What an interesting life！！ A Wild Idea by Jonathan Franklin is the true accounting of the life of entrepreneur turned conservationist， Douglas Rainsford Tompkins， 1943 – 2015。 Was he a restless spirit or was he an ingenious entrepreneur who lived his wildest dreams？ From a high school dropout to later become a renowned adventurer， businessman， and landowner， he did manage to live his wildest dreams。 He was an accomplished climber and explorer and often made fun of trendy gear used by those start What an interesting life！！ A Wild Idea by Jonathan Franklin is the true accounting of the life of entrepreneur turned conservationist， Douglas Rainsford Tompkins， 1943 – 2015。 Was he a restless spirit or was he an ingenious entrepreneur who lived his wildest dreams？ From a high school dropout to later become a renowned adventurer， businessman， and landowner， he did manage to live his wildest dreams。 He was an accomplished climber and explorer and often made fun of trendy gear used by those starting out with non-essential gadgets。 Starting with such low and wildly varied inventory to sell， his idea was "If you go light， you'll have more fun"。Tomkins was a hardcore climber。 He was the fourth time the Salathe Wall at Yosemite was climbed followed by his best friend Yvon Chouinard。The young days of selling items on the docks of San Francisco to creating the best-known companies such as The North Face and later Esprit。 He lived a very fulfilling， adventurous， and eventful life。 It wasn't easy but he had innovative ideas and traveled to wilder parts of the world。 He and some friends went to Patagonia where they devised a new route on Mount Fitzroy。 There was a film， "Fitz Roy- First Ascent of the Southwest Buttress"， of the experience made by Lito Tejada-Flores， who accompanied them on the assent。 In his personal life， he had an agreement: four to six months a year he was not a husband， father， or CEO。 He would leave for wilderness adventures with his close friends。The company， Esprit was first called Plane Jane and was designed from very humble beginnings before booming to success。 Later in his life， he became an extensive landowner in northern Argentina to southern Chile。Tomkins became an activist for organic agriculture， environmental activism， and received various honors in America and South America。 On his excursions through the wilderness， whether climbing， flying， or kayaking， he eyed the wildlife with the eyes of a naturalist and the heart of a rebel。 At age seventy-two， his death was caused by complications from an unfortunate kayak accident in southern Chile while on an adventure trip with his long-time friend Yvon Chouinard， the business creator and owner of "PATAGONIA"， and four others。 The cause of his death seemed to have happened in terrifying waves of hope and despair。 He did not actively participate in the lives of his daughters， but he lived it being creative， adventurous， and meeting challenges to protect the wildlands he loved。 I wondered if his emotional distance from his daughters was to ensure he would stay a 'wild spirit' and not concede to making decisions based on family or emotional ties？ I enjoyed reading A Wild Idea！ Anyone who enjoys wilderness， hiking， climbing， kayaking， and being in nature can appreciate the legacy left by Douglas Tomkins。Publication Date: August 10， 2021Thank you to NetGalley， the author， and publisher for the opportunity to read this book。 。。。more