The Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Issue 9. September 2001

BOOK REVIEWS   'The Wilderness World of Cameron McNeish, Essays from beyond the Black Stump' By Cameron McNeish Published by The In Pinn, Neil Wilson Publishing, Glasgow. ISBN 1-903238-30-7; 250 pages buy a copy The one thing that shines through anything that Cameron McNeish writes about the mountains is the depth of his love for wild places. In his excellent foreword to this book Chris Smith says that there can be no better guide than Cameron. In forty two chapters he takes us on a series of journeys of discovery, not just to the physical beauty or drama of the landscape but on the effects wild places have on us, emotional, philosophical and mystical. He visits the best bits of Scotland, finds magic in some outwardly unimpressive lower hills, and adds in a sprinkling of stunning landscapes in Spain, The Alps, The Himalayas, and North America. Like The Prophet John Muir he finds enlightenment in the Range of Light, the Incomparable Sierra Nevada of California. Ironically, Muir arrived there as a shepherd, saw the destruction his flock caused to the environment, walked, climbed, and pondered, and started the movement to protect these areas for future generations. Faced with these same destructive forces in our own land, where we are still tiptoeing into National Parks, Cameron gets wellied in with robust views and bold solutions. As well as introducing us to the land, we get to meet the other writers and thinkers who have informed Cameron's perspective, among them Seton Gordon, Bill Murray, Adam Watson, and Jim Crumley. And then there is Ray Jardine, the American stravaiger, whose minimalist approach is a challenge to all us gear freaks searching for those extra gadgets without which we cannot possibly think of crossing the threshold. There is an invaluable bibliography for those who want to explore further, in the hills or within themselves. As soon as you lift up this book, you will want to put it down again, boot up, shoulder a sack, and get back out on the hill. Read it! John Donohoe Back to Newsletter index

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