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BOOKS
BY ROBERT RANKIN

1. CLASSIC WILD WALKS OF AUSTRALIA (Book and Software CD-ROM Version 5 for Windows Package) GO TO ORDERING PAGE
Hardback book and software CD-ROM for Windows, 335mm by 245mm, 208 pages
$49.95 plus postage
BOOK REVIEWS | SOFTWARE REVIEWS | NOTES

This large casebound coffee-table size volume contains superb coloured pictures, finely detailed maps and extensive text and track notes describing Australia's top 25 bushwalking areas.Topics discussed in the text include: access, walking grades, weather, notes on geology and botany, track notes and suitable campsites.

The areas described are: Hinchinbrook Island, Carnarvon Gorge, the Main Range, Lamington Rainforests, Mount Barney, the Warrumbungles, the Upper Grose Valley of the Blue Mountains, the Budawang Range, the Snowy Mountains, the Victorian Alps, Wilson's Promontory, Grampian Ranges, the Overland Track, the Walls of Jerusalem, the South Coast Track, Mount Anne, Federation Peak, the Western Arthur Range, Frenchman's Cap, Wilpena Pound, the Gammon Ranges, the Stirling Ranges, the Fitzgerald River Coast, Katherine Gorge and Kakadu National Park.

This book comes with bonus software CD of the same name - Classic WILD WALKS of Australia Version 5 for Windows. The CD-ROM features 600 pictures from the wildest regions of Australia with overlays of place names and walking routes with detailed notes on routes, access, camping, history, geology and much more. Weather and Snow Data let you plan your trip for the best season. The included Route Profiler software allows you to plot traverses across Australia’s most rugged mountains while the Virtual Theatre shows the terrain in 3D. Maps of each region with hotspots allows you to see the actual landscape of the maps while the Visual Explorer lets you roam through the landscape using a series of linked photographs. A collection of articles provides a huge amount of additional background information while the Slide Shows with music provide evocative overviews of the regions. The CD-ROM requires Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or Vista.


Look what the critics said about the book:
That Wild Walks is a major work of quality and substance is apparent as soon as you pick up a copy. The photographs are placed in a book whose format and quality of printing do them justice. It could be one of the best books released in this country this year.

Look what the critics said about the CD-ROM:
If you are at all interested in walking the wild, this CD is without doubt the best of its kind in Australia. It is a truly impressive resource. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Twenty five choice spots are covered in exquisite detail accompanied by some sumptuous photography by a master. (The Australian)
Robert Rankin’s latest book sets a new standard in bushwalking publications, bringing together high-class photographs, maps and concise but complete guides for a selection of the best walks in each state. (Australian Geographic)

2. BEYOND THE HORIZON (Book and DVD Package)  GO TO ORDERING PAGE
Hardback, 335mm by 245mm, 208 pages
$39.95 plus postage

REVIEWS

AT LAST A LARGE FORMAT HIGH QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK DEDICATED TO THE BEST MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF AUSTRALIA.

Eighty (80) pages of fine-screen photographs from Hinchinbrook Island, Western Arthur Range, Victorian Alps, the Snowy Mountains, Mount Barney and the Main Range.
128 pages of text describing the excitement of exploring these regions and the early bushwalking trips involved in making the first ascents or traverses of these mountains.
As well there are detailed maps of each region.

As well, you now receive the bonus DVD Australia's WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE Volume 1 with over 60 minutes of documentary footage from the wildest regions of Australia, such as Kakadu, South West Tasmania, Hinchinbrook Island, the Snowy Mountains, Mount Barney, the Grampians, the Budawangs, Lamington National Park, Nambung Pinnacle Desert and others. PAL FORMAT DVD

Some of the topics discussed in the book include: A description of the first traverse of the Western Arthur Range; the saving of the Franklin River and the tragic loss of Lake Pedder; early winter traverses of Mount Bogong including the tragic epic involving Cleve Cole; early ascents of Mount Kosciuszko and the Seaman's Hut story; how Mount Barney was first climbed by Patrick Logan and years later how Robert Staszewski made the first terrifying solo ascent of the East Face of the mountain; how Jon Stephenson made the first ascent of the Thumb on Hinchinbrook Island long before he became Professor of Geology at James Cook University; what was the controversy surrounding the first ascent of Mount Bowen in the 1930s?; how the Steamers formation was climbed in the Main Range of southern Queensland; how the backbone of Hinchinbrook's mountain range was first traversed in the early 1960s; how Wragge's Observatory was manned on the very top of Mount Kosciuszko through many gruelling winters early last century and how its inhabitants made the first ski tour to Blue Lake in winter to verify that it really did freeze over; how the big western ski runs around Watson's Crags were first skied; how three climbers mysteriously lost their lives on the upper section of Staircase Spur on Mount Bogong; how to climb Mount Barney in under an hour and actually enjoy it; how to traverse the Western Arthurs in a day and live to tell the tale; learn how Trevor Gynther and Bruce Stoff made fast, solo pioneering traverses of Queensland's Scenic Rim in the heady 1970s! These stories are only the beginning. There is much, much more, such as:

