Slight Disappointment
Customer Rating: 
Well, I must admit a slight "prejudice" regarding this book. I bought it because I've already read all the other books by Jon Krakauer (and loved every one a bunch!). But, this book is quite different from any other that Krakauer has been involved in. Right on the front cover it says "Photographs by Jon Krakauer Text by David Roberts" so I guess I shouldn't really have been all that surprised by the "difference." In fact, I have no choice but to believe that virtually everything that Jon Krakauer lays his hands on turns to gold somehow (this book is no different in this regard), since he absolutely has to be a severely super-experienced pro explorer, mountain climber, skier, paddler, writer and now, photographer, as well, judging from all he's written. If anything, he "under" emphasizes the feelings and emotions, at least, for those of us who've had at least a small taste of the miseries, dangers and pitfalls-- weather can play a big role-- that befall nearly every person who does these things. At some point, if your heart is in it at all, you'll get the crap scared out of you big time, unless you are completely out of your mind, either due to drugs, insanity or whatever. Krakauer is amazing at writing about all of this and more, but you'll find none of that in this book, at least none written by Krakauer. Nonetheless, as I said, Krakauer does anything and everything to perfection and with class, and in this book the text by David Roberts is nothing to boo-hoo at all. He is the equal of Krakauer in his own writing style and he tells great stories which are parts of the endless "sagas" that go on for centuries there, part of ordinary everyday life and culture for an Icelander, but a strange curiosity for foreigners from afar. Krakauer deferred to Roberts here most likely for a couple reasons; because he thought Roberts knew more and could write easier and with better results regarding Iceland, and he probably wanted to focus on developing yet another great natural talent of his own, photography, especially in such a surreal and amazingly different place that most peoples of the world aren't very familiar with. I'm guessing here, but the end results are superb. I know there are the little issues of content and various criticisms about whether they covered Iceland in a "balanced" and "informative" way, or whether the photos really represent the "true Iceland" that you'd see and experience should you take a "normal" vacation there (if there is such a thing). But those types of travel info books can be gotten by buying the title "Iceland" from any number of companies like Frommers or Fodors to many lesser known and more colorfully illustrated travel books that may or may not have as current of info as these well-known ones. I'm sure this is NOT the genre that Roberts and Krakauer had in mind when doing this book. Their book should be in that genre, too, but is very much more than that and I can definitely recommend it for anyone interested in Iceland, whether you have been there, are going there soon or maybe never will go there, but just want to know about the place. This title must be on your Iceland (or Jon Krakauer or David Roberts) list, whether short or long!
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