The Pacific Alone

A great read for those who prefer more secure ways to explore life's questions, and an inspiration to adventurers. This classic tale will stand the test of time! Thanks, Dave Shively. --Nigel Foster, author of On Polar Tides and The Art of Kayaking Awe. That's the only word I can think that not only describes my reaction to reading about Ed Gillet's incredible feat of ingenuity, endurance and sheer audacity, but of Shively's accomplishment in the recounting of it. The author's palpable, authentic feel for big water, for the paddle and for the scope of the saga comes through on every page, providing perspective without sounding, if you'll pardon the term, pedestrian. By the time I finished the book I was exhausted, but felt like doing nothing more than jumping in my own boat and paddling a little bit further than the day before. You can't ask more from a book than that. --Sam George, legendary surf editor, director and writer of Riding Giants and Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau I have been waiting thirty years for this book. When I first heard of Ed Gillet's heroic paddle to Hawaii I was thrilled and inspired in my own traveling. But this is much more than a book about a kayak journey. It is that great thing in travel--a brave quest, the solitary traveler turning his back on the cynics, and heading into a turbulent sea in a small boat, and finding landfall. It is a great metaphor for human endeavor. 'Never before, never since' indeed. But Ed Gillet is that rare creature--a modest man and also a hero. Dave Shively has told his story well. --Paul Theroux, award-winning novelist and travel writer of The Old Patagonian Express and The Happy Isles of Oceania In 1987 Ed Gillet crossed from California to Hawaii in an ordinary sea kayak, and barely spoke of it for 30 years. Now Gillet has opened his heart and journals to Dave Shively, who weaves a gripping portrait of a man as enigmatic and pure as the journey that defined him. --Jeff Moag, Canoe & Kayak editor-at-large and former longtime editor of Canoe & Kayak This is one of those absorbing books that is certain to carry you away on an inner voyage of your own. It is about an audacious attempt by Ed Gillet to cross the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii, a journey that would take at least two months. His means of travel? A kayak. That's right. A kayak! Even solo adventurers crossing the ocean in a row boat have a place to sleep. But a kayak? This is truly a great adventure, and outdoor writer and kayaking aficionado Dave Shively is perfect to tell the story. Does Gillet make it? You can find out in this first rate chronicle of the journey. --National Outdoor Book Awards