1. A critical analysis of the reports of the first European ascent of Mount Kosciuszko. Did Paul Edmund de Strzelecki actually climb the highest peak or did he merely climb today’s Mount Townsend? Is it possible to ever know what actually did happen?
2. Is Strzelecki’s ascent significant, considering Australian Aborigines roamed the high country and would have climbed the peak many times over the many thousands of years they occupied the region.
3. The tragic loss of two skiers in a blizzard near Mount Kosciuszko in 1928 has prompted conjecture into what really happened. The possibilities are discussed but no conclusion can really be drawn.
4. The death of three skiers on Mount Bogong in the Victorian Alps in 1943 prompts a discussion on how an analysis of the scene of the disaster suggests possible reasons for the disaster.
5. Two expeditions (one successful, the other a failure) in the early 1950s to climb a spectacular peak on Hinchinbrook Island in north Queensland show how such undertakings are organised and carried out. One expedition featured teachers and students from Scots College in Warwick, Queensland. The other comprised young students from the University of Queensland. Ultimately one from this group would receive a knighthood while another became Professor of Geology at James Cook University.
6. A discussion on the ethics and desirability of building shelters in the wilderness. The motivation behind the building (and ultimate dismantling) of one bushwalker’s hut in particular is examined.
7. The dangers of solo rockclimbing as explained by a climber who undertook this risky pursuit.
8. The pros and cons of solo bushwalking.
9. The organisation and philosophies of expedition strategies using Captain Robert Scott’s and Roald Amundsen’s trips to the South Pole early in the last century as an example.
10. How place names were formulated for a prominent section of the wilderness of South West Tasmania.
11. An analysis of the political climate during the era when Lake Pedder, in South West Tasmania, was flooded for hydro-electric power generation.
12. How the conservation movement throughout Australia built on the experience with the Lake Pedder fiasco in order to successfully prevent the Franklin River from being dammed in 1983.
13. A discussion on how the attitudes towards land use in Tasmania’s South West have changed over the past two centuries.
14. A general theme throughout the book on mankind’s attraction to the landscape.
15. What constitutes "adventure"?
16. A detailed discussion on how the author has safely undertaken many lightweight trips through some of Australia’s most remote and spectacular wild country.
17. A photographic depiction of the most rugged and wild mountainous regions in Australia.

This book will appeal to any bushwalker who enjoys wandering through the wild regions of this country and would like to know a little more about the background of these lands.

Look what the critics said:
With its full-colour photographs of Australia’s rugged peaks and mountain landscapes, Beyond the Horizon looks, at first glance, like a standard coffee-table book in which the text is secondary to the glossy pictures. But as Robert Rankin begins to describe his lightning runs through his most loved wild places . . . the intensity of his encounters transforms the way we view the images of this landscape. The result is an engrossing intimate foray. . . [The Age Newspaper]

. . . part the author’s personal bush reminiscences; part coffee-table, wilderness-photo extravaganza and part (Aboriginal, early European and bushwalking) history. In effect, Beyond the Horizon is three books in one. Beyond the Horizon . . goes beyond the ordinary. . . [Wild Magazine]

This beautifully produced casebound book is the latest offering from Rankin. . . Anyone interested in our wild places will enjoy this well-researched book for its value as a reference and, more importantly, because it will serve to inspire those of us who don’t get "out there" enough to keep dreaming and planning. [Outdoor Australia Magazine]



3. WILDERNESS LIGHT (Book and DVD Package)  GO TO ORDERING PAGE
Hardback, 280mm by 240mm, 160 pages
$29.95 plus postage
REVIEWS

This fine casebound book discusses the philosophy of wilderness landscape photography. It explains difficult concepts in a clear and concise manner and features many superb colour plates which also serve as photographic examples illustrating the concepts of the text. A must for serious wilderness walkers and photographers. Topics include:

1. Natural Light (Light sources, the sun's position, the direction of the light, diffuse lighting)
2. Composition (Visual balance and impact, visual elements, the focal point, visual arrangement, symmetry, aspect ratios, boundary conditions, colour, perspective, point of view, deception and illusion, visualisation)
3. The Visual Experience (Photographic form, art and aesthetics, style, individual approaches)
4. Technical Considerations (the recording process, colour balance, optics)

Look what the critics said:
Wilderness Light should appeal to anyone who loves the outdoors and enjoys recording wilderness scenes on film. It is good to see a successful photographer happy to share some tricks of the trade rather than maintaining the mystique.