancient tunnels is a badly needed sewer system for Kathmandu. While in the first three stories, the reader readily knows who to root for, in this last story, he or she is hung on the horns of a dilemma.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It’s humorous. The two Georges (though one conveniently goes by the name “Freds”) offer a classic odd couple dynamic. The stories and characters are quirky, but the book still manages to hang on to its theme and lessons. I’d highly recommend this book for those who like humorous adventure stories.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four novellas about the Nepalese adventures of George and Freds, a mountaineering tour guide and his stoner buddy who knows the secrets of Shambhala.

Escape from Kathmandu: George and Freds have to save a Yeti from being kidnapped by evil scientists looking to sell him to a corporation or something. Jimmy Carter gets involved. I first read it when it was collected in The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson.

Mother Goddess of the World: George and Freds team up with some Brits to scale Everest and stop an expedition from discovering the body of Mallory. But it turns out Freds has an ulterior motive, helping his tulku become a lama or something. There's a sleazy tv producer who works for PBS. Contains the requisite KSR hiking/mountaineering passage.

The True Nature of Shangri-La: Freds reveals that Shambhala is a crappy little bordertown full of sick children and Yeti, and George is enlisted to help save them from an encroaching highway. After being stymied by the bureaucracy, they stage mortar attacks on the Nepalese and Chinese army bases. To their surprise (!), it sparks an international incident.

The Kingdom Underground: George wants to help a development agency build a sewer in Kathmandu, but Freds reveals there is an ancient tunnel system under the city that can't be disturbed because it's being used by Shambhala's tibetan monks and Nepal's underground (get it?) democracy movement. Chaos ensues.

The first two novellas are disappointing. They rely way too much on a sense of humour that KSR just doesn't have. Case in point: Freds doesn't seem at all conniving enough, and the producer doesn't come off as believably sleazy. It's because KSR is a utopian, and so he has trouble channelling peoples' vices. The second two novellas are a major improvement, because he's found an idealistic mission for George and Freds, and he's better able to come up with credible obstacles for them. The downside is that he bumps up against real world politics, but he comes up with a really neat solution, suggesting that magical underground democratic movements seem imaginary and implausible, but they exist everywhere people strive for a better world.

[Daryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The half dozen or so books I've read by Kim Stanley Robinson have all been set in pretty interesting locales -- Mars, the moons of Jupiter, the edges of the solar system, Antarctica. This one takes place in Nepal, mostly in and around Kathmandu. It's four novellas, each one set shortly after the previous, and featuring the same major (and some minor) characters. I was a bit thrown by the third story, which is narrated by a different first-person narrator than the others. I had to keep reminding myself who the "I" in this case was. The book cover labels it "science fiction," though there's nothing very sci-fi about it. It's more fantasy, although it feels more like magical realism than fantasy to me. The first story is about the discovery of a living Yeti, and the second contains a surreptitious climb of Mount Everest, and the third centers around the village of Shambhala (Shangri-La) -- all very magical realist. I enjoyed this a bit less than most of the KSR books I've read, but he still maintains a high spot on my list of favorite SF/F writers.

[Emily Duchon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to the part where a researcher was comparing his penis size to a yetis and decided it wasn’t for me. Husband found it quirky and enjoyed it.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, charming story!

[reherrma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der passionierte Bergsteiger Kim Stanley Robinson legt mit diesem Episodenroman (4 Novellen) eine seinter homorvollsten Arbeiten vor. Ausgangspunkt des Buches ist ein Backpacker-Hotel in Kathmandu, in der die Helden der vier Novellen einige Briefe hinterlassen haben, die von unglaublichen Abenteuern erzählen.
Unter den vielen Träumern, Aussteigern und Idealisten finden sich auch die zwei Helden des Episodenromans: George Fergusson und Fred Fredericks, die sich als Trekking-Führer ihren Lebensunterhalt in Nepal verdienen.
In der grandios-verrückten Novelle "Flucht aus Katmandu" retten sie einen leibhaftigen Yeti davor, in einem Privatzoo als Versuchskaninchen zu enden, indem sie ihn als USA-Tourist, dem Jimmy Carter die Hand schüttelt (er ist das Felsgesicht auf dem Titelgemälde), ausgeben und außer Landes schmuggeln.

