Into the Light: A Family's Epic Journey

Rating:
Summary: One of my three all time favorites
Review: I've just finished reading the Martin's "Into the Light" and I have to say it was a wonderful experience. The book is a page turner from the adventure standpoint, but on a higher level it talks about a wonderful philospophy of life from which all of us can learn and benefit. This is a book I will come back to again and again. I've got it on my personal favorite list, right up there with Peter Mathieson's "Snow Lepoard" and Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration Just When We Need It
Review: Just when I was about to give up on our "Dream" my wife gave me Into the Light for a birthday present. I started reading it on Friday, and could not put it down. For years my wife and I have talked about changing our life-style and doing something less hectic and more enriching. Lately I'd begun to think it would never happen - that we would never put together the necessary financial and career requirements. But the Dave and Jaja have opened my eyes to the possible, and what we need to make this happen. We are now energized towards getting out of the rut. Thank you Dave and Jaja for your inspiration and guidance

Rating:
Summary: An exciting new classic
Review: This book is a must-read for all dreamers, and for those who have lost the trail of their dreams. It's a classic. I feel lucky to have discovered this special book.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic reading
Review: This is the first sailing book that really beautifully combines adventure, travel-logue, family and humor all wrapped up in a simple, intelligent and creative narration. Dave Martin takes us truly on an epic journey, from Bermuda to Iceland, to Scotland and Norway, with countless stories of friendship and peril along the way. I laughed out loud probably 30 times reading this book, and felt tears welling up almost as many. I was a fan of Dave's ariticles in Cruising World while the Martins were circumnavigating, but this is much more mature. The book winds around and through your heart. I didn't want it to end. GREAT Book!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A big dose of adventure with a few drops of sanctimony.
Review: We all love adventure books: the power and challenge of wild, the beauty of nature, the personal tests of hardship, and the strength of the human spirit. All of this and more can be found in the Marin's saga. It makes for great reading. But pervading all of this adventure and beauty is a philosophy. For some, it appears, this philosophy is enlightening, uplifting and "enriching", speaking to our desires to be free from the pathos of our modern world. For me, this philosophy of rejection by the Martins comes across a little heavy-handed, with inverted narcissism (hey, look at us, look how simple and humbly we can live), a touch of hypocrisy (ooh, let's keep our children out those American schools in North Carolina, but wow, wouldn't it be culturally uplifting to enroll them in an Icelandic and a Norwegian school), and an air of superiority. OK, OK, I'm being overly critical. We all at times seek a simpler life and I too envy the Martin's freedom, spirit and sense of adventure and this really is an enjoyable book. But hey, let's not take ourselves too seriously here. I give Into the Light 4 stars: 4 or 5 for the great adventure, and 2 or 3 for the overdose of "Martinism".