Starred review from August 16, 2004
Dedicated kayakers have long had their hearts set on the Tsangpo River, which cuts a gorge through Tibet many times deeper and steeper than the Grand Canyon; successfully navigating it is akin to snowboarding down Everest. The last major expedition of the 1990s ended when one of the kayakers drowned in the raging currents, but in 2002 a group led by adventure filmmaker Scott Lindgren, one of the extreme sport's most prominent heroes, gave it another shot. Heller was assigned to cover the expedition for Outside
and, despite having completely worn out the cartilage in one hip, he decided to go for it. The story takes him to one of the most beautiful spots on the planet, still almost entirely untouched, but also subjects him to the ugliest aspects of human nature. Heller is unflinchingly honest about the hostility he faced from Lindgren and his companions, who openly attack the journalist for "getting rich" from their story, as well as the resentment that begins to well inside him at their condescension. Meanwhile, the locals hired to carry the equipment realize they have the upper hand and start extorting more money for their services. The drama on shore, however, is easily matched—sometimes surpassed—by the action on the river, which includes a few chilling brushes with death. Heller nimbly blends the history of the region into his gripping modern trek, as the crew lives up to the legacy of the great explorers before them. An offhand remark made to the paddlers early in the journey—that their story could be the kayaking equivalent of Into Thin Air
—has come true in the best possible way. Agent, Kathy Robbins.
February 7, 2005
To Buddhists, Tibet's Tsangpo Gorge is a sacred place—drinking one drop of its water is said to free you from rebirth as a lower life form. It was the inspiration for Shangri-La in the novel-turned-movie Lost Horizon
and, to kayakers, it is one of the sport's last remaining holy grails: "three times deeper and eight times steeper than the Grand Canyon," it's the deepest river gorge in the world. Heller, a writer for Outside
magazine, was tapped in January 2002 to accompany a team of kayakers who were giving the Gorge another try, led by filmmaker Scott Lindgren, who would later turn the experience into a movie (Into the Tsangpo Gorge
). Narrator Lawlor does a competent job presenting the ensemble cast; the seven men in the expedition each comes across in his own voice, and Lawlor's vocal dexterity is particularly impressive in the book's most thrilling sequence, a knife-point encounter with thieving locals. The mix isn't all that it could be, though. Lawlor's voice is thin in places and, at over 10 hours, the audio is too long and packed with too much detail for the casual listener. Adventure buffs, however, will savor the expansive, epic journey Heller and Lawler re-create here. Simultaneous release with the Rodale hardcover
(Forecasts, Aug. 16, 2004).