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< NovDec 2000
	Book and video Reviews
Book and Video Stocking Stuffers!

BOOKS
Adventure Kayaking: Trips in Glacier Bay, by Don Skillman, 800-443-7227, mail@wildernesspress.com
In Southeast Alaska, 60 miles west of Juneau, lies the magnificent camping and kayaking of Glacier Bay. In his new book, Adventure Kayaking, Trips In Glacier Bay, Don Skillman covers over 300 miles of trips in and around Glacier Bay National Park, mapping courses for beginning and advanced kayakers alike. Skillman describes a dozen trips that highlight major bays and inlets of the area, including maps, helpful tips for kayak camping and magnificent black and white photography. In Adventure Kayaking, Skillman emphasizes the beauty of the self-planned versus the guided trip, giving you the logistical information you’ll need (routing, mileage, camping, etc). as well as the inspiration to get out and do it.
--Phoebe Fulkerson

The Basic Essentials: Whitewater Kayaking, by Bill and Donna Jackson Kallner, 800-962-0973, www.globe-pequot.com.
Designed to introduce techniques and help students paddle safely and skillfully, this second edition covers the basics of choosing equipment, mastering strokes, rolling and bracing, eddy turns, and playing in rapids. The Kallners are professional paddling instructors who own a paddling school based on the Wolf River near White Lake, Wis. Kym Lutz, a kayaker, guide and employee of Bryson, N.C.’s Nantahala Outdoor Center, revised and updated this edition.

Little Trees, Big Sky, by Tim Hauf, www.timhaufphotografy.com
A beautiful coffee table book, Little Trees, Big Sky is a photographic exploration of Northern Manitoba. Photographer Tim Hauf alternates between the vast and the miniscule, focusing on the stark beauty of the open land and framing tiny flowers. The pictures are accompanied by the writing of Conger Beasley Jr. and the book is broken into sections detailing the different areas: Boreal Forest, Transition Zone, Tundra, Hudson Bay Lowlands and a final section on the people.

Playboating Moves and Training, by Eric Jackson, 800-732-3669, www.stackpolebooks.com
Following on the heels of his popular introductory book, Whitewater Paddling, Strokes and Concepts, Eric Jackson’s new book, Playboating, provides stop-action photos (taken by Skip Brown) and step-by-step instructions for paddle, body and boat movement for almost every rodeo move known today. And EJ offers better instruction than your paddling buddies will, providing a shorter path for those who don’t appreciate the joys of a well-irrigated nasal cavity. Playboating, the second in Stackpole’s Kayaking with Eric Jackson series, also includes comprehensive rodeo information including the WFK scoring for each move and a section of advice for creating a routine and competing. But EJ’s best advice is philosophical: he explains that getting new moves should not be a goal unto itself. “Approach this book with the idea that you can learn how to have even more fun on the river than you do now. This way you are guaranteed to be successful in the game of kayaking.”

Sea Kayaking, The Essential Guide to Equipment and Techniques, by Johan Loots, 800-732-3669
This big and beautiful, colorfully illustrated guidebook is one of the most extensive publications on the market covering all aspects of the sea kayaking world. From history and equipment to planning, packing and navigating, this book will take wannabe paddlers from know-nothings to knowledgeable weekend warriors. It includes advantages and disadvantages of different types of boats, as well as tips on sailing, wave skis and dealing with the elements. Also included is a detailed section in the back on world kayaking destinations like Central and South America, Asia and Australia. If you’re looking to give an informative book showcasing the beauty and allure of sea kayaking, this is the stocking stuffer for you.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area, by Robert Beymer, 800-443-7227, www.wildernesspress.com
This guidebook to the epicenter of American canoeing combines information on such topics as history, wildlife and permits with specific details about popular routes in the western region of the BWCA. Beymer includes helpful appendixes that break down each route by difficulty and duration. Also included is a map, a list of commercial canoe outfitters, and a lake index for fishing. With details spelled out clearly and concisely to over two dozen extensive routes in the Boundary Waters, lovers of this region will surely want to include this book in their paddling library.
--tb

VIDEOS
Classic Solo Canoeing, by Becky Mason and Paul Wing, 800-466-7631, www. kineticvideo.com
In Classic Solo Canoeing, Becky Mason takes you to her favorite places in her red cedar canvas canoe, profiling her paddling strokes clearly and concisely with many different camera angles above and below the waterline. She includes tips on safety, portaging, maintenance and equipment selection and shares with viewers her love for the land and water she quietly travels across. Complementing all of this is Ian Tamblyn’s extraordinary music score and the spectacular scenery and wildlife of the Gatineau Hills of Quebec.

