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What If He Had to Do it For Real?

Customer Rating:

I think Ray Mears can get away with this gruel because in the end neither he nor his readers ever really have to put it to the test. It is all theoretical stuff that Mears hasn't learned by experience, but in the process of making TV programs. It is about as relevant to the real thing ie actual survival, as shooting a firearm on a range has to do with real combat. It used to be that 'experts' or 'masters' in any sphere had to have served some kind of apprenticeship. A kung-fu accolyte doesn't become a black belt overnight: it takes years of dedication. I wonder, then, where Mears served his apprenticeship - what qualified him to be called an 'expert' at so early an age. Looking at his biography, we discover that, born in 1964, he established a survival school aged only 20. Surely the foundation of a 'school' at least suggests that one is a 'master'. Are we to believe then that in those few years since leaving school, Mears had undergone such profound experience that he deserved the title 'expert.' I doubt it. The truth is that, like many 'experts' in the public eye, Ray Mears never served any apprenticeship: he was created an instant expert by television. There is no real substance behind the illusion at all: if he is a 'great Englishman' then I suspect it is not because he is a real survival expert, but because he has a charming manner, the correct 'BBC' appearance, and the gift of the gab. If these factors add up to being 'a master' or 'an expert' or even as someone has written 'a genius', then it is a sad indictment of the artificial world we live in. Personally, I would like to see how he would get on left completely alone in the wilderness with no equipment, no support and no TV crew. Not too well, I'd guess.

Ray Mears, vanishing world

Customer Rating:

I love this book. It is Ray doing what he is best at; conveying how different people live around the world. Each double-page spread has a photograph with a caption explaining what is going on with either the skill or craft being shown, the landscape where the people live or the feelings he had when taking the photograph. Photography is an art that is personal to yourself behind the camera and if you can convey those feelings to others through that art then you are doing well. This book conveyed lots of feelings to me and I shall enjoy dipping in and out of it for a long time.

Rubbish	Customer Rating:
Brought this book as a present. What a load of rubbish. Normally love Ray Mears books as they are so informative and really interesting to read. This book is full of pictures with a caption next to each photo telling what is going on in the picture. Really dissapointed and will be returning it and buying another.