Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Rendered (ISBN 0375701117)

Amazon.com Review:
Travel writing has been popular since Herodotus first jotted down his observations while journeying abroad. Now Tim Cahill adds Pass the Butterworms to the genre, and a welcome addition it is. As in his earlier books Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg, and Pecked to Death by Ducks, Mr. Cahill chronicles his trips to the far-flung corners of the world. Part of this author's charm is his resolute Everyman persona--he is neither remarkably brave nor extraordinarily competent. This is a man, after all, who capsizes his sea kayak in still waters and describes his rock-climbing experience as "hanging from a rope affixed to a diaper, which I am wearing in the place where diapers are most often worn. . . ." Not all of Tim Cahill's essays in Pass the Butterworms are comic, however. Perhaps the most memorable in the collection is "A Darkness on the River," Cahill's account of the senseless murder of a friend's son in Peru and its aftermath. And even his funniest tales have a bittersweet quality to them--the inevitable by-product of an outsider looking in.

"Pass the Butterworms" to Your Favorite Friends:
No butterworms, but plenty of reasons why not to live in Honduras, the joys of watching the international spear fishing competition (similar to watching the grass grow) and how to work the crowd of hostile natives (laugh a lot). Tim Cahill is an unabashed delight. If I had to go all or any of these places, he's my pick of a companion. Funny, quirky, compassionate and I suspect a lot more competent than he lets on. An added bonus is his lyrical writing; his descriptions are magic. His analysis of bringing stone age people into the age of technology is thoughtful, insightful and all empathy. In the essay, "On the River of Cold Fire" I have never read a better description of a totally cold, wet miserable journey. All the times, we have said "If I ever get out of here---" are summed up in this article. I've decided I will forgive him for accusing Emily Dickinson of over-editing and even his titles. It is so difficult to tell your loved ones you want "A Jaguar Ripped My Flesh" or "A Wolverine is Eating My Leg" for your birthday. But be firm. Insist these are what you really want.

another Cahill success:
How could anyone not like a chapter referring to Yogurt Riders? Tim Cahill's style is frank, entertaining and informal. As with most of his other books, Tim has gone out and done a lot of interesting traveling. He's always willing to write about embarrassing himself if need be, and I doubt he embellishes much if at all. _Butterworms_ is a collection of stories of these sorts of travels, and is well worth your time and money. A special note: Cahill books make superb gifts in my experience--anyone interested in new things and places tends to like them.

See Him, Wouldn't Wanna Be Him:
Here's another winning collection from Cahill, who takes all the risks of travel to remote and dangerous places and reports his travails in a humble and good-natured style. In this book we witness Cahill coming down with recurring malaria, going numb while posing for rock-climbing photos, and taking a great many falls and spills, usually resulting in embarrassing injuries. Much of Cahill's trademark sarcastic humor is missing from this particular collection, which seems to (intentionally or unintentionally) focus on more descriptive and serious examples of Cahill's writing. Some of the essays here are unexpectedly deep and even disturbing, such as the self-explanatory "Search and Rescue" and the real winner of the book, "A Darkness on the River," in which Cahill analyzes the murder of his friend's son. This book also has several interrelated pieces on the challenges faced by indigenous peoples in Irian Jaya, and the not-so-certain benefits of ecotourism in Honduras. The collection is held back from greatness by some sketchy and fragmented short pieces that don't offer any true insights, such as "Buford's Revenge" or "Help My Pilot..." but these may be useful for Cahill's more star-crossed fans. In any case, Cahill almost always brings us along for an enjoyable ride as he gets himself into all sorts of hardship for our amusement. ...

Someone described him as bittersweet and humorous, I think thats about right:
Tim Cahill is one of those lovely everyman travellers, he is an observer, a victim, a traveller, and a very good writer of it all. This, a collection of his essays for various magazines but mostly Outside, is a nice mixture of some of his journeys. This is quite a nice way to read travel sometimes and I think it works well for Cahill - you can just read one or two bits, or miss the stuff you don't want to read. Great for travelling with a book like this, bus rides, train rides etc can be easily chapterised. Not all of what he writes is funny, or meant to be. The thing I like most about his writing is that he is prepared to be the butt of his own humour when it is appropriate. I also like him as an observer of what is around him - for instance in Family Values in the Raw he talks about his visit to the Dani People and about the missionarys there - they grow "70 different types of potatoes, each tastier than the last" and to the Missionary opining they were going to satan, he observes that in fact they seem to have good family values, they certainly don't stand around on street corners drinking and yelling "hubba, hubba" at passing women. This is a really mixed bag of stories and situations - from people to places to groups - even to the North Pole - "the easy way" Anything by Tim Cahill is a definite must read in my book - and this a great place to start if you haven't read him before.

Pass the Cahill: Remote Journeys greatly rendered:
I had read 'Jaguars Ripped My Flesh' and 'Wolverines...' back in the eighties and made a note to myself to read every new offering. Time do fly. I've just read this fine collection, laughing all the way. I circled back to Mr. Cahill's books having just finished Bucky McMahon's awesome bundle of essays 'Night Diver'. Great humor here with some attendant sadness, places you'll never go brought to life as if they were in your back yard. Highly recommended.