It's ok

The narrator was fine. The story was kind of interesting, the writing wasn't astonishing.

a thought I had while listening to this book was that all this guy wanted was to be alone because that's the only time he felt content. that's such an American thing, the 'pursuit of happiness' . American society isn't set up to let everyone do that. my takeaway is that this is a tragic story of a man who only yearned to be free and couldn't because he lived in the u.s.

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Socrates a Vegetarian

I really enjoyed listening to this story and found it inspirational to reduce my “unnecessities”.
The writer mentioned quickly that Socrates ate cheap meat which is inaccurate and I don’t know how it slipped by the editor.
Socrates is a famous vegetarian.

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FASCINATING!!!!

This book grabbed my attention right from the first word. There are so many fascinating things about this story:

#Audible1

1. How is it possible for anyone to survive, alone, in the cold, in the elements, without any preparation, and never been seen/caught for over 25 years?! This story goes into detail just how this was possible, from what was used for shelter, how food was acquired, how he moved about the landscape unnoticed, how personal hygiene was dealt with, to how the hermit passed time. It was so interesting to see how resourceful someone can become and made me question how I would have dealt with this issues if I were in this situation.

2. The book discusses different forms of isolation that have occurred, including isolation for religious/spirtual reasons, protest reasons, and those in solitary confinement. It discusses the mental and emotional effects of isolation in these situations and why it impacts some differently than others.

3. My morals were questioned throughout the entire story. On one level I was rooting for the hermit as he stole most of the items he used for his survival. I think at first I was okay with his form of stealing because he would only steal items that look as though they had been cast aside, were of low value and often required for survival. He would often steal books, which on some level also seemed to make it okay for me. However, when the owners of those homes that were broken into, year after year, explained the impact on themselves, specifically how their homes became a place of fear, I began to change my opinion to perhaps feel as though his form of inconsequential stealing was actually not that inconsequential. He made the choice to be a 'hermit' and cut himself off from society, but was he really a hermit if he was relying on others for survival? Did he really cut himself off from society? He made this decision, so perhaps he should have been able to rely solely on himself, instead of robbing others of their feelings of safety and security.

4. Narration was fantastic!

Overall this is one of my favorite books. I listened to it twice just so that I could pick on some of the details I may have missed the first time. If you are looking for a fascinating story, with great narration, then check this title out.

#Audible1

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Find an alone place...

What a great story. Fascinating account of a man willfully living in the forest, alone and without contact for multiple decades.

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Good, but not without its problems (SPOLIERS)

This is a very interesting story, but should not be mistaken for a traditional ‘survival’ story. It is most relevant for relating how a person could live without human contact for decades. Although this was no small feat of survival, the fact the so many supplies were stolen from cabins, mitigates that aspect of the story. It is clear that Knight likely has some different mental make-up which ensures that he is fine without human contact, but also very difficult to interact with (as the author found out). And this relationship is where I have my objections...

I was originally going to give this story a higher rating, but the actions of the author near the end I find to be very bothersome. I get that he wants to explore the reasons behind Knight’s unusual lifestyle, but he then seems to forget the some of the main points of Knight’s lifestyle were that he had complete autonomy and privacy. Knight could easily have died any winter day, but the author seems to be completely dismayed by the fact that he may one day make the choice to kill himself by going back outside. Similarly, Knight repeatedly asks to be left alone, and the author just disregards these requests. I will now do what the author seems to have difficulty doing and leave this story (and Knight himself) alone.

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Unscrupulous: The book that's as honest as O. J.

If you liked this book, maybe check out these other bestsellers by Mike:
Charles Manson and Josef Fritzl, the last true family men,
And
Larry Nassar, the last true pioneer of medicine.

When I first read this book I thought it was written well enough, but there was something that left me unsettled throughout the entire thing. A sick feeling in my stomach. I saw the movie about Mike (true story, that name also leaving a sick feeling in my stomach after reading this one). So, this book and True Story (hah) are the only two books i know from Mike, and i have got to say, does this guy know how to do anything but lie?

The story of the last true hermit; If that title doesn't sicken you then stick around, and prepare to be amazed as we turn a common thief into Jesus himself (and other jerking miracles). First of all, what do we know of the title character Chris/Jesus Christ reborn? Let us list a few things.

Well, he has an extraordinary tale of being the last true hermit. He survived almost thirty years in the woods and managed that without a fire. Can you imagine braving the cold nights of fall, let alone winter without a fire? That is amazing. Hmm, what else? Oh! He never spoke in his entire time in the wilderness and that gave him zero social interaction. WOW! And people wanted to buy land for him because he wasn't hurting anyone, he was just being one with the nature around him. And more, but look at what we've got so far: No fire, no social stimulation, hermit behaviour, and all he really did that was even remotely wrong was constantly steal from dozens of homes, and make an entire community of people feel scared and unsafe. I mean if you aren't feeling the Jesus vibe yet then buckle your seat belts. But, maybe we should address a thing or two first i guess.

