Andrew Embick
1 The Alaskan Whitewater Bible
While the sport has continued to evolve since Andy did most of his rivers, he's still set the standard by which few will even come close. His reviews of the various rivers of Alaska are complete. This is a great read for entertainment. This is a dream book for the kayakers of Alaska and anyone hoping to stop by our beautiful state. Many of these rivers have still not been run since Andy and his friends ran them in the 80's. Kudoo's to THE AK whitewater book by which all others will be measured.
2 Excellent 4 serious riverrunners or as a coffee-table book!
After borrowing this book from the library, I had someone give it to me as a Christmas present. Andrew Embick put his heart and soul (and considerable time and money) into this effort, and it shows. He outlines many whitewater rivers for which he has first-descent credentials; in that respect, he must be viewed as the acknowledged expert. One criticism, hopefully constructive: the book doesn't have an all-encompassing map, which would be useful for the reader to get a sense of orientation as (s)he navigates through the book. But overall, the book is a tour de force. I'll never paddle half the rivers in this book; I may never paddle Alaska, for that matter; but the book was a "must" for me. The color plates alone, depicting all the glory of glaciated streams, are worth the price of admission.
