NATURAL RESOURCES BOOK REVIEW.

``In the Ghost Country - A Lifetime Spent On the Edge''

By Peter Hillary and John E. Elder (Free Press, $26)

This book about Peter Hillary, whose father, Sir Edmund, and Tenzing Norgay were the first to climb Mount Everest, tries to tell the son's story through the recounting of an attempt to ski across Antarctica with two ill-chosen companions.

There is plenty to interest the reader. The harsh beauty of Antarctica, life in the shadow of a famous father (dad's picture is on the New Zealand $5 bill), Peter Hillary's own considerable climbing achievements and the impact of publicity-hungry sponsors on big-time adventuring all are worth reading about.

Unburdened with a definition of existentialism from a student encyclopedia, epigraphs from Jean Paul Sartre, Tennyson, Homer, T.S. Elliot and other literary pretensions, this could be a good read. But Hillary's comments are interspersed with Elder's overwrought and confused narrative, as if he scribbled a draft.

As with his adventuring, Peter Hillary should be more careful when he selects a writing partner. Or better yet, go solo. Hillary's writing is fine. Just tell the story.

The reader, like a wise mountaineer faced with appalling conditions, will want to abandon this book before reaching the end.

- Bill Becher

CHECK IT OUT

--Big fish: A rainbow trout weighing 27 1/2 pounds - a potential state record if certified - was caught Dec. 24 at Santa Ana River Lakes.

The fish was caught on a 2-pound test line by John Chapman of Yorba Linda. It took him 20 minutes to land the trout, which apparently was trailing a number of line shards after having been hooked and lost several times before.

The fish was one of three planted at SARL in the past month bigger than the current state record of 26.08 pounds (also caught at Santa Ana River Lakes on Feb. 23, 2002, by Robert Vandevelde of Whittier, also on 2-pound test).

The two others remain in the lake and might be bigger than Chapman's fish. As it is, his rainbow is larger than both the state inland waters trout record (26.08 pounds) and the record for anadromous or sea-run steelhead rainbow trout (27.25 pounds).

For information on the lakes and the latest activity, call [phone].

--Moon fishing: Corona Lake will host a Full Moon Madness 24 Hour fishing day Jan. 9-10. Both fishing days will run from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next morning.

The lake has been stocked with a large quantity of catfish in recent weeks.

Corona Lake is at 12510 Temescal Road near the 15 Freeway in Corona. Information: [phone].

--Safety first: There are many 10-hour hunter-education classes offered in the region. These classes are required before obtaining a hunting license and satisfy the California requirement for a safety course before a handgun can be purchased.

In Los Angeles County, Spanish-language courses are available in Baldwin Park, Canoga Park, Inglewood and Torrance. Spanish-language instructors also are available in Santa Ana, Colton, Escondido and Lompoc.

Information: [phone] or www.dfg.ca.gov.

CAPTION(S):

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no caption (book: ``In the Ghost Country - A Lifetime Spent On the Edge'')

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