Only Kayak: A Journey Into the Heart of Alaska

Kim Heacox has outdone himself. This book is funny, sad, erudite, and beautifully written, and an important contribution to Alaska literature. It's a rarity--a book that manages to convey an important environmental message without sliding into self-absorbed intellectualism. Heacox does it all this time around. His voice is relaxed and the prose beautifuly crafted, and the landscape of Glacier Bay, present and past, lives and breathes around the reader. There's plenty of food for thought about the effects of industrial tourism, but Heacox manages not to preach--at least, not any more than he (as an insider who knows and loves Glacier Bay) should. As a student of Alaska literature and a professional writer, I'm grateful for this book.

I've followed the fascinating career of writer/photographer/wildlife biologist, conservationist/raconteur/guitarist/singer/teacher/humanist Kim Heacox for several decades now, and I've been as enchanted by the force of his personality as I have been moved by his artistic achievement, astonished at the depth of his knowledge, and informed by his profound ability and desire to communicate what he himself has assimilated in the course of his extraordinary life. I've marveled at what he's written in the past--his brilliant non-fiction works include Alaska Light, In Denali, etc., etc.--and by the photographic vision exhibited in those books as well, but I was positively swept off my feet by The Only Kayak. His latest book, a memoir of sorts, is a literary masterpiece with messages and lessons for all of us, and in addition to the wonderful humor that pervades its pages, it reads as poetically and as poignantly as the the fictional works of the great novelist, Wallace Stegner. Read it, it's a marvelous book. Dave Finkelstein (Author--Greater Nowheres: Wanderings Across the Outback) New York City

Here is a work, not unlike the writings of John Muir, that leads us to an understanding of "place" and how it affects people for the better. Too much of the importance of the value of wild lands and how they affect people for the best is lost in the political rants over buzzwords such as "Wilderness," and the "environment," and "ecology." In this beautiful, lyric, often funny and sometimes sad, book the author bares his soul so that we can all see how the wonders of our country's natural lands can affect us all. Political rants which this book may engender, especially from those who have no connection to the landscape except as a place to grow wine grapes, are missing the entire point. Without people like Muir, Brower, Carter, and Heacox, our country would be one giant paved over box store parking lot dotted with derelict oil derricks. Without these voices we could call our wonderful republic,"Saudi America." Thank God for Mr. Heacox.

An elegant page turner. As the narrative progresses it evokes Rick Bass, in its unabashed love of wilderness and its lyrical, page-turning quality. Still, the comparison falls short, because Heacox's voice is so entirely original. The whole narrative is so damned Buddist. Heacox's embrace of his enemies. The inevitabiity of the earth. And the humble acceptance of all things. I laughed out loud too. At the author, recalling an attempted meeting with Gail Norton. Or at his conversations with a paddling partner. And at the cruiseship entertainment director, who will learn no more about Heacox than, say, the award-winning writer and editor and book reviewer, Bill Marsano. This praise wouldn't be valid without saying what didn't work for me: the busy clamshell designs on the bottom of the page are unnecessary. "The End" was too. And the lack of an ad page showing Heacox's previous book titles-which I had to look up on the internet. But this is mere quibbling with the publisher rather than the author. And the final epilogue, paddling through ice in Bartlett Cove is powerful and brought an entirely new and unexpected image and experience to mind. I salute Heacox for his bravery in giving all the knothead politicians and park service its comeuppance. Mark my words: here is a writer whose words resonate of eternity.

This book is about Kim Heacox's love for Alaska Glacier Bay and the people living there. His love affair with the Glacier starts with his kayaking trip with his friend Richard, later with his wife Melanie and lifelong friend Michio. From his book, I see great beauty in glaciers in Alaska, so majestic and beautiful, you hope it will preserved for generations to come. Kim reminds us that it takes great restrain to leave a place such beautiful untouched and admired from afar. His lifelong friendships with Michio, Richard and Hank are what most people are searching for most of their lifes in vain. Their friendships are like the glaciers, retreating and advancing. Friends going in their seperate path, yet they meet and have sense of closeness that feel like they never seperated. Reading Kim's book makes me feel like I have kayaked into Alaska Glacier, photographed with Michio, fighted to keep Alaska a wilderness refuge. This book is philosophical, beautiful and great read for anyone who believes in conserving, preserving the beauty in wilderness. And I believe everybody should.