On the Loose

First published in 1967 by the Sierra Club, On the Loose went on to sell more than one million copies. Now Gibbs Smith, Publisher, is re-releasing this underground wilderness classic for a new generation of readers.

On the Loose is a journey through the American West, led by two adventurous brothers, Terry and Renny Russell. It is a chronicle of triumph and tragedy-the triumph of gaining an insight about oneself through an understanding of the natural world; the tragedy of seeing its splendor increasingly threatened by people who don't know or don't care. The color and black-and-white photographs, all taken by the authors, capture Yosemite, Point Reyes, the High Sierra, the Great Basin, and Glen Canyon in the 1950s and 1960s.

This is a most wondrous and unusual book. Its scattered text and stunning photographs convey a spirit of reverence and adventure that will cause readers to recall their own private epiphanies gained through contact with the natural world. Originally published by the Sierra Club in 1967, On the Loose sold more than a million copies before going out of print a decade ago; this gorgeous re-release is bound to find a new generation of readers.

The artful photographs, mostly taken by the Russell brothers, capture Yosemite, Point Reyes, the High Sierra, the Great Basin, and Glen Canyon in the 1950s and 1960s. The text--quotes, poems, pithy observations--perfectly complements the images as the Russells write about both the wonder of the American West as well as humanity's role in its destruction. Rather than preach or admonish, they offer an eloquent plea for compassion and understanding on behalf of the places that touched them deeply:

We live in a house that God built but that the former tenants remodelled--blew up, it looks like--before we arrived. Poking through the rubble in our odd hours, we've found the corners that were spared and have hidden in them as much as we could. Not to escape from but to escape to: not to forget but to remember.

There is a wisdom and sincerity on these pages that belies their age (Terry was 21 when they wrote the book; Renny was 19) and the book is filled with memorable quotes such as, "It feels good to say 'I know the Sierra' or 'I know Point Reyes.' But of course you don't--what you know better is yourself, and Point Reyes and the Sierra have helped." Tragically, Terry died in 1965 while on a rafting trip down the Green River with his brother to celebrate the impending publication of their book.

At its core, On the Loose is an elegant invitation to gain insight by looking outward: "The point of it all is Out There, a little beyond that last rise you can just barely see, hazy and purple on the sky. These pages are windows. And windows are to see through." And what a view it is. --Shawn Carkonen