Baidarka: The Kayak

Rating:
Summary: An unlikely book, much-rejected, succeeds.
Review: After 11 years (and 7 printings) it is wonderful to see this book still in print. It has its flaws, and I would do much of it differently, but there's an enthusiasm that could never be recaptured, I think. A measure of that enthusiasm is conveyed by the fact that the book was, eventually, published, despite rejections like this one, received in 1982:"As to the manuscript, I'm afraid it's not for us and I doubt it could be for any other publisher. It seems to me an eclectic mix of travelogue, historical document, celebration and even 'how to' which falls between all markets without winning any. The economics of colour printing would also preclude doing anything so ambitious but that's another issue. What the book really needs is a much clearer and tighter editorial concept. . . . I don't find all of what you've got here makes an 'essential synthesis' but rather a document which seems unsure of what it wants to achieve. I hope these comments aren't too severe and that they don't depress you utterly. But no one is doing you any favour by suggesting that what is here is going to catch some publisher's enthusiasm."Miraculously, it did.

Rating:
Summary: Paddling through time ...
Review: George Dyson has written such diverse books as Baidarka, Darwin among the Machines and Project Orion. "Baidarka" with its wonderful photographs lets us look over George Dyson's shoulder.

Into history: Old sketches and lithographs show the "white man's" perception of the aleut kayak and kayaking life. Well chosen excerpts take you back in time.

At the "Dyson Baidarka": Information on materials and tantalizing scattered bits on how to build an ancient style kayak with space age materials. The Aleuts used the best possible materials, didn't they? A "how to" manual it is not, but it is essential if you want to build one. And if you build one you are rewarded with a sturdy, elegant boat.

At his own life: The he spent living in a tree house high up in a douglas fir :-) And of course ... he was building baidarkas. I love the images of the aluminum skin on frame boat in the tree house. By the way, many believe that George Dyson single-handedly revived the home-built kayak. "He who has a baidarka is rich" (Gavriil Davydov, 1804) - Thank you George, for making our lives so much richer.

Rating:
Summary: Paddling through time ...
Review: George Dyson has written such diverse books as Baidarka, Darwin among the Machines and Project Orion. "Baidarka" with its wonderful photographs lets us look over George Dyson's shoulder.

Into history: Old sketches and lithographs show the "white man's" perception of the aleut kayak and kayaking life. Well chosen excerpts take you back in time.

At the "Dyson Baidarka": Information on materials and tantalizing scattered bits on how to build an ancient style kayak with space age materials. The Aleuts used the best possible materials, didn't they? A "how to" manual it is not, but it is essential if you want to build one. And if you build one you are rewarded with a sturdy, elegant boat.

At his own life: The he spent living in a tree house high up in a douglas fir :-) And of course ... he was building baidarkas. I love the images of the aluminum skin on frame boat in the tree house. By the way, many believe that George Dyson single-handedly revived the home-built kayak. "He who has a baidarka is rich" (Gavriil Davydov, 1804) - Thank you George, for making our lives so much richer.

Rating:
Summary: A great follow-up to Starship and the Canoe
Review: It was so great to read the author's words directly after reading The Starship and the Canoe. Dyson has helped keep alive one of humankind's greatest vehicles in in its purest possible form. While singing the praises of the Aleuts, he doesn't fail to tip his hat to the other greats of boat building, the Polynesian trimaran and the Tlingit cedar canoe. You don't need to be a kayaker like myself to get something from this book.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, informative and fascinating book
Review: Many of us first became aware of George Dyson and his infatuation with the Baidarka on reading Kenneth Brower's "The Starship and the Canoe", published in the mid-1970s. This book, published about ten years later (after a long journey from one prospective publisher to another) is the fruition of Dyson's vision. It's a history of the baidarka, a history of Dyson's own baidarka building projects, and a basic how-to manual for building your own modern Dyson-style aluminum, nylon and hypalon baidarka capable of cruising open seas.

Even if you never plan to build a boat- or if you have no interest in paddling- this is still a stunningly beautiful and fascinating book.And if you've read "The Starship and the Canoe", you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Dyson's book, to really see what it was that had him so excited about baidarkas. Reading "Baidarka" will give you an entirely new perspective on George Dyson and his dream.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, interesting book
Review: This book looks like a coffee table book, but it is a lot more. It covers history of the Aleut kayak builders, documents the experiences of a free spirit, and demonstrates an innovative method for building a beautiful kayak. The pictures are interesting, beautiful and inspiring. I don't know how this book got published, it does not fit well into any one catagory.

Rating:
Summary: A somewhat scattered but appealing book
Review: This is an interesting book. It covers a lot of territory concerning Baidarkas, and is full of very nice photographs. The section on building a Baidarka is tantalizing, but also annoying, especially if one is trying to build one's own from Dyson's description. There is some amount of new-age touchy-feelie sentiment that gets in the way of the historical discourse. Would I reccomend it? If you are a kayaker, absolutely. Otherwise, probably not unless you are a rabid fan of things Aleutian,

Rating:
Summary: Recommended. If you like time travel. I do.
Review: Well, this book is the one I set aside when my brother gave me a pack of books to read. I didn't get the idea of aluminum baidarkas; so I read all that other stuff until there was nothing left but this book. Until then, Sea Kayaking still was no option for me. George Dyson got it started, as for so many others. I'm glad I got across his book, for all the good time I spent with his ideas. If you like living your dream, this book is for You.