Keep Australia on Your Left: A Semi-Circumnavigation of Australia

Idea meets action in this remarkable, though overlong, story of an attempt to paddle around Australia in a two-man kayak. Although ostensibly incompatible teammates, professional New York fitness trainer Stiller and his Australian companion, fashion model Tony Brown, seize the challenge of moving from dream to reality and discover the vertiginous abyss that often separates the two. In their grueling expedition around what many consider one of the most beautiful and treacherous coastlines on the planet, Stiller and Brown are blasted by 12-foot waves, pelted and waterlogged by heavy rain, roasted by the glaring and ubiquitous sun, assailed by sharks, blown off course and benumbed by dank, frigid temperatures. Loneliness, exhaustion, frustration and bickering are finally compounded by the ultimate realization that no amount of rigorous training could have prepared them for this endeavor. Stiller and Brown undergo the most demanding emotional and physical experience of their lives. More than 20 years of kayaking experience shine through in Stiller's myriad detailed, technical descriptions of the physical and mental priming needed for the journey and of the unpredictable imbroglios that arise when maneuvering a two-man kayak on rough seas. However, at times Stiller's hyped descriptions of pinnacle moments and near-calamitous situations fall short of their intended impact. (Aug.)