What do you think?
Rate this book
BASE 66: A Story of Fear, Fun, and Freefall
BASE 66 is the true, nerve-wracking account of three young skydivers and their quest for membership in the most select extreme sports club on The BASE club. In order to become a full-fledged member, Jevto Dedijer, Bernard Poirier, and Scott Elder had to parachute from the top of a building, an antenna tower, a bridge and a cliff, and survive to tell the story-a feat only some 800 adrenaline addicted people have succeeded in doing.In BASE 66, Jevto Dedijer tells the tale of his hunger for the ultimate adrenaline rush. He and his companions shared several near death experiences while traveling across Europe with their parachutes and beer in Bernard's dented Renault 4.They were pioneers in a sport so dangerous that several of their fellow BASE jumpers died in action."BASE 66 is a fascinating story about life and death, terror and joy, and intimate friendship. It is an account of extraordinary people taking a step beyond the edge." Yuri Kuznetsov-BASE 416"Everyone will enjoy reading Jevto's thrilling and humorous tale of his fascinating BASE odyssey and his discovery of a way of life that surpasses artificial boundaries and provides lifelong inspiration." Jean Boenish-BASE 3
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2004
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Jevto Dedijer
7 booksJevto Dedijer (Serbian Cyrillic: Јевто Дедијер; 15 August 1880 - 24 December 1918) was a Bosnian Serb writer and geographer from the Maleševci clan who was influential in the formation of the Serb Academy. He was born to a peasant family in Čepelica (village), Bileća (municipality), Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was then a part of Austria-Hungary (although the region was still officially a part of the Ottoman Empire. As a high school student, he studied the villages under the instruction of Jovan Cvijić. He then taught high school in Mostar while studying at the University of Belgrade (then called the Belgrade Higher School) and at the University of Vienna, earning his doctorate at the latter institution in 1907.
He was employed at the National Museum in Sarajevo until the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 by Austria-Hungary, making the region an official part of the empire. He then became professor at the School of Theology in Belgrade and in 1910, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Belgrade.
During World War I, he emigrated to France and then to Switzerland. After the war, he moved to the State of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He died on 24 December 1918 in Sarajevo from the Spanish flu. He had three sons: Vladimir, who served as a Yugoslav partisan in World War II and became a biographer of Josip Broz Tito; Boro; and Stevan, a pioneer of business intelligence who also served in World War II but in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division.
He was employed at the National Museum in Sarajevo until the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 by Austria-Hungary, making the region an official part of the empire. He then became professor at the School of Theology in Belgrade and in 1910, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Belgrade.
During World War I, he emigrated to France and then to Switzerland. After the war, he moved to the State of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He died on 24 December 1918 in Sarajevo from the Spanish flu. He had three sons: Vladimir, who served as a Yugoslav partisan in World War II and became a biographer of Josip Broz Tito; Boro; and Stevan, a pioneer of business intelligence who also served in World War II but in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 24, 2015
Base 66 is the story of Jevto Dedijer, an adventure seeking Swedish youth, and his friends skydiving and “Base Jumping” throughout Europe.
As a high school senior, one of my biggest assignments this year is an ethnography. An ethnography is an unbiased study of a culture. This culture could be based on ethnicity, geographical location, hobby, religion, lifestyle, or anything else that is unique to one group of people. I am studying skydivers. Dedijer’s Base 66 helped me understand the skydiving culture by exposing me to the skydiving lexicon, the detailed planning that is conducted before a jump, and simply why these adrenaline junkies do what they do.
Base 66 is an easy read, and uses very little, if any, difficult language. At first I was unimpressed by the book because of the undescriptive sentences such as, “Of course, at first we thought he was joking. When we realized he was serious, all three of us became quite.” (page 3). After realizing that the author’s first language is Swedish, I was able to put aside the level of writing and enjoy the story. Jevto Dedijer’s purpose for writing Base 66 was to share the stories of adventure with his friends Scott and Bernard. This book inspires adventure solely by stating the death defying stunts performed by the three adventurers. To illustrate the danger of the activity, Dedijer writes, “One by one, we climbed over the railing. The ledge was only four inches wide and I hung on to the railing with one hand.” (page 38). This book was full of exciting stories and inspired me to live my life to the fullest.
As a high school senior, one of my biggest assignments this year is an ethnography. An ethnography is an unbiased study of a culture. This culture could be based on ethnicity, geographical location, hobby, religion, lifestyle, or anything else that is unique to one group of people. I am studying skydivers. Dedijer’s Base 66 helped me understand the skydiving culture by exposing me to the skydiving lexicon, the detailed planning that is conducted before a jump, and simply why these adrenaline junkies do what they do.
Base 66 is an easy read, and uses very little, if any, difficult language. At first I was unimpressed by the book because of the undescriptive sentences such as, “Of course, at first we thought he was joking. When we realized he was serious, all three of us became quite.” (page 3). After realizing that the author’s first language is Swedish, I was able to put aside the level of writing and enjoy the story. Jevto Dedijer’s purpose for writing Base 66 was to share the stories of adventure with his friends Scott and Bernard. This book inspires adventure solely by stating the death defying stunts performed by the three adventurers. To illustrate the danger of the activity, Dedijer writes, “One by one, we climbed over the railing. The ledge was only four inches wide and I hung on to the railing with one hand.” (page 38). This book was full of exciting stories and inspired me to live my life to the fullest.
Displaying 1 of 1 review