Rating: 
Summary: More interesting than informative.
Review: Depending on what you look for in a "travel" book you may or may not like this. If you're looking for history, natural history, or political developments, this is not the book for you. It is not comprehensive in any way.
If you're looking for entertaining reading set in an interesting location with snippets of odd information this book would be entertaining. Of travel authors I have read, this author most closely resembles Theroux, but without the curmudgeonly judging. Like Theroux, his facts may or may not be correct but he doesn't claim to be writing a textbook, just some stuff that happened to him in this place.
Mercifully, Chatwin spares us deep philosphical introspections so prevalent in much modern "travel" writing.
I read it and enjoyed it and recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Seeking some skin
Review: How many children become adults fulfilling a childhood dream by visiting remote places?
Bruce Chatwin, driven by memories of his grandfather's strange artifact, takes us with him to
the farthest reaches of South America. His travels in that mysterious realm result in this
masterfully done account of journeys in Patagonia - southern Argentina and Chile. It's not an
exaggeration to praise this work as the first to supplement Darwin's. Both sought fossils,
although Chatwin's pursuit is rather more specific. Both described the land, the people and
events in the most captivating and readable manner. A rare treasure in travel literature, this
book is a timeless treasure.Patagonia has been a haven for many European nationalities besides the Spanish. British,
Welsh, Scots and the Germans have found refuge and opportunities here. Chatwin
encounters a wide spectrum of the inhabitants. By touring on foot, bus and horse, as well as
obtaining the occasional lift, he is able to garner intense impressions. Lacing the account of
what he observes with numerous piquant historical side notes, he imparts the place along
with the spirit of the residents. The history varies as the land itself. Rising from the Atlantic
across a vast plain until reaching the rising slopes of the "back" of the Andes, Patagonia offers
incredible vistas and diversity. Decades of building immense rancheros and farms have been
punctuated by social and political upheavals. Chatwin recounts the lives of many of the
rebels and how they impacted the pampas scene. His literary capacity seems as vast as the
territory. We even encounter The Ancient Mariner. There are no dull moments in this book. Chatwin's presents a more knowledgeable view in discussing aboriginal people than that of
most travel writers. There's nothing patronizing in his tone as he tries to address their plight.
"Tries to" because European intrusion has left so little for researchers of indigenous cultures to
address. He cites the expressive terms in the Yamana language to point out how culturally
inept the colonizing powers have been. We learn to use the term "primitive" with caution.
Millennia of residence gained the original peoples skills the Europeans disparaged, often to
their regret. It's becoming a familiar story, made sadder at the realization the loss of cultures
swept away by colonization. At the end, his original quest brings him to a cave visited by Charley Milward, wrecked ship's
captain. He cannot replace the artifact Milward left in Chatwin's grandmother's house, but
there is other compensation. That the quest isn't a failure adds further lustre to an incredible
journey. But what Chatwin has gained is as nothing compared to what he's given us. This
book will remain a classic for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Seeking some skin
Review: How many children become adults fulfilling a childhood dream by visiting remote places?
Bruce Chatwin, driven by memories of his grandfather's strange artifact, takes us with him to
the farthest reaches of South America. His travels in that mysterious realm result in this
masterfully done account of journeys in Patagonia - southern Argentina and Chile. It's not an
exaggeration to praise this work as the first to supplement Darwin's. Both sought fossils,
although Chatwin's pursuit is rather more specific. Both described the land, the people and
events in the most captivating and readable manner. A rare treasure in travel literature, this
book is a timeless treasure. Patagonia has been a haven for many European nationalities besides the Spanish. British,
Welsh, Scots and the Germans have found refuge and opportunities here. Chatwin
encounters a wide spectrum of the inhabitants. By touring on foot, bus and horse, as well as
obtaining the occasional lift, he is able to garner intense impressions. Lacing the account of
what he observes with numerous piquant historical side notes, he imparts the place along
with the spirit of the residents. The history varies as the land itself. Rising from the Atlantic
across a vast plain until reaching the rising slopes of the "back" of the Andes, Patagonia offers
incredible vistas and diversity. Decades of building immense rancheros and farms have been
punctuated by social and political upheavals. Chatwin recounts the lives of many of the
rebels and how they impacted the pampas scene. His literary capacity seems as vast as the
territory. We even encounter The Ancient Mariner. There are no dull moments in this book. Chatwin's presents a more knowledgeable view in discussing aboriginal people than that of
most travel writers. There's nothing patronizing in his tone as he tries to address their plight.
"Tries to" because European intrusion has left so little for researchers of indigenous cultures to
address. He cites the expressive terms in the Yamana language to point out how culturally
inept the colonizing powers have been. We learn to use the term "primitive" with caution.
Millennia of residence gained the original peoples skills the Europeans disparaged, often to
their regret. It's becoming a familiar story, made sadder at the realization the loss of cultures
swept away by colonization. At the end, his original quest brings him to a cave visited by Charley Milward, wrecked ship's
captain. He cannot replace the artifact Milward left in Chatwin's grandmother's house, but
there is other compensation. That the quest isn't a failure adds further lustre to an incredible
journey. But what Chatwin has gained is as nothing compared to what he's given us. This
book will remain a classic for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I Had Read It Before I Went
Review: I am just back from a far too brief whirlwind trip to Patagonia and even though all the guide books correctly advise reading In Patagonia before going. I had had no time. Bruce Chatwin places a human experiences context around the faintly disturbing sights and odd feelings todays visitors will have but can't fully understand. There has been little change there since Bruce Chatwin wrote about this amazing place in the 1970's. Only a thin veneer of new tourist facilities on the frame of remotness and lonliness that seems to haunt the semi ghost towns and desolate landscapes. Bruce Chatwin's in-depth experiences breathe life into untold stories and feelings that seem unapproachable to the visitor on a timetable. I wanted the book to go on and on with story after story to illuminate my memories and understanding of Patagonia. I delighted in every chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: I found this a very dull book, at least the part I read. I stopped after about 30 pages. It's very describing: I see this, I'm there, I do that,...
