A river rush that hits calm waters

Lost in Mongolia: Rafting the World’s Last Unchallenged River; Colin Angus; Broadway Books, $12.95

When the paddlers turn turtle in their rubber raft on day 14 down the 3,450-mile Yenisey River and their vitals disappear with the current, the author gives chase by kayak. He has no food, no money, no passport, no way of conversing with Mongolian locals, and he disappears for more than a week.

Angus, who established himself in hard-core adventure circles by descending the Amazon and sailing solo for five months, conveys the emotions of his straits convincingly. While not the caliber of Rudyard Kipling or Jon Krakauer, his story of frustration and survival, mixed with fascinating glimpses into central Asian culture, proves an entertaining read through the first half of the book. Yet, the Yenisey is no raging string of rapids, and once Angus and his team reunite, the trip to the Arctic Circle often drifts like the Class I current the river is in its northern reaches.

-- Ryan Brandt