Made me wish I had gone to med school, and liked to hike. After reading about Kenneth's' visits to the Amazon forest, underwater caves, and the top of Mount Everest, to name a few, you may be struck by the explorer bug too. Ken's main job on the excursions in this
book is to act as main medical advisor, but thankfully, he is also a grade A writer. He recounts his trips; I will not spoil the book by recounting them here, from a mostly medical point of
view. At heart Ken is a humanist seeking to find out how and why the few who choose to live in the extremes, (95% of the earth is uninhabitable by humans) do so. He goes into great depth describing the cultural and physical adaptations that people under-go. After many generations living a rough life natural selection has weeded the weak and stupid away leaving only the most suited for
survival in any given "
extreme" area of the world. Don't let the title scare you off. This isn't a gimmick book that slathers its tile with the adjective "extreme", this is truly meant in a most literal fashion. If you are intrigued by the inner workings of the ER or even the TV show ER, then I would recommend this to you. If you have
read the best seller "Into Thin-Air" by Jon Krakauer, you may be interested in the fact that Kenneth Kamler was the ill-fated expedition's doctor on the spot and he has recounted his point of view of the tragedy in one of the chapters. Some of the places you'
ll visit and learn the many ways you can die (and the slim chances of your survival): 1. the Amazon jungle 2. lost at sea (above) 3. the heat of the desert 4. the pressure of the deep sea (below) 5. the top of Everest 6. and the vacuum of space After you read this, you'll be able to amaze your friends with your knowledge of cannibalism and butt parasites.