Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

You'll learn a lot about Papua New Guinea in this well written book documenting Antonson's walks. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This title is much different than what I usually read, but I thoroughly enjoyed the departure. Not just the departure from my normal genre, but a departure to another part of the world. I spend a lot of time out hiking, so I felt I understood the foundation of the story on a personal level. I also have been engrossed in learning more about WWII recently and this book gave great insight into how this part of the world played a part in the war.

From an invitation by an Australian neighbor, Rick Antonson hikes the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. This book was more of a history book than a typical hiking book. There was very little text spent on the nature and bliss of hiking. Also, the trip ended up being a guided hike with 60 people or so. We never got a true visualization of Rick aside from his height until he got his haircut at the end of the book. If you are looking to read about the modern influences of World War II on Papua New Guinea then this book is for you, but don't pick it up if you are looking for a story of wilderness, exploration and growth.

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. It took forever to get started, and then nothing particularly compelling occurred on the hike in New Guinea. The book interwove an account of the Allied/Japanese conflict in New Guinea in World War II along the trail with details of the author’s hike along the trail today. This leads to a disjointed history combined with the narrative of a less than exciting hike. This book may have more resonance with Australian readers whose ancestors were deeply involved in the fight with the Japanese. .

This is a very interesting book, quite different from the standard trek manual.

The author, an American living in Australia, decides with his neighbour to walk the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. This is a physically demanding walk, and I had great admiration for the group who attempted the walk itself.

Their guides were very good - ecologically sound, they paid the villages for the facilities they used and encouraged projects to improve their lives while maintaining the native lifestyle as far as possible. The guides were also very knowledgeable about this area's role in the Second World War. The Trail was the scene of serious fighting between Japanese and Australian (and eventually American) troops, who had to cope with the unforgiving terrain as well as transporting kit and risking attack from the enemy.

The book explores the history in detail, and its effects on the group of travellers. Most knew little about the area before they arrived, but learned as they walked.

A very interesting book, both from an historical and walking perspective. It was great to be able to put the history into context along the Trail. The writing style was very good and drew the reader in, so it did not feel too much like being in school! I will look out for more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting and compellingly written account of hiking the arduous Kokoda Trail, with the area's World War II history woven in. The author was on an organized tour, and you learn about the mostly Australian hikers who attempt the trail, but I would have liked to hear more from the Papuan perspective about the island's history and their lives and culture now.

I have always wanted to read a story of people who have walked the kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
This was a very interesting story of the author and his fellow walkers, and the challenges they encountered in this harsh terrain, but also of the history of the trail which became a battle field between Japanese, Australian and American troops during WWII, causing many casualties as well to the people on Papua New Guinea.
As the hikers ended each day, we would hear about what happened along the trail during the war, or history of the people who live there.
It was fun to see the reason each of these individuals decided to do this walk
Well researched and It was interesting to see what was going on during the war in areas we barely heard of.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC of this book.

This was the first book that I have read by travel writer Rick Antonson and after finishing it my immediate reaction was that I must try to obtain some of his other travel titles. His writing is clear and concise and contains an agreeable mixture of humour, information and analysis which in the book includes an examination and an attempt at understanding the complexity of how Papua New Guinea and its diverse peoples are trying to come to terms with the fast changing modern world. The story begins in Australia where Rick has newly arrived and after a chance conversation with his new neighbour decides to join him on a trek along the 60-mile footpath through rough jungle and high elevations that constitutes the harsh and inhospitable Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea.

This is a book that not only tells the trials and tribulations, highs and lows experienced by the group of trekkers as they make their way through the hazardous route but more importantly it has an accompanying narration that looks back to that time when Japanese, Australian, and American soldiers engaged in some of the most bloodiest combat of World World II. The reminders of this conflict can still be witnessed on the trail and the title Walking with Ghosts aptly sums up the experience of going through terrain seeped with so much horror and inhumanity. Indeed one of the running themes of the book is the attempt of Monk (Ricks's neighbour) to try to make sense of why his father who went through the campaign later abandoned his family.

This is a book of insight and adventure, comedy and pathos that certainly gripped me and belongs to a superior level of the rather now crowded travel writing genre. I would certainly recommended this.

My grandfather fought in New Guinea during World War II and was on the Kokoda Trail. He talked about it a little bit before he died a few years ago but I really had no idea what he went through. This book put me in touch with him and his time in the Corps of Engineers in a way I had not experienced before. In addition to the author telling about his travels on the Trail, he interjects many pieces of World War II history that give context to the places he is visiting. I highly recommend this book for anybody interested in this little known area of the world and its history!

Seriously? I’m the first person reviewing this? Read this book. It’s great. It deserves an audience. Some walks are not like the others. This one, the two week trek to traverse the Kokoda trail that bisects Papua New Guinea, is obviously of the more extraordinary nature, due to its exotic setting and a surprisingly diverse and complex past. In my (and possibly yours too) imagination the location is indelibly infused with headhunting adventures and cannibalism. Turns out Papua New Guinea had a crucial role in WWII, where it was a much sought after advantageous military zone, sort of like a gateway to Australia and the expansionist ambitions of imperial Japan. I’m throwing all this in to demonstrate that this isn’t just a travelogue account from an unusual far away location. That alone would have worked too, the place fascinates me the way places I would definitely never want to set a foot in, let alone both feet and make them walk around, do. But this is also a terrific historical account of Papua New Guinea’s past from early settlers to modern day. Although the concentration seems to be given to WWII era. Which was great, actually, because in North America and some Europe, the war is being thought of mainly as something more or less contained in the continent (with some Northern African involvement) and Japan’s role is fairly limited to two major events. This book does a great job of presenting the way WWII way playing out in the other (huge) section of the world and it’s really interesting to learn about. Personally, my interests lay more along the lines of cultural anthropology and more of an ancient past, but this was terrific too, all learning is, really. So, not so much in the way of headhunting adventures and cannibals after all. A lot of dense and wild jungle, definitely. But the author did complete the trek (pretty impressive in itself for a man his age), wrote very engagingly about it, took some photos and also did an awesome and thorough and thoroughly awesome job of enlightening and educating the readers about the strange and distant land of Papua New Guinea. Very enjoyable read. Terrific for any armchair traveler out there. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Antonson has an impressive set of stamps in his passport, traveling to places the State Department has warned the rest of to steer clear of. This time out he’s attempting to travel the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, a trail I confess I never heard of before reading this book. The trail is a skinny 60 mile long path through often uncleared jungle, up and down vertiginous slopes with wild and unpredictable weather. Scattered along the way are the rusting relics of both the U.S. and Japanese armies, left behind after World War II. But despite all that (and the bugs, dear god, the BUGS!), the local people are kind and welcoming, offering the little they have to Antonson, eager to share the story of their lives and their home. An immersive read for those of us who like to do our traveling free of giant spiders and other creepy crawlies