All of this pales in comparison to the obscene madness that has now become the fate of Base Camp at Mount Everest. The 8,000-meter peaks of the Himalayas have become the unfortunate repositories for what is repugnant about human nature with very little innate goodness surviving. Dying climbers pushed aside, ignored and denied medical help while their equipment is stolen, greedy guides unethical to the point of criminal, drugs, alcoholism, prostitution – hell this could just as well be inner city New York or Saigon as 20,000 feet above sea level in what used to be one of the most remote landscapes on earth. Everest has become the poster child for this debauchery.

This article is filed under China, Environment, Nature, Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports, Travel.

This is the tough time of the year for those such as myself who love and live to fly fish, to cast haphazardly-tied amalgams of fur and feather to wild trout while standing knee deep in the middle of a gorgeous trout stream surrounded by jagged mountains and vast native grass prairies that drift off in all directions.

This article is filed under Nature, Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

Let us be clear on one thing: physically fit people tend to get more out of this place. One can sit and admire the mountains from a bench on Elk Avenue, or from a car out on the summer roads, but to me there is nothing better in life than walking an hour or two up to Scarp Ridge or the long green alp atop Mount Axtell, to sit and see high peaks all around.

This article is filed under Nature, Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports, Travel.

James Ellroy, Cormac McCarthy and William T. Vollmann have some new company hanging out on their dark, rough, violent block. He’s Craig Davidson and here’s how he tells what he feels and sees…

This article is filed under Crime Fiction, Fiction Reviews, Sports.

“One of the components of genius, I would argue, is an unnaturally high tolerance for practice. Pete could stay on the court longer than other kids. Much longer.”

This article is filed under Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

Sheep wallows eventually became sand traps and the first greens were nothing more than somewhat level overgrazed patches of grass that were often covered with the residue of the feeding rabbits.

This article is filed under Biography, Great Britain, Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

For Philadelphians over a certain age, the year 1964 evokes bitter memories of a Phillies team securely ensconced in first place by 6 ½ games with only 12 games left to play in the season.

This article is filed under Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

But rather than trace the rise of the institution of eating, Fagone focuses on the eaters themselves, and it is in extracting the details of eaters lives where he excels.

This article is filed under Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

Some years ago, back in the days of its relative anonymity, fly fishing was considered an arcane art practiced by mildly addled, eccentric cranks.

This article is filed under Nature, Non-Fiction Reviews, Sports.

At the risk of being cold-hearted, though after reading this book I don’t seem to care all that much, there are times I wonder why people who are at least reasonably accomplished authors make the effort to write certain books, not to mention why these less-than-stellar titles ever see the light of print.

This article is filed under Fiction Reviews, Sports.