From School Library Journal Adult/High School-A collection of 17 tales， some true-life， some fiction， some excerpted from longer works. The most famous story is Jack London's "To Build a Fire." Others deal with mountain climbing， peril at sea， exploring the Colorado River， crossing the Sierras， hunting wolves， being mauled by a bear， and encountering the supernatural. There is even a poem， "The Cremation of Sam McGee." The selections are exciting， often disturbing， and sometimes even horrifying-as in the account of the Donner Party breaking "the last taboo." There is something here for everyone， no matter how they like their chills-psychological suspense， physical thrills， or terror of the unknown. This anthology lives up to its subtitle.-Susan Salpini， Purcellville Library， VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From Library Journal Rather than the ghost stories you might expect from the title， Martin (whose first novel， Luck， will be published by Norton this fall) has collected 17 stories of the outdoors. Some are true and some are not; some are by well-known writers and some by authors who have yet to become household names; some are thrillers and chillers， and some are amusing. The book is divided into four thematic sections: "The Elements" includes Jack London's "To Build a Fire，" a Poe story， a grisly tale of mountain climbers， and an equally grim tale of the desert. "The Beasts" lives up to its title with stories of wolves (by wildlife expert Peter Matthiessen) and woman-eating bears. "The Unknown" is closest to the traditional ghost story and includes Robert Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee." The final section， "Ourselves，" may be the most frightening of all， ending with the final scenes from Frank Norris's classic novel McTeague. These dark-of-night tales with something of a twist are recommended for public libraries.-Katherine Koenig， Ellis Sch.， Pittsburgh Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. See all Editorial Reviews