Wicked Liquid II, 1000 Cunning Stunts, by Alex Nicks and Steve Fisher, Green Room Productions, 530-644-7535 or 877-766-4757
For the second season in a row, Alex Nicks and Steve Fisher have rounded up some of the best big water talent on earth to hit huge South African hair. Eric Jackson, Deb Pinniger and Brad Ludden, among others, are seen hucking huge on the monstrous White Nile, as well as the Zambezi--the river immortalized in 1999’s Wicked Liquid. Once again, it is the largeness of the water and smallness of the boats that make this flick sick.
--tb

Breakthru!, by Kent Ford, Performance Video, 888-259-5805, www.performancevideo.com
Aimed at intermediate to advanced playboaters, Breakthru! creates a game plan for paddlers to develop skills for precision river running and playboating. Starring three-time Olympian and World Cup champion Scott Shipley, Breakthru! offers a full hour of awesome paddling footage and instruction, including more than 50 drills for kayaking strokework. From years as a coach on the U.S. Slalom Team, and a veteran of over 350 rivers in 27 countries, producer Kent Ford is accustomed to explaining high-end paddling technique. Director and Videographer John Davis has worked in educational video creation for almost 20 years. He is also an avid outdoorsman, capable of capturing the nuances of the sport.

Play Daze, by Ken Whiting and Chris Emerick, Heliconia Press, 613-256-7300, www.playboat.com
Playboating is all the rage these days, but despite how easy the pros make it look learning the moves takes time, dedication, proper technique and a flood of freestyle trial and error. Former World Rodeo Champion Ken Whiting’s instructional video, Play Daze, provides all that and more, taking paddlers from front surfing to kickflips and all points in between. Play Daze won the prestigious “Professional Instruction/Safety” class award at this year’s National Paddling Film Festival in Kentucky. It provides rodeo instruction for all levels of playboaters, starting with the basics of front surfing and balance, before moving on to advanced techniques. Play Daze offers the chance to learn from some of the best playboating instructors in the world.
--Nate Johnson

Twitch 2000, by Eric Link, Videolink Productions, 509-548-9048, www.vdolink.com
Twitch 2000, the second from producer Eric Link, is laced with 10 first descents from Washington to Canada to the Dominican Republic. In addition to Tao Berman’s world record drop in Canada’s Banff National Park, it features such paddlers as Shannon Carrol, Sam Drevo and Christian Knight, swapping ends and having big-water fun. Theme music for the film is provided by some of the Northwest’s hottest bands and the combination of these ingredients will have you aching to hit the water.
--Ryan Windsor

Tight Squeeze, by Horizon Line Productions, 805-495-6554, www.videoactionsports.com
Though an exciting “chick flick,” this movie could hold its own against many of the mixed gender paddling films. It will keep female paddlers on the edge of their seats and make guys drool in the process. Shedding much needed light on the growing population of female paddlers, Tight Squeeze combines history with informative dialog and lots of whitewater--a must see for anyone interested in the world of these incredible whitewater women.
--Zach Currier

Colorado Coolade, by MCG Productions, 888-225-3399
If you like death-grunge music, prison scenes and kick-ass Colorado play- and hairboating, Colorado Coolade, featuring the antics of Charlie Beavers, Shane Benedict, Dan Delavergne, Dan Gavere and others, is your cup of tea. With footage as varied as Crested Butte to the World Championships in New Zealand, the video shows a new genre of paddler ripping it up on some of the world’s best waterways. As a nod to token feminism-bashing, it even fades to gratuitous scenes of a bikini-clad woman hitchhiking, with the video’s stars driving by in shuttle vehicles. After all, they’ve got more important things to do--like go boating.

Full Circle, by Search Productions, 877-766-4757
From acrobatics better reserved for waterskiers to African wildlife footage that would make Mutual of Omaha proud, Full Circle chronicles a year-in-the-life of filmmaker Chris Emerick and his kayaking cronies as they make their way from the Zambezi to New Zealand and Norway to the Northwest. The waterfall antics of Dagger’s Jay Kincaid alone make it worth its price in vertebra compressions, and the freestyle footage will make you want to swap your remote control for a kayak. It’ll also make you want to dust off your passport, grab your paddle and head out for the unknown, until you, too, come full circle all the way home.