Rating: 
Summary: a stranger here
Review: I have read and re-read this book many times and find Chatwin's writing both lyrical and staccato in style. His short sharp chapters are rather like dots on a giant dot-to-dot canvas that he never joins up....he's deliberately teasing us by leaving out detail and prompting your own imagination to fill in the blanks on his Patagonian canvas. But the real heart of the book is Chatwin's encounters with both ordinary and extraordinary people who have made the "Southern Most" part of the world their home. I particularly enjoy his use of colors in his description of people and his boyish passion for adventures and heroes. This is not a travel book in the true sense of the genre, however, through each encounter with a new person you can begin to feel for yourself through their own stories the isolation,the landscapes and the adventures waiting for you in this remote part of the world. If you want to understand Chatwin as an artist get hold of a copy of his book of photographs and notebooks and you begin to understand that "In Patogonia" is really a series of 'portraits" hanging in a gallery rather then a travel book.
Rating:
Summary: Patagonian Encounters
Review: I have read and re-read this book many times and find Chatwin's writing both lyrical and staccato in style. His short sharp chapters are rather like dots on a giant dot-to-dot canvas that he never joins up....he's deliberately teasing us by leaving out detail and prompting your own imagination to fill in the blanks on his Patagonian canvas. But the real heart of the book is Chatwin's encounters with both ordinary and extraordinary people who have made the "Southern Most" part of the world their home. I particularly enjoy his use of colors in his description of people and his boyish passion for adventures and heroes. This is not a travel book in the true sense of the genre, however, through each encounter with a new person you can begin to feel for yourself through their own stories the isolation,the landscapes and the adventures waiting for you in this remote part of the world. If you want to understand Chatwin as an artist get hold of a copy of his book of photographs and notebooks and you begin to understand that "In Patogonia" is really a series of 'portraits" hanging in a gallery rather then a travel book.
Rating:
Summary: Chatwin a colonial, anti-Semitic jerk
Review: I started this book expecting to prefer it to Theroux and, after reading Travels in a Thin Country by Sara Wheeler, looking forward to Chatwin's version of Patagonia. Chatwin's focus is on the colonial families, especially those from the British Isles. He obviously has no sympathy for or interest in Latin residents. And then to top it off he tells of a Mrs. Wood who (gasp) tries to pass herself off as English when she is really a "Russian Jewess." Then he follows up with Simon Radowitsky, who "with the wild hope of his Race" is irrational. This book was published in 1977, not 1877, but you wouldn't know it from Chatwin's sensitivities. Read Wheeler for a cultured English viewpoint on Chilean Patagonia. And a much more interesting book.
Rating:
Summary: Chatwin a colonial, anti-Semitic jerk
Review: I started this book expecting to prefer it to Theroux and, after reading Travels in a Thin Country by Sara Wheeler, looking forward to Chatwin's version of Patagonia. Chatwin's focus is on the colonial families, especially those from the British Isles. He obviously has no sympathy for or interest in Latin residents. And then to top it off he tells of a Mrs. Wood who (gasp) tries to pass herself off as English when she is really a "Russian Jewess." Then he follows up with Simon Radowitsky, who "with the wild hope of his Race" is irrational. This book was published in 1977, not 1877, but you wouldn't know it from Chatwin's sensitivities. Read Wheeler for a cultured English viewpoint on Chilean Patagonia. And a much more interesting book.
Rating:
Summary: Where the Jumblies Live
Review: I was browsing the shelves of the travel section of a large bookshop recently. 'In Patagonia' appealed to me for three reasons. Firstly, I am planning a long trip to South America and am keen to read any writing covering that area. Secondly, I was captivated by Paul Theroux's comment on the back cover of the Vintage edition that Bruce Chatwin has found a remote place 'like the Land where the Jubmlies live'. I love eccentric people and places. Thirdly, I was intrigued by the pictures in the centre of the book - a corrugated iron hut on wheels, a run down station in the middle of nowhere, a set of hand prints on a cave wall and other peculiar and whimsical images relating to the places Chatwin visited on his travels and the stories he collected on the way. For these reasons, I had to read it.
What emerges is an extraordinary chronicle of the nomadic wanderings of Chatwin during his six month trip to Patagonia (he quit his job at the Sunday Times in order to go there). He begins by describing how he was curious to find out more about a curious beast, of which his grandmother had a fragment of skin, but soon becomes waylaid by a bizzarre succession of people and stories that build upon each other as the book progresses like a ramshackle house of cards. It is the stories that form the essence of the book. There is description of the geography and physical characteristics of the region but only in brief passages as a setting to another piece of Patagonian folklore. Chatwin clearly has an ear for a good story and an almost dilletante, enquiring mind. Also, in the manner of a skilled raconteur, he is frequently economical with the truth in order to include his own even better facts. Thus the book is a fascinating conglomerate of part travel writing, part sociology, part history, part anthropology and part fiction. Don't read the book if you prefer you travel writing to be straight down the line and give you a good indication of what it is like to be a tourist in the region. I suppose there are plenty of Lonely Planet/Rough Guide type books for that. Give it ago if you are a budding wanderer with a keen eye for scholarship and good storytelling.
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