Staff Pick for the week of 8/1/2008

Mountain Rescue Doctor by Christopher Van Tilburg

I read Into the Wild. I saw the movie. Personally, I think the kid did okay. He survived solo in Alaska for three months. Christopher Van Tilburg, a mountain rescue doctor, relates many instances of people who couldn’t survive an afternoon in the wild.

Van Tilburg loved the outdoors—skiing, hiking, snowboarding, just being out in nature. But, he also had a desire to help people. During medical school he basically created the concept of mountain rescue doctor—a person with medical expertise as well as the backcountry know-how to reach patients (they don’t call them victims anymore) in remote areas.

Into his book, Dr. Van Tilburg packs a lot of history about ski patrols, wilderness areas, and the Crag Rats—volunteers who drop everything to rescue individuals and sometimes animals; a lot of adventure about climbing, rafting, and racing against time; and a lot of good information about how to travel in the wilderness, even for a day, without requiring the Crag Rats’ services (I wish I’d taken notes).

So, read it for the excitement. Read it to find out if Van Tilburg’s long-suffering wife stays with him. And read it to avoid becoming a victim. Oops, I mean a patient. And, PS, those GPS things don’t always work.

-Connie W., Seaside Library Staff Member

Book Awards: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Alternative

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