Let us start with the "No Fire for thirty years" aspect. I mean, how did this guy stay warm? Stealing people's winter coats only gets you so far right? Well if you listen closely, that's it, do you hear it? The crackle of the smoldering BS? This clown spent years stealing propane tanks from houses, bragging how he used to double fist them but now he can only steal one at a time. And I know what you are going to ask. "Did he steal the propane to make propane filled balloon animals for the woodland creatures around his campsite, because what other reason would you have for propane if you have no electronics?" No, actually. He used the propane to fuel his propane stove (sorry, I saw his when I mean to say "the stolen property someone else had to work for". I don't know about you but I don't have so much extra money that I can just constantly buy propane stoves, so i think that is worth a mention). Now I am no rocket botanist, but can anyone tell me what you get when you combine a propane stove..... and propane? See, I know this one but it just eludes me because I am sure it cant be fire. This guy never, never had a fire, and we need to know this and remember this fact because it is part of the awe and spectacle. "how did he live without a fire?" we all ask. Because it is a lie. Anyone reading this have a heat pump? Congratulations, you've been living without fire. Anyone have oil heat? A baseboard heater? Those are all equivalent to surviving the wilderness without fire. Yes, the book is right. He did survive without fire. But that's also like saying "He survived in an area of the world that has no water for thirty years", "OMG, how did he survive for so long", "Well, he drank stolen Dasani". "A true hero." He is the equivalent of a woodland hipster, not a woodland hermit. "I've been living with clean burning propane instead of fire using wood. It harms the environment".....

Yea I am probably rambling at this point, but if there are two things I hate, it is thieves and liars. This is a book about a thief, written by a liar..

Never spoke/No social interaction. The guy stole TVs and radios and gameboys and etc etc etc. How often do you see a gamer talk when they are playing a game? A reader talk when they read a book? Someone constantly talking while watching TV? Listening to the radio? These are all forms of social interaction and social stimulation. They are interacting with things, especially the gaming ones. He even says at one point he didn't play the killing games because of some reason, meaning he old played the more stimulating ones. This book is based and fosters nothing but lies..

Ever have a thief break in and steal your belongings? Ever have something that you saved up for months just to get, then have someone take that from you? Ever need to stay warm? Enjoy time with your family? I don't get a lot of time with my family and the thought of having to spend extra money because someone stole all the things I needed to give them a good time, and for me to have the memories of their smiling faces because they choose to be a glorified thief is reprehensible. Ever have irreplaceable keepsakes from loved ones long past? These are but a small list of the things stolen during the course of this book, glossed over by the writer as "all he did was steal a few things". I hope this writer constantly loses what is important to him.

But one thing to show the true character (BTW, "true character" should be the title of this review) of both the writer and our lord and saviour, Christopher Jesus, is a brief mention of a woman. A parable, if you will. One part of the book mentions a woman who expresses the stress of having her house broken into countless times. That she works, and this place was supposed to be her getaway. From the world, from the stress and noise and everything of everyday life. Almost as if she were following in the footsteps of someone else trying to get away from it all... But anyway, she cant do it, because the one place she has to do this, to go away, to get away from it all, that must have cost her hours of work to have this one thing, she could not enjoy because the was a thief that stole her piece of mind. They could have been armed and dangerous, and who is to say they weren't? Imagine having one place in the world that can be a safe place that you can go to recharge that you spent years of your life attaining, and it only brings you stress because of the selfishness of someone else. Then imagine that's all i say about it, because its no big deal because all he did was steal a few things, and then never mention it again because,no big deal. Yup, that happens, who cares old woman. This guy wants to live in the woods and steal, get over yourself for having worked hard for something.

There is even one part of the book where a guy mentions the title character is a thief who steal from a camp for the disabled, and they gloss over it. This book makes me sick. The writer makes me sick. I have lived in the wilderness before and survived and I never stole to do it. I would never call myself a hermit, but I can imagine how disgusting it must be for those hermits, those people who actually live outside the norm without ruining the lives of others, must feel. This is taking people that generally want to better themselves, one way or another, spiritually or whatever, but generally without harming others or the world around them and ignoring who and what they are and calling someone else the "last true hermit".

I do not recommend this book. Usually I will for a joke or laugh, but this is bad, and I refuse to promote any support for this.

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2 people found this helpful