Sie besteigen den höchsten Berg der Erde, die "Mutter Göttin der Welt" (Chomolungma), um einem Tulku, der Reinkarnation eines früheren Lama, seinen Weg zu einem Guru aus eigenem Anrecht zu öffnen. Und so ganz nebenbei gelingt es ihnen noch, den legendären Engländer, der in den 20er Jahren bei einer Everest-Expedition tödlich verunglückte, vor einer letzten Ruhestätte in der Westminster Abbey zu bewahren. (Mallorys Leiche wurde 1999 tatsächlich am Everest entdeckt.)

Auf der Suche nach der "wahren Natur von Shangri-La" gelingt es dem Duo entgegen allen bürokratischen Widerständen, den Bau einer Straße nach Shangri-La, der verborgenen Stadt Tibets, der geheimen Hochburg des tibetanischen Buddhismus, zu verhindern.

Unsere Helden zetteln im "unterirdischen Könirgreich" bald einen Staatsstreich an, doch sie müssen erkennen, daß es zahlreiche unterirdische Regierungen auf der Welt gibt und daß sie uns vielleicht vor einem noch größeren Desaster bewahren, als wir eh schon in der Umwelt anrichten.

Der trockene Humor, witzige und spritzige Einfälle erheitern den Leser auf nahezu jeder Seite dieser vier Novellen. Robinson öffnet einem die Augen für eine Welt, die fernab für die meisten von uns, noch als Plätz für Träume dienen kann. Doch nach dem Desaster am Everest 1996, (Jon Krakauer berichtete in seinem Bestseller "In eisige Höhen" darüber) ist der Himalaya auch der Ort für Alpträume. Doch jeder Berg-Enthusiast, der etwas für Abenteuergarn übrig hat, sollte sich dieses Buch reinziehen...

[Googoogjoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much the black sheep of KSR's oeuvre. Robinson is best-known for writing dry, methodical hard science fiction novels which are heavily concerned with the future of humanity, climate change, the colonization of the solar system, history, memory, ideology, "utopian" and/or "dystopian" futures, and so forth. In radical contrast to this, Escape from Kathmandu is a lighthearted, comic low-fantasy romp about two American expats in (then-)contemporary Nepal. It's a fix-up of four short stories/novellas (the first two previously published, the third published concurrently, and the fourth exclusive to this novel), which gives it sort of an ephemeral, episodic air. The episodes escalate, and the characters develop, but they don't really quite form a unity, for better or worse.

Tonally it exists in an odd balance, between more fantastical elements that feel more related to Western perceptions of Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalayas than to native self-perceptions (eg Yetis, secret tunnels to Shambhala, etc), a sincere appreciation for and sympathy with the people and culture of Nepal, and an acute awareness of the contemporary political situation and Nepal's history (Nepal would undergo a transformation from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy only a year after this book was published). Retrospectively, he kind of over-romanticizes the Congress party and King Birendra, though that can be forgiven given the situation at the time. A character also describes the king's brother (Gyanendra) as a "wastrel," and argues it'd be disastrous were he to come to the throne, which turned out to be regrettably prophetic.

Very fun for all that.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

...The tone of this novel is rather light. Some passages are comical, especially later on in the book, when Freds wonders what disaster George is luring him into this time. That surprised me a little to be honest. Robinson's works are usually full of quite heavy scientific and sociological themes and while this novel doesn't lack that entirely, it is a much more relaxed read than the previous books he published. Robinson touches on a lot of sociological, religious and political issues in this book but where in most of his novels the characters are deeply involved in these issues, George and Freds pick more limited, immediately pressing causes. As such, it offers the readers more of a choice to about how much to invest in this book...

Full Random Comments review

[Adam Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book consists of a set of four novellas that share a set of characters and all set in Nepal. Written in the late 1980s it explores issues relating to the culture and politics of Nepal from the perspective of a couple of american expats.
The material is mostly very light-hearted. Quite comical and silly at times, and just mildly humorous at many points. Given that there are several story arcs following one after another the tension never gets very high. There are a few moments of excitement along the way but for the most part it all just feels like a bit of a lark. Pleasant reading but not particularly memorable.

SPOILERS:
I was a bit let down by how much of the book actually involved the Yeti. However, I did have a good time looking up photos of Everest and checking out the terrain features involved in the climbing adventure, which was my favorite part of the book.

[Leigh-ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really consider this book to be Science Fiction... it's more "Fantasy". Robinson has written 4 novellas (or long short stories), about "George" and "Freds", who become friends after meeting as tourists and climbers in the Himalayas. Together they look for a Yeti, look for the body of Mallory, try to save "Shangri-La", climb mountains, and almost overthrow the government of Nepal. The stories are inter-related, but could stand on their own. They book is quite humourous and fairly light reading... I have to assume this was one of Robinson's first books. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much without my long-standing interest in climbing and Everest, so your enjoyment may vary depending on what you like to read about.

