Kirk Johnson

This is a tough book to review. It’s about motivation, what logic and emotional processes keep an endurance athlete going, and why would they ever start. The story is non-fiction, written from the perspective of an outsider who then gets bitten by his own curiosity. It’s not a shock and awe tall tale. Instead, it’s a level headed accounting of an arguably not so level headed endeavor. You don’t have to be an endurance freak to enjoy the read. However, if you’ve ever bargained with show more your own body, “just three more miles and I promise we’ll never do this again…” then you will relate with a smile. show less

A fascinating read. I read it cover to cover in less than a week. With an anti-atheletic background, after the death of his brother he somehow became enchanted with the prospect of running the most grueling ultra distance in the US. This book is his story. As a newspaper reporter, he already knows how to write. Thus he was able to enter the race even though he didn't have the usual qualifications.

Along the way he dropped hints of his "Mormon" background, but never did say much about it.
His show more brother Gary (or Greg) was the active LDS among his siblings.

There is quite a bit of philosophising, and there are also aspects that get scant coverage.

I had hoped to get Carol to read at least part of it so she might gain some understanding of
why guys do this sort of thing, but even though I read the first few pages aloud she didn't gain enough interest to have any desire to continue reading it. Actually, it seems to have had the
opposite of the effect that I expected. It seemed to cement her conviction that men are crazy, and
that her husband is a man, and thus in that group. show less

I've long been a fan of the art of Ray Troll who specializes in drawing realistic but whimsical representations of fish and prehistoric creatures. This book is written by Kirk Johnson, a paleontologist from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science who teams up with Troll for a fossil-gathering road trip through the Rocky Mountain states. Johnson does a good job of balancing the roles and importance of academic and museum work with commercial diggers and fossil collectors, showing respect and show more admiration of all. The journey detailed by Johnson visits many beautiful and awe-inspiring locations that are richly illustrated with Troll's art and photographs. It's a great book for anyone interested in paleontology, travelogue, and popular art. show less

Designed as if marketed to adults as a coffee-table book. Much too much fine print for me, personally, to read. (I only requested it to see the pictures and maybe find some tidbits of interesting info.)

A true treasure for dinosaur fans, amateur paleontologists, rockhounds, etc. age 5 up... the youngest can look at the pictures, interested older children will challenge & develop their reading skills, and adults will get a kick out of the gestalt.