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131st out of 249 books
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144 voters
Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty/ Wilderness Journals Combination Edition
Everett Ruess--a bold teenage adventurer, artist, and writer--tramped around the Sierra Nevada, the California coast, and the desert wilderness of the Southwest between 1930 and 1934. At the age of 20, he mysteriously vanished into the barren Utah desert. Ruess has become an icon for modern-day adventurers and seekers. His search for ultimate beauty and adventure is chroni...more
Hardcover, 448 pages
Published
June 17th 2002
by Gibbs Smith
(first published September 1st 1973)
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I reread W. L. Rusho's Everett Ruess: Vagabond for Beauty , the letters of Ruess and the story of the various searches for him after he disappeared in 1934. This book is one of my favorites and even prompted, many years ago, a hike down into Davis Gulch to follow Ruess' last trail (as it turns out, he was miles away on the other side of the Colorado when he was murdered). His writings about and passion for the canyon country remain a testament to the strong feelings this country evokes.
Jun 26, 2007
desertmolly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who sees poerty in nature
Shelves:
favorites
This book was/is almost too good to be true...I found a reference to it while reading Krakauer's Into the Wild. "In the mid-Depression year of 1934, Everett Ruess disappeared. His last known camp was in the Escalante River region of southern Utah, a place of bare rock, vertical cliffs, plunging canyons, and soaring mesas." Most of the book is made up of letters he wrote to his freinds and family, while pursuing his dream of oneness with nature. This guy wasn't even 18 when he decided to buy a bu...more
I picked up "Into the Wild" thinking that Christopher McCandless might have something in common with Everett Ruess, the subject of this book. The two couldn't be more different. McCandless and his journey both lack sincerity and commitment and as a result his death was more pathetic than poetic or tragic. Ruess, on the other hand was a graceful genius and an artist who really meant it. He was driven by some kind of spiritual pursuit deeper than I can even comprehend. The kid vanished in the dese...more
As I was reading Into the Wild, I kept thinking how much Chris McCandless' story reminded me of this biography about Everett Ruess. No surprise when Into the Wild had a whole chapter about that very same comparison. I loved this story, especially reading all the letters Everett wrote during his time traveling around the Southwest in the 1930's. Both books truly touched some part of me that yearns to leave all the trappings of our consumerist society behind. I thought anyone who read this would u...more
Unbeknownst to you, the teenager you pass on the street may be an artist, a writer and the main character in a great adventure. And... there are others who feel the Utah's red-rock desert is so beautiful that it almost kills a sensitive person who immerses himself in it.
There's a song Nat King Cole made popular called "Nature Boy." This is that boy. Ever since reading this book, he's haunted me. An artist, a truly free spirit, at one with nature, he disappeared into the wild never to be seen again. His story is often seen as tragic. I see magic in it. I imagine him always in wonder, never dying, always young at heart. This is a book to hold close, to read and reread. In it you might a way to live a life unfettered by convention, or raddled by possessions, or to...more
The letter between Everett & Christopher Ruess. Everett asks questions and his father reply back in a letter.
1. Is service the true end of life? No, but rather happiness through service. Only as we play our part, as a part of the whole, aware of the interrelationedness, do we really and fully live. You and I are like the right hand or the right eye or the big toe-we are grotesque when living apart.
2. Can a strong mind maintain independence and strength if it is not rooted in material indepen...more
1. Is service the true end of life? No, but rather happiness through service. Only as we play our part, as a part of the whole, aware of the interrelationedness, do we really and fully live. You and I are like the right hand or the right eye or the big toe-we are grotesque when living apart.
2. Can a strong mind maintain independence and strength if it is not rooted in material indepen...more
This is exciting I may actually finally have an opinion about a book!
I have a respect for Everett, but also a slight disrespect. His "life" as he called it, consisted of spending months at a time in the wild, at the mercy of the good people around him. He would meet people in the wild, and get invited to meals. Or trade paintings for meals or try working for food. He would also get money from Home, 15 dollars allowance here and there. He lived for months at a time in the national forest, or the...more
I have a respect for Everett, but also a slight disrespect. His "life" as he called it, consisted of spending months at a time in the wild, at the mercy of the good people around him. He would meet people in the wild, and get invited to meals. Or trade paintings for meals or try working for food. He would also get money from Home, 15 dollars allowance here and there. He lived for months at a time in the national forest, or the...more
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love it.everett ruess was giant amoung midgets.he had a thought process we cannot comprehend to this day
it was amazing to me how educated he was.often i could not believe a teenager was writting such beautiful things about what he wittenessed and thought.he seemed mature beyond his years.at times you get the impression he was an old man looking back on his youth(but wasn't).r.i.p. everett (maybe someday i too, can witness a small portion of the sandstond world you have known and loved).........
it was amazing to me how educated he was.often i could not believe a teenager was writting such beautiful things about what he wittenessed and thought.he seemed mature beyond his years.at times you get the impression he was an old man looking back on his youth(but wasn't).r.i.p. everett (maybe someday i too, can witness a small portion of the sandstond world you have known and loved).........
I just recently learned about Everett Ruess and how he liked to wander the desert for months on end while he wrote and painted. I really enjoy accounts of lives such as his, one who breaks away from normal life and pursues truth in the wild. I found this collection of his letters fascinating. They really provide a window into who he was and what he loved.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys such tales as that of Christopher McCandless.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys such tales as that of Christopher McCandless.
Don't know if there's anyone I associate with more than this cat. Everett was the pioneer back in the early 1900's who set the tone for the adventurer in all of us. He's the reason Chris McCandless ever set out to Alaska in, "Into The Wild" - A brilliant philosopher, an amazing writer, a great poet, a wonderful human being, an explorer, adventurer, and seeker of life, truth and happiness.
