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Surviving Extremes: Ice, Jungle, Sand and Swamp
The intrepid Oxford don, explorer and author of Going to Extremes is back, and he’s set himself a challenge to cope with the worst that nature can throw at him in Surviving Extremes. Travelling to four of the most extreme natural environments: swamps, deserts, jungles and arctic wastelands, the question is, can he pick up enough tips from the indigenous people to hack it at the very edge of human existence, or will his mid latitude sensibilities forever let him down? This is Nick’s account of how he had to put his body and mind to the test in a unique survival experiment.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2004
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About the author
Nick Middleton
38 books28 followersNick Middleton is a British physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification.
Nick Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 50 countries. Going to Extremes is a television programme for Channel 4 about extreme lifestyles, in which Middleton experiences life in the hostile conditions other cultures must endure. He has appeared on BBC 2's Through the Keyhole.
Nick Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 50 countries. Going to Extremes is a television programme for Channel 4 about extreme lifestyles, in which Middleton experiences life in the hostile conditions other cultures must endure. He has appeared on BBC 2's Through the Keyhole.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 30, 2018
The premise of the book is very promising -- wandering to four of the world's most extreme places "where the habitats are so hostile to humans that survival requires a lifestyle completely in tune with Nature's rhythms". But after patiently plodding through the chapters on Greenland plus a more casual perusal of the succeeding sections on the Congo, Niger, and Papua, the potential falls flat on its face, the promise largely unfulfilled.
The lapses in grammar and typographical errors can be forgiven. Ditto the rather inelegant writing (rather shoddy in many places). It is the "pretend" adventurer/traveler attitude/behavior of the author, Nick Middleton, that is the book's undoing.
In the chapters on Greenland, Middleton claims to want to experience the age-old tradition of narwhal hunting with the Innuits. However, he didn't hide his glee on the hunting group not finding one ("The hunters were returning disappointed but my hunt for the narwhal had ended in a strange case of satisfaction... I was pleased that this time the hunters' stealth had failed to catch the gentle giants of the icy sea.") which I find strange. If he didn't want blood and killing, he shouldn't even contemplate this adventure at all.
Middleton also has this irritating propensity for whining and complaining -- the inadequacy of his hotel room curtains to shield him from the midnight sun, the sewage problem of Qaanaaaq, the vomit-inducing quality of a local stuffed seal delicacy, the fierceness of the "gnashing" sled dogs -- he ends up unconvincing as a seasoned traveler. He seems to come across as a great plotter of interesting storylines but a pretentious participant in adventures, more interested in the acquisition of bragging/boasting rights.
"An enchanted world of make believe, it made the Grand Canyon look like a drainage ditch and reduced Ayers Rock to the status of a carbuncle," he writes describing Greenland, sounding pretentious and pompous. I knew something was wrong as soon as I read this early on but I plodded on and tried giving the book a chance to grow on me. It didn't.
"Greenland is a misnomer. It's not green at all... The only green thing I saw during my month-long stay was a beer can made by Carlsberg" he writes in chapter three. Oh wow, what a feeble attempt at humor/sarcasm.
He also comes across as inept and unprepared: "I hadn't been expecting it but seal hunting turned out to be a very tiring business" he said after joining a seal hunter in a hunt. I thought, duh dude, did you really expect it to be a walk in the park?
"I'd get bored with the number of times I'd waded across a river and either walked on with boots sloshing full of water..." he writes about foraging and hunting in a jungle -- an adventurer easily bored and forever whining, a drama queen pretending to go on an epic adventure.
Middleton writes at length about his kayaking lessons, revealing his amateurish side in describing a kayak, "Although I'd read that despite its size and apparently flimsy construction, the kayak is among the most sturdy and seaworthy vessels available".
For someone who professes a want/need to experience hunting narwhals, Middleton appears to be squeamish, easy to puke -- after eating a narwhal liver, after finding his boots stuck in muck in Siorapauk, after trying to eat termites in the marketplace in the Congo.
His guide in the swamps, Jack, summed up the whole point that Middleton missed -- "you have to suffer a bit of hardship to explore one of the last great wilderness areas of the planet." For a pretend-adventurer/squeamish drama queen who loves to whine, I guess this is too much to ask for.
Lastly, the blurb on the cover said "Geography's answer to Indiana Jones". I had to laugh long and hard about that one. What a joke. Middleton, who's wary of learning how to kayak in a waist-deep pond is no Indy, not by any stretch of the imagination. He's either Curly, Larry or Moe but only half-as-funny.
Would have given this book a big, flat zero score if I could.
The lapses in grammar and typographical errors can be forgiven. Ditto the rather inelegant writing (rather shoddy in many places). It is the "pretend" adventurer/traveler attitude/behavior of the author, Nick Middleton, that is the book's undoing.
In the chapters on Greenland, Middleton claims to want to experience the age-old tradition of narwhal hunting with the Innuits. However, he didn't hide his glee on the hunting group not finding one ("The hunters were returning disappointed but my hunt for the narwhal had ended in a strange case of satisfaction... I was pleased that this time the hunters' stealth had failed to catch the gentle giants of the icy sea.") which I find strange. If he didn't want blood and killing, he shouldn't even contemplate this adventure at all.
