Survival in the wilderness Gary Paulsen writes about it so powerfully in his vels Hatchet and The River because he's lived it. These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, taking readers through the seasons. In Paulsen's rth country, every expedition is a major one, and often hilarious. Once again Gary Paulsen demonstrates why he is one of America's most beloved writers, for he shows us fishing and hunting as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as source of life's deepest lessons.