[Isabel (kittiwake) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ex-pat American George Fergusson is staying in a Kathmandu hotel until it is time for him to lead his next trek. Inquisitively opening a letter addressed to someone with a similar name to him else that has been lying in the dead letter rack at his Kathmandu hotel for months leads him into adventure when the sender of the letter turns up at the hotel, desperately looking for his friend George Frederick. I have just listened to this novella on StarShipSofa. It is fun and exciting with a bit of suspense and a cool, calm and collected yeti. Recommended.

I must look for a copy of the book "Escape from Kathmandu", which also contains several novellas featuring the further adventures of George and Freds in Nepal as I am sure that they will be just as much fun to read.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't recall how I ended up buying this book, I think it may have been mentioned in another book I was reading late 2015. At any rate, reading the blurb it sounds like a bizarre book and a waste of time.

It is however, actually quite interesting and has many an imaginative scene. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Shangri-La and the tunnel systems, the tunnel rail chase also brought back memories of childhood novels & movies. All very pleasing.

The book has four sections, the first being the most fantastical about saving a Yeti from being exploited the latter three being of a more serious nature. There's also a pretty good description of a Mount Everest climb early on.

Worth a look if you come across it, don't be deterred by the outlandish blurb.

[Marco Santana]

Very interesting book! Kathmandu is a city full of magic, faith and present in the imagination of people from all continents. The capital of Nepal holds a precious cultural, historical and religious treasure. There are temples, sacred images, historic palaces, a very peculiar gastronomy and a diverse population in terms of customs, beliefs and physiognomies.
Kathmandu , the largest city in Nepal, is the country’s political and cultural capital, where Nepalese arrived from all corners of the country and were assimilated.
I would like to recommend this article, about this amazing city:
https://marcozero.blog.br/kathmandu-a...

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a best seller back along and it is in a lighter genre than the usual Nepal Guidebook. I read it while I was in Nepal on my third trip there. The author has a wonderful sense of the ridiculous and a great sense of humor.... but there are kernels of truth about the country m the customs, the culture and the people, which make this a really fun read for anybody contemplating travel to Nepal. In particular, the part where he describes the bureaucracy is maddeningly accurate. It's a loosely collected set of stories and lots of fun....

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Kim Stanley Robinson and have read almost everything he has ever written. The style I love is here but I found the theme a bit less interesting than his other stories. The apparent level of research and understanding in most of Kim Stanley Robinson's books is stunning but here things seemed fantastical. Part of the charm of The Mars Trilogy and other works is the dreaming and predictions about the future that are amazingly, logically consistent. In this book however, the imaginative additions went too far to feel well supported. That just takes the edge off of the story for me.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I want to like Kim Stanley Robinson more than I actually do. He fights the good fight for genre fiction, he is formidably intelligent, he writes with authority about this world of climbers and hippies bumming around Nepal. The commitment to craft is evident throughout. Unfortunately this fix-up collection features underdeveloped and/or unlikeable characters making absurd choices amidst increasingly absurd situations. The humor falls flat. The environmentalist message falls flat. Kim Stanley Robinson, why must you disappoint me so!

P.S.
Icehenge WAS great, though.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I borrowed this from a guesthouse in Nepal right before we arrived in Kathmandu to get an idea of the city we were heading to.

The characters are too boastful and dishonest to feel any compassion for, the scenarios are impossibly far-fetched (oh, you're hiding the abominable snowman in your room from Jimmy Carter's secret service? Right...), and the writing itself is nothing to get excited about.

[Chiyaa Pasal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple read. Enjoyable but also disappointing. Based on what I read about the story, I was expecting to be transported to Kathmandu. I was but only because I was able to fill in the images, sounds, tastes and feeling of being there based on memories from living in Nepal for two years. I wasn’t looking for a complicated story but was expecting something more immersive.

[Cissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this book. I've re-read it several times now, and it always makes me happy. The blend of the matter-of-fact with the mythical/legendary is seamlessly done, the humor is wonderful, and even though realistically I know I would not like Katmandu at all, it makes me long to go there!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting way to portray the Nepali government (or lack there of) from an American perspective, however, the outlandish situations that the characters get themselves into is what held my interest. A really fun read.

[Melody Rudenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read most of this collection on a long cold night holed up in a tent in one hell of a snow storm. Most of the short stories are full of light hearted jokes. I'd recommend taking this book with you on your next adventure. Especially if it's to somewhere cold.