Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Rendered

As always, Tim Cahill does an excellent job of turning all of his adventures into a fun time for the readers!

Tim Cahill is one of those lovely everyman travellers, he is an observer, a victim, a traveller, and a very good writer of it all. This, a collection of his essays for various magazines but mostly Outside, is a nice mixture of some of his journeys. This is quite a nice way to read travel sometimes and I think it works well for Cahill - you can just read one or two bits, or miss the stuff you don't want to read. Great for travelling with a book like this, bus rides, train rides etc can be easily chapterised. Not all of what he writes is funny, or meant to be. The thing I like most about his writing is that he is prepared to be the butt of his own humour when it is appropriate. I also like him as an observer of what is around him - for instance in Family Values in the Raw he talks about his visit to the Dani People and about the missionarys there - they grow "70 different types of potatoes, each tastier than the last" and to the Missionary opining they were going to satan, he observes that in fact they seem to have good family values, they certainly don't stand around on street corners drinking and yelling "hubba, hubba" at passing women. This is a really mixed bag of stories and situations - from people to places to groups - even to the North Pole - "the easy way" Anything by Tim Cahill is a definite must read in my book - and this a great place to start if you haven't read him before.

No butterworms, but plenty of reasons why not to live in Honduras, the joys of watching the international spear fishing competition (similar to watching the grass grow) and how to work the crowd of hostile natives (laugh a lot).Tim Cahill is an unabashed delight. If I had to go all or any of these places, he's my pick of a companion. Funny, quirky, compassionate and I suspect a lot more competent than he lets on. An added bonus is his lyrical writing; his descriptions are magic. His analysis of bringing stone age people into the age of technology is thoughtful, insightful and all empathy.In the essay, "On the River of Cold Fire" I have never read a better description of a totally cold, wet miserable journey. All the times, we have said "If I ever get out of here---" are summed up in this article.I've decided I will forgive him for accusing Emily Dickinson of over-editing and even his titles. It is so difficult to tell your loved ones you want "A Jaguar Ripped My Flesh" or "A Wolverine is Eating My Leg" for your birthday. But be firm. Insist these are what you really want.

How could anyone not like a chapter referring to Yogurt Riders? Tim Cahill's style is frank, entertaining and informal.As with most of his other books, Tim has gone out and done a lot of interesting traveling. He's always willing to write about embarrassing himself if need be, and I doubt he embellishes much if at all. _Butterworms_ is a collection of stories of these sorts of travels, and is well worth your time and money.A special note: Cahill books make superb gifts in my experience--anyone interested in new things and places tends to like them.

I've been a big fan of Tim Cahill for as long as he has been compiling his articles into books. Years ago, he was fending off sharks armed only with a nail-tipped broomstick or avoiding the bite of poisonous sea snakes while drunken diving (sic) or evading mysterious armed intruders among the ruins of Peru's mountains. At least, that is what I was particularly drawn to as a testosterone-charged adolescent growing into adulthood. Back then, his spectacular piece, "The Shame of Escobilla," had less appeal for me because it was missing the feats of derring-do that I thought I read Tim Cahill for. Mr. Cahill is mellowing out with age, and it suits me perfectly. His stories still have the twisted humor that has always been a hallmark of Tim Cahill. But there is a lot more of the "why" around different cultures and different species. I find myself putting the book down often and wanting to share what I just read with someone else, rather than quickly getting to the next story to see what that wacky Tim is going to do next. And I find that I am enjoying it. My only complaint is that Tim Cahill does so much travelling around that he doesn't do enough writing. I wish he would publish a book every year instead of every three. Either that or begin to take me on his travels.