What a Life

I enjoyed reading Gary Paulsen's books (Hatchet, The River, etc) when I was growing up, but they were never my favorites.  Many of my classmates (at that time) and students (today) LOVE these books and are desperate to get their hands on as many as possible.

But even these most dedicated fans don't know that the ideas for Hatchet and the rest of Paulsen's outdoor survival books came directly from Paulsen's own real-life experiences. Guts tells the true story of Paulsen's own life experiences.  He also includes how these experiences factored into writing the books.  So, for me, that made Guts fascinating on two levels, one his life is remarkable, and two, I got a sneak peak into how he crafts his stories.

Rather than try to summarize I would like to share two of my favorite quotes from the book.

"We  have grown away from knowledge, away from knowing what something is really like, toward knowing only what somebody else says it is like.  There seems to be a desire to ignore the truth in favor of drama."

[describing hunting using a bow and arrow] "There's a frustration index with arrows that you don't have with guns.  If a gun is aimed correctly and held steady and the trigger squeezed correctly, the bullet will almost always strike where it is pointed.  An arrow can be aimed correctly and held properly and released exactly right and still miss the target completely because of wind or a tiny branch sticking in the way or, apparently, just bad luck."

Real-life adventures...that's kids stuff