Wild by Nature is the account of the 10,000 mile hike that Sarah Marquis made across Mongolia, China, Siberia, Laos, Thailand before a journey on a cargo ship and then a further walk across the Australian Outback. Whilst she had backup and sponsors, Sarah undertook this walk solo. Not only is this a huge physical achievement, she had to stay sharp whilst facing thieves, drug dealers, tropical diseases, lethal wildlife, life threatening illnesses and natives who were not always best pleased to see a foreigner. She had to cope with freezing temperatures in the Gobi desert, scorching temperatures in the Australian deserts, being blasted by the winds on the Mongolian Steppe and survived some unbelievable thunderstorms.

It is quite an challenge for anyone to undertake, but for a single woman in some of these countries it is even more of a trial. This is not her only achievement wither; she has walked 23 countries in total; earning herself the National Geographic’s title of Adventurer of the Year. She is tenacious and stubborn, two qualities that you need to push yourself to the physical and mental limits that a walk like this demands, but there are times even for her when it all seems too much. But I think that there are a few things that let it down a little, one is that her journey seems to jump around somewhat without following any logical route. I would expect a journey of this type to flow nicely, but it doesn’t. You got a good sense of her emotional highs and lows, but it was also difficult to connect to her as a reader at times. This is one worth reading if you like walking books, but could have been much better. ( )

I'm grateful to the author for telling the story of this amazing adventure into the Wild and into herself. I could not have imagined such a story. ( )

I enjoyed reading this and it certainly gave a sense of the unknown beauty and scale of Mongolia in particular. Confirmed how fortunate we in 'civilised' society can be, but as an inspiration for other women (and men for that matter) I wonder if it fell short in purveying the physical strain and effort the author overcame to achieve what she did. Buried within the middle of the book was, though, a particularly succinct summary of how we'd be better off leading our lives with greater balance; I found this especially relevant and perhaps the key lesson for society at large from Sarah's book. ( )

one woman alone walking across Siberia, Gobi Desert, Australia Bush. She shares her love of solitude and nature. I generally enjoy travel books, this one felt disjointed as was her walk were. First she was in Mongolia then China, then Mongolia, then Siberia, then ... Each chapter had a drawn map but not very helpful. A few pictures (after all this is a National Geographic Explorer so you expect these) were selfies and a few others. She doesn't take pictures of people because of respect of not stealing their image. She didn't take any of the animals or plants she mentions except, camels. She talks about her decision to be vegetarian. ( )

Wild by Nature was hard for me to review as I saw it from two perspectives; librarian and backpacker. I am an outdoorswoman and long distance backpacker myself; certainly nowhere near the explorer level as Sarah. When I saw this prepublication announcement I did cartwheels to get my hands on an ARC copy and was rewarded by Thomas Dunne Books.

First let me applaud Sarah for her incredible treks around the globe. This woman is a walking machine and makes Thoreau’s time at Walden Pond look like a trip to Central Park. She demonstrates an inordinate amount of stamina, versatility, adaptability, and perseverance.

Surprisingly the story is not presented as a journal or diary. It felt rambling and disconnected much like the internal strife the author shares with the reader. She tosses in references to other treks that she has accomplished that feel distracting.

There are frequent references to self-discovery and her search for the meaning of life. Overall the book will appeal to readers interested in a woman determined to take control of her own life on her own terms. Her dedication reads, “The story that follows is my story. I dedicate it to all of the women throughout the world who still fight for their freedom and to those who have gained it, but don’t use it.”

Her 3-year trek from Siberia to Australia would have required tremendous advance work and logistics planning. How does a French-speaking Swiss single woman plan a multiyear expedition across six countries in the Middle East? Alone!

Sad to say the book doesn’t really tell you those intricate details. If you were reading and sneezed you might have missed the half page of dialogue on this topic.

Long distance foot travelers reading this story will be interested in her equipment choices, food stores and geographic guidance methods. I was alarmed to note her low level of concern in all these matters. She points out the problem reading Asia road maps, “I forge ahead blindly, without a topo[logical] map…I can’t really find where I am on my [road] maps…I like being in the dark, not knowing how many miles I am from the next village, the next water source.” Experienced trekkers do develop excellent guidance skills but they are still at the mercy of the unknown.

Provisioning for adequate nutrition is difficult on a trek. Sarah is a strict vegetarian and cites resupplies opportunities limited to rice, onions, garlic, oil and hard cookies. You can’t march long on white rice and hot tea. It would have been interesting to learn more about her meal planning.

The story jumps and jerks through time and distance. It was impossible to follow in your mind’s eye was she was facing and what she would be facing next. I never felt as though I was traveling with her; I never felt connected to her journey.

There were moments of very beautiful descriptions of terrain and examples of good, bad and indifferent interactions with the cultural natives. I have told you how I was personally affected by the story. Other readers will come to the book with a different perspective and find the story completely different.

I am just disappointed in this so-so coverage of an awe inspiring journey by an extraordinary woman. I yearned to learn more about everything in deeper detail. It doesn’t feel worthy of her blood, sweat and tears. ( )