From Publishers Weekly
Outside 's wide-open definition of its subject leaves great opportunity for diversity of material and expression. Sometimes this anthology succeeds in exploiting that opportunity, and sometimes it fails. Women are generally absent from these articles, and only two of the 40 pieces are even authored by women. The volume's subjects--people, home, nature and travel--are defined so broadly that David Roberts's heartwrenching story about losing friends in rock-climbing accidents is followed by Bob Shacochis's self-deprecating account of climbing Mount Ararat with the lungs of a smoker. Some of these highly personal tales manage to be both sensitive and funny, such as the story of Peter Nelson, who, revisiting the Boy Scout camp of his youth, wonders whether MTV has "sounded Nature's death knell" then learns soon after that his scoutmaster has died of a heart attack at 47. Others rely heavily on ironic understatement, like Bill Vaughn, who "sails" on the railroad tracks of Montana and whose reaction to an oncoming freight train is "Bummer." Although some of these are one-joke articles that go on too long, most will broaden an armchair traveler's horizons. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Inside, the best of the first fifteen years of Outside Cartwheeling down a Himalayan river. Climbing America's unfriendliest mountain. Dousing fires in the oil fields of Kuwait. Chasing African killer bees. For twenty years, Outside magazine has devoted itself to original and engaging reports on travel, adventure, sports, and the environment. This collection of the best of the stories from the first fifteen years features many of the country's finest writers, in a single volume: EDWARD ABBEY RICK BASS JOHN BRANT CHIP BROWN BILL BRYSON TIN CAHILL E. JEAN CARROLL PHIL GARLINGTON JIM HARRISON DONALD KATZ WILLIAM KITTREDGE JON KRAKAUER BARRY LOPEZ THOMAS MCGUANE BILL MCKIBBEN MICHAEL MCRAE PETER MATTHIESSEN PETER NELSON GEOFFREY NORMAN DAVID QUAMMEN BOB REISS DAVID ROBERTS ROB SCHULTHEIS BOB SHACOCHIS LAURENCE SHAMES GRANT SINS ANNICK SMITH RICK TELANDER BILL VAUGHN CRAIG VETTER RANDY WAYNE WHITE ED ZUCKERMAN Whether you're an armchair adventurer or a true-life trekker, you'll be at once entranced and exhilarated as you go Out of the Noösphere.

About the Author
Edward Abbey, staunch defender of the Southwest's desert wilderness and a contributor to Outside for several years, wrote The Monkey Wrench Gang, Desert Solitaire, Fire On The Mountain, Abbey's Road, and The Fool's Progress, among other books and novels. Hayduke Lives!, a sequel to The Monkey Wrench Gang, was published posthumously in 1990.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Inside, the best of the first fifteen years of Outside

Cartwheeling down a Himalayan river.
Climbing America's unfriendliest mountain.
Dousing fires in the oil fields of Kuwait.
Chasing African killer bees.

For twenty years, Outside magazine has devoted itself to original and engaging reports on travel, adventure, sports, and the environment. This collection of the best of the stories from the first fifteen years features many of the country's finest writers, in a single volume: Edward Abbey Rick Bass John Brant Chip Brown Bill Bryson Tim Cahill E. Jean Carroll Phil Garlington Jim Harrison Donald Katz William Kittredge Jon Krakauer Barry Lopez Thomas McGuane Bill McKibben Michael McRae Peter Matthiessen Peter Nelson Geoffrey Norman David Quammen Bob Reiss David Roberts Rob Sschultheis Bob Shacochis Laurence Shames Grant Sins Annick Smith Rick Telander Bill Vaughn Craig Vetter Randy Wayne White Ed Zuckerman