No Sequel to Life
From the Heart of a Bush Pilot
Published on 15. June 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
358 pages
979-8-9884470-8-5 (ISBN)
Description
He was sort of out-of-control from the moment he hit the ground running. Beginning life as the Dennis-the-Menace kid growing up in Santa Clara, California, to Alaska Master Guide License #110, Jerry Jacques has lived his life one adventure after another, and it's all recorded now for posterity in "No Sequel to Life: From the Heart of a Bush Pilot." So the story goes from a rock-climbing kid who ascended Yosemite's Lost Arrow Spire (exiting the summit via a rope stretched across the chasm between spire and cliff) on his 16th birthday, to more than one death-defying whitewater trip, multiple bear attacks, and a few airplane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. Jerry's mantra is, "it's not that you only live once-it's that you only die once, so why not live your life to the fullest you're able?" These pages provide his particular flight path for accomplishing just that--living life to the maximum. This is the tale of a true adventurer, living on the edge at every bend in the whitewater river and every flight into Alaska's wild and unpredictable skies. His brothers, John and Jim, say jokingly that Jerry's funeral could only be closed casket, implying there wouldn't be much left to look at after his final disastrous adventure. What he recounts in his book is sometimes humorous, often gut-wrenching, always compelling, and yet all amazingly true!
More details
Edition
Enhanced / Revised ed.
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
674 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-9884470-8-5 (9798988447085)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Raised in Santa Clara, California, Jerry Jacques knew from an early age that he wanted to be in the wild places of Alaska. The only way it appeared he was going to get there was on his own, however. Unfortunately, Alaska State Troopers and his parents didn't agree with the runaway kid. He persisted, and, after years of trial and error, he finally succeeded at the age of 18. Spending his first two winters in Alaska on his own, trapping furs from an isolated cabin in the wilderness, Jerry learned survival in what most would call a pretty dangerous school of hard knocks. After making a little money as a trapper in the winter and leading whitewater tours over the summer months, Jerry took life to a higher plane-literally. He obtained his pilot's license, basically again through his unique system of do-or-die. His long-time friend and sport-fishing client, Gen. Chuck Yeager wrote in a note to his friend: "Jerry, I remember you as a cocky young pilot unlikely to survive. I sat you down and gave you some stern advice. You listened and, since then, we have had many wonderful Alaskan flying adventures together. Over the decades, I watched you become one of Alaska's most experienced wilderness guides and pilots. "Jerry's need for adventure was realized through his pursuit of his Alaska Master Guide license. He worked with a singular purpose through assistant to registered guide and finally to his goal of Alaska Master Guide License #110. From his early days as a guide, General Yeager was a friend and frequent visitor to Jerry's hunting and fishing lodge in Iliamna, Alaska, as were a few U.S. presidents, congressmen, and sports notables like Jim Kelly. Now Jerry runs his very successful Alaska Grizzly Safari Lodge for wildlife photographers and their clients. He hosts Art Wolfe, National Geographic, and BBC, along with many other professional photographers. Jerry's family and his Master Guide status are what he is most proud of. He believes his faith in God carried him through all the adventures (and disasters) he recounts in No Sequel to Life.