[meteorite-list] Re: Meteorite Hunter by Roy A. Gallant - Is it Worth Buying ????

From: Notkin <geoking_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Aug 26 00:57:31 2005
Message-ID: <E55EBFDE-15ED-11DA-B5F2-000393593854_at_notkin.net>

Paul posted:

> I was browsing through the books that Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers
> had for sale and came
> across "Meteorite Hunter: the Search for Siberian Meteorite Craters .
> . . Is this book worth buying for 5.95 dollars?


Dear Paul:

A bargain at twice the price.

This is a terrific book by a great gentleman adventurer, author, and
astronomer. Roy's meteorite articles go back to the very first issue of
"Meteorite" magazine. We discussed his book some months back, here on
the M-List and I am attaching my post made at that time. I hope you
find it helpful. Apologies to those who read this first time around.


********************


Dear Listees:

Since we were on the topic, and since the August, 2002 issue of
"Meteorite" is long out-of-print, I pulled the review of "Meteorite
Hunter" from my archives and post it here for those who might not be
familiar with the book. It's a great read, especially the adventures at
Sikhote-Alin, Chinga, and Tunguska, and is pretty easy to get hold of.

Geoff N.


*********************


Meteorite Hunter: The Search for Siberian Meteorite Craters
Roy A. Gallant
McGraw-Hill London
2002, 237 pp. ISBN 0-07-137224-5

?
Veteran "Meteorite" magazine readers will already be familiar with the
  work of author, astronomer, and adventurer Roy A. Gallant ? often
  described as ?The Indiana Jones of Astronomy.? A frequent contributor
  since the magazine?s inception, Roy?s account of his journey to
  Tunguska was the cover story for the very first issue in 1995. With
  back issues of the magazine now largely out-of-print and sought-after
  by collectors, Roy?s latest book: "Meteorite Hunter: The Search for
  Siberian Meteorite Craters," is a welcome arrival. Its eight chapters
  consist, in large part, of expanded versions of Roy?s previously
  published articles.

A consummate writer/adventurer, Roy ranges across the magnificent
  expanse of Siberia, examining vast impact craters and forgotten strewn
  fields, pulling iron meteorites out of freezing mountain streams, and
  peppering it all with his observations of, and commentary upon, the
  land, its people, and its history. I was lucky enough to participate in
  Roy?s 1999 expedition to the Pogigai crater in Siberia (recounted in
  Chapter 6), and observed his enthusiasm and relentless energy first
  hand ? two traits with which his writing is infused.

The colorful characters who accompany Roy on his missions: Chief of
  Staff and translator Katya Rossovskaya, and eminent Russian astronomer
  and meteorite hunter Valentin Tsvetkov, for example, are well
  described. Along with them, we encounter a cavalcade of wandering
  geologists, Russian soldiers, hardened farmers and loggers eking out a
  living on the Tundra, nomadic Tungus who still relate folk tales of the
  1908 explosion, a voracious dog named Bill Clinton, and the Mayor of
  Kulcheck who is astonished by the arrival of an American in ?his
  territory? ? the first such visitor in living memory.

Roy works details of rural life into the stories, but also finds time
  to comment upon Chekhov, Pliny, physicist Ernst Chladni, and where to
  get the best deal on red caviar. However, it?s in the descriptions of
  the actual hunt that the book really shines. During arduous forays to
  Chinge, Sikhote-Alin, Tsarev, and other sites, a combination of good
  research, luck, and perseverance pays off with some impressive
  meteorite finds, but harsh weather, wild animals, and rough terrain
  must be dealt with, as well as other unexpected encounters:

?
? ?This has to be the end of the world,? I say to Katya as I climb down
  onto our damp oasis. ?I want to see the tiger,? she says peering
  through the trees. Moments later we are greeted by a Russian man and
  woman who are startled to see us. The night before, Alexander told us
  that a party of seven meteorite ?pirates? was at the site
  [Sikhote-Alin] and had been there for three weeks. The woman cook
  quickly begins banging on an anvil that resounds through the forest.
  One by one, the other ?pirates? appear and eye us silently and
  suspiciously. They are dressed mostly in military garb, and each
  carries a heavy and cumbersome metal detector.?

?
A discussion of advances in the understanding of strewn fields ?
  through the work of Krinov and Tsvetkov at Sikhote-Alin ? will be of
  interest to the specialist, while an introduction to the main types of
  meteorites is illuminating for the casual reader. Fellow adventurers,
  as well as those who prefer the comfort of their homes to the buzz of
  angry Siberian mosquitoes, will enjoy this fine addition to both the
  literature of meteorite history, and adventure travel.

?
Geoffrey Notkin

This article is ? 2002 by Meteorite Magazine and Pallasite Press, New
Zealand
Received on Fri 26 Aug 2005 12:57:26 AM PDT


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