Title: My Outdoor Life
Author: Ray Mears
Published: 2013, Hodder & Staughton
Pages: 370
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Rating: 3/5
Ray Mears is a household name through his many television series, including Bushcraft Survival, The Real Heroes of Telemark, Tracks, World of Survival, and many more. He is a private individual who shuns publicity whenever possible and would prefer to let his many skills tell their own tale - until now. In My Outdoor Life, Ray tells of his childhood and the formative years when he first developed a passion for both bushcraft and the martial arts skills that are central to his life. Having traveled the world several times over, he is no stranger to risk and had had more than his fair share of dangerous and life-threatening encounters to share with his readers. But his life is so much more than a tale of derring-do. Shortly after he returned to England having narrowly survived a serious helicopter crash, his father died. Just a year later, he had to face the death of his first wife, Rachel. The book conveys the many sides of Ray Mears, taking us up to the present day - including the previously untold story of his involvement in the manhunt for murderer Raoul Moat. My Outdoor Life gives us all the chance to share a life story as rich and inspirational as a walk in the woods with the man himself, Ray Mears.
Author: Ray Mears
Published: 2013, Hodder & Staughton
Pages: 370
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Rating: 3/5
Ray Mears is a household name through his many television series, including Bushcraft Survival, The Real Heroes of Telemark, Tracks, World of Survival, and many more. He is a private individual who shuns publicity whenever possible and would prefer to let his many skills tell their own tale - until now. In My Outdoor Life, Ray tells of his childhood and the formative years when he first developed a passion for both bushcraft and the martial arts skills that are central to his life. Having traveled the world several times over, he is no stranger to risk and had had more than his fair share of dangerous and life-threatening encounters to share with his readers. But his life is so much more than a tale of derring-do. Shortly after he returned to England having narrowly survived a serious helicopter crash, his father died. Just a year later, he had to face the death of his first wife, Rachel. The book conveys the many sides of Ray Mears, taking us up to the present day - including the previously untold story of his involvement in the manhunt for murderer Raoul Moat. My Outdoor Life gives us all the chance to share a life story as rich and inspirational as a walk in the woods with the man himself, Ray Mears.
My Outdoor Life is the autobiography of the British bushcraft and survival expert Ray Mears. Ray tells his story of how he became interested in the outdoors and bushcraft from an early age and mainly focuses on his TV career through the 90s and early 00s.
Although Ray Mears isn't the best writer, he tells his story in a way that kept me hooked, especially with his involvement in the Raoul Moat manhunt. He's had an amazing career and has done so much more than I thought he had. I didn't expect to cry whilst reading this, but the way he writes of his father and first wife had me close to tears.
My Outdoor Life is also easy to follow. It doesn't jump around to different points of Ray's life but tells his story in chronological order. Ray also focuses a lot on the idea that he is always learning and, although considered an expert in his field, he has an awareness of his capabilities.
There were a few comments made that didn't quite sit well with me. Just older man saying back in my day things. Such as "Youngsters don't read anymore." I mean really! Bit of a generalisation and I'm sure there is plenty of his own generation that don't go near books.
Overall, I enjoyed, learning more about Ray Mears' life and it has made me want to watch a few more of his earlier documentaries. I bought this book at an event he did in a local city and he's an amazing storyteller verbally too. I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of Ray Mears shows.
Feel free to leave a comment.
Feel free to leave a comment.
Nice review. This sounds like an interesting and inspirational book. I agree with your comment about the author stating "Youngsters don't read anymore." I also disagree with that. I'm of an older generation, and there are pleny of people my age who don't read. Also, I could argue that today's younger generation read a lot more than we did as they are constantly reading content on the internet and social media. I know we didn't really have YA books in my younger years and that genre is huge now too. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It is a very inspirational book. Just makes you want to get into the outdoors and I'm very much an indoor person! That's exactly my thoughts! There just seems to be far more choice for reading materials these days than even 10-15 years ago. I know a lot more people these days who read in their spare time.
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