I really wanted to read this book. I had it sent in from a lending library and was so excited to get it. It is mostly comprised of diary entries and they are interesting, but many are very, very similar. It's an interesting story and I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't as riviting as I hoped it would be.
Through this combined volume of letters and personal journal entries, the last few years of Everett Ruess's life http://www.everettruess.net/ is partially revealed. Ruess was a dreamer who reveled in nature, travel, and being outdoors. He was also an artist, writer and adventurer who spent much of his latter teenage years exploring the Sierra Nevada region of California and the desert wilderness of the Southwest. He often traveled alone. In November 1934, the twenty year-old Ruess left Escalante...more
The recounting of the life & mystery of Everett Ruess....artist, vagabond, wishful thinker. Chris McCandless before there was Chris McCandless
Perhaps my alltime favorite book, a great tale of an adventurer going out and putting together a trip most of us can only dream about.
11/3/09--New update reversing the new findings reported in April on Everett's disappearance. Go to www.startribune.com/nation/65337832.h...
LOVERS OF EVERETT RUESS, TAKE NOTE: If you have read this book, part of the mystery has been solved regarding his dissappearance. For details go to http://adventure.nationalgeographic.c...
Be careful--if you haven't finished the book, you may not want to check out this news story.
Must read. Great biography, travelogue and story of a budding conservationist.
LOVERS OF EVERETT RUESS, TAKE NOTE: If you have read this book, part of the mystery has been solved regarding his dissappearance. For details go to http://adventure.nationalgeographic.c...
Be careful--if you haven't finished the book, you may not want to check out this news story.
Must read. Great biography, travelogue and story of a budding conservationist.
A Fred Dale Lending Library Book
Absolutely incredible book.
Really interesting to "go to the source" and read about Everett from his own lips after reading all the other stuff about him (Edward Abbey, Jon Krakauer, Mark Taylor, etc.) --- I hope that Rusho is still around to issue an "afterword" with his take on the discovery of Everett's body in the ridge above Comb Wash ... worth the read if you're an Everett fan...
In the 1930s, Everett Ruess disappeared at the age of twenty-one while hiking somewhere in the wilds of southern Utah. Prior to his disappearance, he had studied with Edward Weston, Maynard Dixon and Dorothea Lange and had traded prints with Ansel Adams. He wrote letters home to his parents during his wandering years. His body has never been found.
Nov 09, 2007
Christi
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
outdoors
This is such a fantastic book. Not only is it amazing because it tells the story of Everett Ruess's short life but it includes different essays and quotes. Ruess had a talent for writing and if he had lived longer would have been famous for it I believe. Great story.
an intriguing figure,with a glimpse of the the early 1920s and 30s. if you think you would enjoy reading about the travels of a young intelligent man, exploring the wilderness, this is a great book for you.
Everett was a great writer for his age and education. His story is interesting. I didn't, however, like just reading his letters. I wish that there was more to the book.
Just a fantastic first-person look into the life of a true wanderer. Reading Everett's letters was a joy. I would like to have known him.
Add this book to your essential desert rat book collection....
Mar 23, 2008
Gretchen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Gretchen by:
David
Excellent & so inspirational we named one of our sons after him.
for anyone with a roaming spirit
Unfortunately, we don't know how it ends.
A little-known gem.
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“While I am alive, I intend to live. (Everett Ruess to his friend Bill, Mar 9, 1931, p 31)”
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6 people liked it
“Du fragst, wann ich meinen nächsten Abstecher in die zivilisierte Welt machen werde. Nun, ich glaube nicht, dass dies sehr bald sein wird. Ich bin der Wildnis noch lange nicht überdrüssig, genieße vielmehr ihre Schönheit und das Wanderleben, das ich führe, mit jedem neuen Tag mehr. Ich sitze tausendmal lieber im Sattel als in der Trambahn, und auf ein Dach über dem Kopf verzichte ich gern, wenn ich nur unter einem besternten Himmel sitzen darf; der einsame, unwegsame Trail, der mich an einen unbekannten Ort führt, reizt mich mehr als jeder asphaltierte Highway, und auch bin ich lieber vom tiefen Frieden der Wildnis umgeben als von der Unzufriedenheit, die in den Städten herrscht. Kannst du es mir verübeln, wenn ich bleibe, wo ich m ich heimisch fühle, wo ich eins bin mit der Welt um mich herum? Es ist wahr, mir fehlt zuweilen der gute Freund, das geistreiche Gespräch. Doch es gibt kaum jemanden, mit dem ich mich über die Erlebnisse, die mir soviel bedeuten, austauschen könnte. Ich habe daher längst gelernt, darauf verzichten. Es reicht mir vollkommen, von Schönheit umgeben zu sein…
Auch wenn du’s mir nur flüchtig geschildert hast, weiß ich, dass ich den Trott und die Eintönigkeit des Lebens, das du zu führen gezwungen bist, nicht einen Tag aushalten könnte. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, meinem Wanderleben jemals abzuschwören. Ich bin zu tief in die Geheimnisse des Lebens vorgedrungen und würde so ziemlich alles einer Rückkehr ins Leben der Mittelmäßigkeit vorziehen.”
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1 person liked it
More quotes…
Auch wenn du’s mir nur flüchtig geschildert hast, weiß ich, dass ich den Trott und die Eintönigkeit des Lebens, das du zu führen gezwungen bist, nicht einen Tag aushalten könnte. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, meinem Wanderleben jemals abzuschwören. Ich bin zu tief in die Geheimnisse des Lebens vorgedrungen und würde so ziemlich alles einer Rückkehr ins Leben der Mittelmäßigkeit vorziehen.”
Jun 09, 2009 11:53am