I first read this book in the mid-1980s, and have been a huge fan of it ever since. It was out of print from a long time after the original publisher, North Point Press, went out of business.

This is a wide-ranging book that deals with many aspect of the American West in general and the desert areas in particular. Schultheis is a gifted writer, and has a knack not only for telling a good tale but also for turning a wonderful line. He is highly attuned to the remarkable and the humorous in almost every situation, and the book is a marvelous blend of the unexpected, the reflective, and the funny.

My favorite moment might be an occasion he recounts of visiting a store in Navajo territory. While in the store, an elderly Navajo stumbles up to him and says, apropos of nothing, "Hey, I hear that Elvis died," in a tone that almost suggests the Schultheis and The King were lifelong pals. After replying, that yes, Elvis had died and that he had evidently been pretty sick, the Navajo, ignoring what Schultheis had said, continues, "Yeah, Elvis and Hitler, two of your greatest leaders, dead." (I am quoting this story from memory, so don't call me to task for specific inaccuracies.)

This is a book filled with many wonderful and marvelous moments. I would heartily urge anyone with an interest in literature about the American West or the desert to read it as soon as possible.

A cousin tipped me off to this little known masterpiece, which consists of a short, well-written series of anecdotes and tales about the West. An expert in verbal imagery, Schultheis takes you gambling at Native American pow-wow, canyon ratting in Utah, meeting a jack rabbit who lures motorcyclists to their doom, and other esoteric topics with equal aplomb.

His best tale, and the one you won't forget, is the last in order, a fictional episode during the next great Western drought, when the xerothermic climate brings disaster west of the Mississippi.

Schultheis is very readable, and each essay is thought-provoking. I predict you will enjoy this wonderful book. As the previous reviewer cautions, however, loan it out at your own risk.

Rob's imagery and cutting edge mind put him up there with the best - I like him better than the proverbial Ed Abbey (Rob's a little more cerebral). I'm an avid reader of anything to do with the desert Southwest (and West), as well as a desert rat myself, and I was hard put to find anything I'd read to date that was this good. You won't be disappointed with this book - buy an extra for your friends, because they'll "borrow" it and never return it (I've now bought 3 of them and can't find my latest copy...hmmm, now that I think of it, I suspect it went to Hawaii with a friend...)

Rob goes into Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war, and realizes how plastic and robotic his life really is. There he falls in love with Afghanistan...the people, the land, the animals. Rob goes on to chronicle many parts of the war, from 1984-1987. The really unique piece, was the eye witness accounts of men and figures that I have read about in texts on the war.

This in itself could have carried the book; but he goes on to do more. For those of us sleepwalking through life, many will find this book a breath of fresh air. The book chronicles his many adventures, tales of the absurd, his fear of being killed, his bouts of depression, and the many hilarious situations that can only occur in war-time Afghanistan.

I think Rob found a piece of his soul in Afghanistan and in turn, he allows the reader to witness some of it. I for one, thank Rob for the oppurtunity.

Rob Schultheis does a great job making you feel the cold, the sore feet, exhaustion and fear while being hunted by armed tribesmen and Soviet airforces inside Afghanistan.

A great book to read on your next plane trip across country. I couldn't put it down and neither have the troopers I work with. It has been passed around so much I doubt I will ever see my copy again.

Evocative, beautiful, terrible and short. The madness and evil of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, in which the clumsy terror and brutality of the modern totalitarian state meets an ancient yeomen/warrior tradition of independence and honor. Modern, brutal, indiscriminate, and total thuggery versus the mercurial but brave cavalryman/tribal warrior. The miracle is that anything at all (garden, tree, house, family) survives in Afghanistan.

The writer evokes spiritual and social traditions that survive in Afghanistan to this day. Especially, male friendships that seem strangely important to our modern ears but contribute to a heroism that is irrational but ultimately successful in driving out the Russians (at a huge cost). Likewise, the strict code of honor---when our author was abandoned in mountains at night by a treacherous guide, a local leader promptly sought out the offender to kill him.

Don't be deceived by the title. This book leaps beyond mere 'games' and instead zeroes in on a wide spectrum of outdoor adventurers. The author, Rob Schultheis, compares a wide spectrum of athletic psyches to himself, hoping to explain the lure to nature's most extreme challenges. His writing may stray from scientific methods, but his anecdotal and personal style is engaging and often based in Eastern philosophies. Overall, a solid collection of musings in a topic rarely navigated, sprinkled with harrowing accounts of unbelievable triumphs and near-misses.

I found this book very intresting and would recommend it to anyone intrested in "the search for transcendence". The reading is easy and flows well.

A mix between Brad Lewis' "Assault on Lake Casitas", Heart of Darkness, Walden and "Jonathan Livingston Seagull". Throw in some JOhn Muir and youre set. A kindred spirit of anyone who has ever found a balm for existential anxiety in testing the limits of the human body and spirit.