Breaking Wild

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets is a story of wilderness, search and rescue, and not giving up.

Amy Raye Latour is hunting elk. She is with two friends in the Colorado wilderness. In late November, rifle season is open, but she prefers to hunt with a bow. First thing in the morning, she leaves with the truck for a day of solitude and stalking.

When she does not return to camp, her friends report her missing. She is off any marked trail, possibly lost or hurt.

Ranger Pru Hathaway of the BLM is an archaeological law enforcement officer, tasked with protecting sites from looting and vandalism. She and her dog spend a lot of time hiking the back country and are both trained in search and rescue.

Alternating chapters between Amy and Pru, this tale of the wilds tells of both women's love for the outdoors, the backgrounds that lead them there and the strength it takes to be alone in the wilderness. This is both a thriller and the story of two lives. A great read. If you are an Anna Pigeon by Nevada Barr fan, this is for you.

Les Becquets, Diane. (2016). Breaking Wild. New York: Berkley.

Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering

Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering by Maurice Isserman is the history of mankind trying to conquer nature. From a man in the first colonies on North America through the present, this history tells of the reasons, the technical advances and the exploration of the higher altitudes.

When a man in the Massachusetts Bay colony wanted to walk up a mountain, the native guides he hired would not join him in the land they believed belonged to the evil spirits. His fellow colonists thought him very odd. He was the first man to climb up Mt Washington, then called Agiocochook.

Filled with familiar names in history, Isserman has written a wonderful book of exploration, covering walking, hiking and climbing. If you are a hiker, this is your favorite book! If not, you will want to ge out in nature when you are done reading. Look for names like John Muir, Annie Peck, John C Fremont, Yvon Chouinard and more.

Isserman, Maurice. (2016). Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering. New York: W W Norton & Co.

A Bookshop in Berlin

A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis by Francoise Frenkel. A true story kept in journals and published years ago, given a second life by Stephanie Smee's English translation.

Francoise Frenkel fell in love with the French language. She notices that there are many French speaking people in Berlin, but there is no place to buy books in French. After many forms and explanitions to government oficals, La Masion du Livre opened in 1921. As Germany changes, Frenkel faces more paperwork and harassment as a foreign, Jewish shop owner.

This incredible tale of keeping one step ahead of the Nazis as she makes her way to safety is the real life story that makes fictional accounts pale. With the help of strangers, family and friends all can be overcome.

Frenkel, Francoise. (2017). A Bookshop in Berlin. New York: Atria Books

The Wild Inside

The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo is a mystery in which the detective learns as much about himself as the case.

Ted Systead is a special agent with the National Parks system. He is a detective that comes in to help out when the local rangers need it.

It has been twenty years since he has set foot in Glacier National Park. As the age of fourteen, Ted was camping when they were attached by a grizzly. His father a killed.

Now a case that looks like a bear attach has his back at Glacier. Not only will he need to solve the case of who tied a man to a tree where he was eaten by a bear, but deal with the memories of his childhood trauma.

Carbo has written a psychological thriller for the main character, embedded into a mystery in a beautiful setting. It is as much a story of man against nature as it is a mystery. This is the first book in her Glacier Mystery series.

Carbo, Christine. (2015). The Wild Inside. New York: Atria.