Brian's Saga

Guts: The True Stories behind Hatchet and the Brian Books

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Guess what -- Gary Paulsen was being kind to Brian. In Guts , Gary tells the real stories behind the Brian books, the stories of the adventures that inspired him to write Brian Robeson's working as an emergency volunteer; the death that inspired the pilot's death in Hatchet ; plane crashes he has seen and near-misses of his own. He describes how he made his own bows and arrows, and takes readers on his first hunting trips, showing the wonder and solace of nature along with his hilarious mishaps and mistakes. He shares special memories, such as the night he attracted every mosquito in the county, or how he met the moose with a sense of humor, and the moose who made it personal. There's a handy chapter on "Eating Eyeballs and Guts or The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition." Recipes included. Readers may wonder how Gary Paulsen survived to write all of his books -- well, it took guts.

148 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2001

About the author

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Gary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 109 votes)
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109 reviews All reviews
March 17,2025
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In the book, Guts, by Gary Paulsen about himself and his life experiences and how they were all near death experiences. The book really went in depth on many of his interesting stories he told. Most of his stories were based off of surviving in the woods without shelter or anything. He based his other books of of his experiences the setting plots in his books are all mostly the same which is in either the woods or somewhere else that is deadly. He really expresses his passion for the wilderness and writing in this book.

His problems about surviving in the wilderness varied it could be from a wild moose attack during his trip in the iditarod or just the deadly weather. All of these problems were basically what the book was made up of and how he survived them. His problems were very hard for him to solve and interesting at the same time. All of his books related to his life and the wild especially Hatchet. This book was very interesting and impactful as a reader to learn many new things about his life and surviving in the wild.

This book would be a great read for a middle grade student who is struggling to find a book to read. Gary Paulsen teaches the reader many lessons throughout the book telling us about his dangerous experiences. The book would be great for anyone who is willing to be taken on a journey with many fascinating stories. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 star because of its impactful messages sends to the reader. One thing I would change is making the stories a bit shorter but keep the big ideas.
March 17,2025
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I've always thought that survivalist skills were essential for everyone. Though my reasons are more "prepper" related, Paulsen really brings to light how important it can be period. You never know when you might be stranded somewhere and, while I might have a better shot than the average Joe, I know I'm not even remotely prepared to live off the land. I love Paulsen's attitude towards always learning. Definitely makes me want to work on my wilderness skills and botony and scavenging!
March 17,2025
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After reading this book, I realized where Mr. Paulsen got most of the information for his main books like “Hatchet”. I enjoyed reading about Gary Paulsen’s life and it is something I can relate to. I thought that his attempt to eat the raw turtle eggs was rather disgusting. I can't imagine what other kinds of food he has tried. He was very brave to run the Iditarod with his dogs in the blizzard. Mr.Paulsen also experienced a plane losing an engine in flight. That had to be very frightening.

The book is an autobiography and is told by Mr. Paulsen’s point of view. The main character is Mr. Paulsen. This allows you to see the events through the eyes of Mr.Paulsen.

The setting mainly takes place in the north woods of Canada. This is where Mr.Paulsen grew up and the woods shaped him into the man he is today.There are also accounts of his Alaskan adventures. Most of the events in Alaska take place because of the dog runs Mr.Paulsen competes in.

The main theme is survival. Gary tells countless stories of how he battled the elements of the wilderness. For instance, he would go and live of the land for weeks at a time with no outside contact. Most of what he accomplished, is done on his own. He has had to deal with rampaging moose and bear attacks. I am shocked that he is still alive.

I would recommend this book to people of any age. I would also suggest that they should be interested in the outdoors and survival.
March 17,2025
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Guts is about the real-life occurrences that Gary Paulsen encountered in his youth and middle age. Paulsen's other books like Hatchet, Brian's Return, and Brian's Winter were inspired by his experiences in the wilderness. The book starts off describing his love for planes and flying, and how he came about learning to fly. He then goes on to explain some painful encounters while he was in the wilderness. The last part of the book he explains how he hunted and how he prepared- if at all- his "food".
I thought it was a good book mainly because it was an easy read but also his style of writing is easy to follow. It was very easy to picture a paragraph of his writing in my head something that I struggle to do when reading. It's hard to pick a favorite chapter because they were all very intriguing. If I had to choose a favorite chapter it would be the Moose attack. I enjoyed it because it sounded like an awful thing to have to go through. It seemed like the moose was going for the kill; I mean who knew that Moose were so aggressive towards anything that gave them a motive. For example, he mentions how while he was training for the Iditarod he witnessed a Moose charge at a tree and absolutely demolish it until there was nothing left of it. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in learning some survival skills or anyone in general just because of the imagery in this book.
March 17,2025
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Although famous for penning Brian's adventures in Hatchet and its followups, Gary Paulsen himself experienced many adventures and near-death experiences throughout his life. His love of the woods started when he was a young teen needing more food than his neglectful parents provided, so he figured out how to make a bow and arrows and began hunting. Later in life, he flew bush planes and then ran dogsleds, including multiple Iditarods races in Alaska.

These form the setting for specific stories of survival that inspired specific scenes in the Brian books, and Paulsen explains the connections as he tells the stories, which are like a series of loosely collected vignettes.

Readers who enjoy really true-to-life survival stories as well as hunting and fishing stories will enjoy this book. Readers who prefer not to read descriptions of animals or people dying or coming close to death may wish to steer clear.

Personally, I found it gripping and fascinating and read it through in a couple of hours, and I know exactly which middle-school boy I'm going to recommend it to first.

March 17,2025
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Title: “Guts”
Pages: 160
Author: Gary Paulsen
Copyright date: January 23, 2001
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Non-fiction
ISBN 0-385-326-50-5
Price: $16.95
Viewer: Cooper

The book ‘’GUTS’’ are real stories that involve the author, Gary Paulsen. He writes about the experiences he had when he was outdoors and when he was in the Air Force. The book is full of his adventures like hunting, fishing, and surviving in the wilderness. He explains how these adventures gave him ideas to write many other books such as ‘’Hatchet’’ and ‘’Brian’s Hunt.’’
tI enjoyed this book because there were different stories in each chapter. It was interesting learning about the author’s life. I like the outdoors and it was fun reading about his adventures.
tI gave this book a 4 star rating because it was interesting learning about the author and his life. It was entertaining and easy to read. I would recommend this book to adults and young readers who enjoy the outdoors such as going on a fishing or hunting trips. Readers will also enjoy learning about survival in the wilderness. The interaction he had with different animals is interesting and exciting.
Here are three books I would recommend for adventure readers. “The Ice Queen” is a book about how catching a walleye can save a family and their business. “The Lost Deer Camp” is a story about a boy who is sent away to live with his aunt and uncle. He is told not to go in the woods, but he doesn’t listen. He finds something in the woods that he never would have imagined would be there! “The Day "It Rained Ducks” is a story about a father and daughter and their black lab. They are going duck hunting and get caught in a dangerous storm. They fight to survive. These are all good reading choices because they are based around family and learning about the outdoors and learning how to be strong.


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March 17,2025
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I was looking for a good read aloud for memoirs at school and think this is the one! Intense but relatable, I have students who will connect with the home life and hopefully be inspired by the drive to be self reliant. Not to mention this might inspire them to read Hatchet ;)
March 17,2025
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Guts by Gary Paulsen is less of a story and more a collection of thoughts as to where the author got some of the ideas he used in his book Hatchet. A warning here--this is NOT the book to read immediately before or after eating ANYTHING! It is, however, and interesting insight into his thought process as an author.
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