Middleton also has this irritating propensity for whining and complaining -- the inadequacy of his hotel room curtains to shield him from the midnight sun, the sewage problem of Qaanaaaq, the vomit-inducing quality of a local stuffed seal delicacy, the fierceness of the "gnashing" sled dogs -- he ends up unconvincing as a seasoned traveler. He seems to come across as a great plotter of interesting storylines but a pretentious participant in adventures, more interested in the acquisition of bragging/boasting rights.
"An enchanted world of make believe, it made the Grand Canyon look like a drainage ditch and reduced Ayers Rock to the status of a carbuncle," he writes describing Greenland, sounding pretentious and pompous. I knew something was wrong as soon as I read this early on but I plodded on and tried giving the book a chance to grow on me. It didn't.
"Greenland is a misnomer. It's not green at all... The only green thing I saw during my month-long stay was a beer can made by Carlsberg" he writes in chapter three. Oh wow, what a feeble attempt at humor/sarcasm.
He also comes across as inept and unprepared: "I hadn't been expecting it but seal hunting turned out to be a very tiring business" he said after joining a seal hunter in a hunt. I thought, duh dude, did you really expect it to be a walk in the park?
"I'd get bored with the number of times I'd waded across a river and either walked on with boots sloshing full of water..." he writes about foraging and hunting in a jungle -- an adventurer easily bored and forever whining, a drama queen pretending to go on an epic adventure.
Middleton writes at length about his kayaking lessons, revealing his amateurish side in describing a kayak, "Although I'd read that despite its size and apparently flimsy construction, the kayak is among the most sturdy and seaworthy vessels available".
For someone who professes a want/need to experience hunting narwhals, Middleton appears to be squeamish, easy to puke -- after eating a narwhal liver, after finding his boots stuck in muck in Siorapauk, after trying to eat termites in the marketplace in the Congo.
His guide in the swamps, Jack, summed up the whole point that Middleton missed -- "you have to suffer a bit of hardship to explore one of the last great wilderness areas of the planet." For a pretend-adventurer/squeamish drama queen who loves to whine, I guess this is too much to ask for.
Lastly, the blurb on the cover said "Geography's answer to Indiana Jones". I had to laugh long and hard about that one. What a joke. Middleton, who's wary of learning how to kayak in a waist-deep pond is no Indy, not by any stretch of the imagination. He's either Curly, Larry or Moe but only half-as-funny.
Would have given this book a big, flat zero score if I could.
December 2, 2018
Both his books "going to extremes" and "surviving extremes", could easily be curriculum for every abled reader entering teens; light, vivid, short and accessible, as well as for adults.
It might give a greater understanding of the world and spread kindness all around, no matter how you conduct your life with equal respect and admiration.
For me it is nice once in a while to stroll across meadows of letters, though I am not sure what I prefer; it could be that challenging texts give me more.
Anyway a fantastic entry to the world of humanity and history. Quite fitting that Jimmy Nelson is currently touring with his amazing images of us.
It might give a greater understanding of the world and spread kindness all around, no matter how you conduct your life with equal respect and admiration.
For me it is nice once in a while to stroll across meadows of letters, though I am not sure what I prefer; it could be that challenging texts give me more.
Anyway a fantastic entry to the world of humanity and history. Quite fitting that Jimmy Nelson is currently touring with his amazing images of us.
December 5, 2011
An interesting if flawed travelogue. Perhaps it would be better titled "Visiting Extremes" as author Nick Middleton rolls up at four extreme parts of the world, with apparently little preparation, and tries to get the locals to train up enough to take part in one of their signature events.
He's curiously reluctant to do do much though - with plans to go on a Narwhal hunt in Greenland with the Inuits, he takes some training in kayaking, but refuses to learn to do an Eskimo Roll. And he turns up his nose at almost every food offered, to the extent of almost ruining a Pygmy hunt in the Congo by stinking the place up with sardines (though to be fair, I fully agree with his reluctance to eat the seal stuffed with puffins and left to rot).
Another oddity is that this book accompanies a TV series, but, other than in the acknowledgements, there's no mention of a film crew on his journeys. The is most apparent on his trek through the desert, when Middleton has to decide whether to stay separate from the all-female Tubu caravan because his male translator - who, as a non-relative, non-foreigner, cannot sleep too near - or share their camp for the night.
That aside, there's still a lot of interest here, and it's worth a read.
He's curiously reluctant to do do much though - with plans to go on a Narwhal hunt in Greenland with the Inuits, he takes some training in kayaking, but refuses to learn to do an Eskimo Roll. And he turns up his nose at almost every food offered, to the extent of almost ruining a Pygmy hunt in the Congo by stinking the place up with sardines (though to be fair, I fully agree with his reluctance to eat the seal stuffed with puffins and left to rot).
Another oddity is that this book accompanies a TV series, but, other than in the acknowledgements, there's no mention of a film crew on his journeys. The is most apparent on his trek through the desert, when Middleton has to decide whether to stay separate from the all-female Tubu caravan because his male translator - who, as a non-relative, non-foreigner, cannot sleep too near - or share their camp for the night.
That aside, there's still a lot of interest here, and it's worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews