The Urban Adventure Handbook

Rating:
Summary: Where to get the book
Review: This book is great. For those of us who like interesting/odd actvities, this is THE book. It provides basic and advanced methods for scaleing buildings, exploring steam/drainage tunnels, and other urban activites. Espcially nice is that the book includes sections about what to wear, equipment, and how to deal with people who think your nuts. It's thanks to this book that Urban Exploration and the Infiltartion zine came into existence. Even though it is 10 years old, the book is still very relivent to today. This book is a must... Oh, and sorry for my rampent misspelling.

Rating:
Summary: Woh....this book rocks!
Review: This book is great. For those of us who like interesting/odd actvities, this is THE book. It provides basic and advanced methods for scaleing buildings, exploring steam/drainage tunnels, and other urban activites. Espcially nice is that the book includes sections about what to wear, equipment, and how to deal with people who think your nuts. It's thanks to this book that Urban Exploration and the Infiltartion zine came into existence. Even though it is 10 years old, the book is still very relivent to today. This book is a must... Oh, and sorry for my rampent misspelling.

Rating:
Summary: Where are the other life-changing books like this one?
Review: This IS the book for Urban Adventure. And Yes, it did start a movement, or more properly, collesced a movement of people who were already exploring abandoned buildings, subway tunnels, storm and steam dreains, and labyrithian basement complexes. This is the grandfather of all of the great sites ont he Web today that deal with Urban Exploration and Infiltration.

Strangely, when I interviewed North for an article years ago, he wasn't hung up on urban exploration, per se. He was a real outdoorsy guy who prefered the mountains to the city, climbing a rock face to a building face. For him Urban Adventure was something that provided surrogate outdoor pleasure when he didn't have the time to get away to the wilds.

Urban adventure, as Alan North says, "will change the way you see your urban environment. The structured, asphalt-and-concrete, developed world will become your wilderness playground." North wrote the book on it, The Urban Adventure Handbook (Ten-Speed Press, 1990), the definitive urban adventure "how-to" manual.

An old brick building becomes a cliff face to scale. The clogged rush-hour streets become rapids to navigate on two wheels. A grim steel and glass office building turns into a fortress to penetrate with cunning and stealth. The city sewers are a labyrinth to explore.

Why risk life and limb for adventure? North says it's a "genetic imperative. People want to push. They strive for what's new and exciting. And there is nothing like an adrenaline rush."

"I won't say urban adventure is the greatest thing," North says. "I'd much rather be climbing in the Sierra or hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I think it's a great thing because it's available."

"There's nothing wrong with spending money for adventure," North says. "It's one of the best investments I can think of. But you don't need to spend the money. You don't need any special tools or shoes or anything. With urban bicycling, for instance, just any old bike will work. One speeds work fine."

It doesn't take much to have an adventure. A good pair of tennis shoes, a flashlight sometimes. A map might help. What else? "Just an attitude," North says. "All you need is a creative view toward the sculpture that is all around you, a few free hours and the will to be an adventurer."

Rating:
Summary: Where are the other life-changing books like this one?
Review: This IS the book for Urban Adventure. And Yes, it did start a movement, or more properly, collesced a movement of people who were already exploring abandoned buildings, subway tunnels, storm and steam dreains, and labyrithian basement complexes. This is the grandfather of all of the great sites ont he Web today that deal with Urban Exploration and Infiltration.

Strangely, when I interviewed North for an article years ago, he wasn't hung up on urban exploration, per se. He was a real outdoorsy guy who prefered the mountains to the city, climbing a rock face to a building face. For him Urban Adventure was something that provided surrogate outdoor pleasure when he didn't have the time to get away to the wilds.

Urban adventure, as Alan North says, "will change the way you see your urban environment. The structured, asphalt-and-concrete, developed world will become your wilderness playground." North wrote the book on it, The Urban Adventure Handbook (Ten-Speed Press, 1990), the definitive urban adventure "how-to" manual.

An old brick building becomes a cliff face to scale. The clogged rush-hour streets become rapids to navigate on two wheels. A grim steel and glass office building turns into a fortress to penetrate with cunning and stealth. The city sewers are a labyrinth to explore.

Why risk life and limb for adventure? North says it's a "genetic imperative. People want to push. They strive for what's new and exciting. And there is nothing like an adrenaline rush."

"I won't say urban adventure is the greatest thing," North says. "I'd much rather be climbing in the Sierra or hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I think it's a great thing because it's available."

"There's nothing wrong with spending money for adventure," North says. "It's one of the best investments I can think of. But you don't need to spend the money. You don't need any special tools or shoes or anything. With urban bicycling, for instance, just any old bike will work. One speeds work fine."

It doesn't take much to have an adventure. A good pair of tennis shoes, a flashlight sometimes. A map might help. What else? "Just an attitude," North says. "All you need is a creative view toward the sculpture that is all around you, a few free hours and the will to be an adventurer."

Rating:
Summary: Where to get the book
Review: You can get this great book from the Booksource in St. Louis, Mo.