Reviews Round-Up: Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams

Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams, the story of my hike on the Pacific Northwest Trail continues to receive good reviews. There have now been ten of these, which I hope will encourage those of you who haven't yet read the book to give it a try.

Here are the latest two reviews plus a round-up of earlier ones.

America's Library Journal says "Townsend makes every word count. Readers interested in the Pacific Northwest and wilderness backpacking will enjoy the combination of nature writing and practical advice."

Geoff Gafford has reviewed the book on his Litehiker blog and in the autumn issue of Backpack, the Journal of the Backpacker's Club. Geoff says "he writes well and manages to make this far more than the "I got up early ..." type of account and my interest was sustained throughout .......... I enjoyed this book. It is well written and an engrossing read. It made me want to be on the next flight across the Atlantic!".


Previously in The Seattle Times  a short review mentioned 'the gorgeous color photographs included on nearly every page' while on Amazon.com Frank R. Ward, who reviews many hiking and outdoor books, posted an interesting review entitled A Good Scottish Effort at an American Art Form in which he writes 'if you take some time with this book, you too can vicariously enjoy Townsend's experience. His was a hike worth sharing'.

Over on Hiking in Finland Hendrik Morkel says "such a good read that I had a hard time to put Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams down" and "an easy read, well written and has fantastic photos".

On the My Outdoors website the reviewer writes "Grizzly Bears and Razor Clams reveals his real and total love of the wilderness .... if you like a good story there's plenty to keep your attention and if you like something with a message you'll find more than a touch of John Muir in the author's love for and feelings about the wilderness world".

Popular outdoor blogger Andy Howell on his must be this way blog says "Chris captures beautifully the relationship that a walker develops with the land that he or she is hiking through ...........Chris’ insights into the plight of the natural environment can be quite profound but never are they preaching.......an easy and entertaining read about a wonderful trip".

On another popular outdoor blog, Blogpacking Light, Robin writes "good travel writers have a knack of transporting you into their journey, making you feel like you are participating in their adventure. Chris does this well with pithy descriptions of landscape, flora, fauna and his own feelings and emotions."


One of the first reviews came from the creator of the Pacific Northwest Trail himself, Ron Strickland, who writes on his blog "Paging through Chris’s beautiful pictures is a pure delight .... his writing’s magical moments will ensure that I return to Grizzly Bears And Razor Clams for years to come

Finally, Tony Hobbs writes on Amazon  " we were allowed into Chris's mind in this book and it was a quite wonderful experience .... It is hard to fault the book, so I won't even bother trying. It was wonderful. Simply the best!"