Indiana Jones: Off The Beaten Path: An Unofficial Expedition
Written by George Beahm
Illustrations by Tim Kirk
Foreword by Eric H. Cline
Hampton Roads Publishing Company
Release date: April 18, 2008

With the imminent release of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, a whole new crop of merchandise has bloomed to take advantage of the excitement and renewed interest in our favorite archaeologist-adventurer. One of these is George Beahm‘s new book Indiana Jones: Off The Beaten Path, which is an “unofficial expedition” of the universe Indiana lives in. Beahm’s book focuses on where facts end and fiction begins as he explores each of the first three films in depth, and briefly touches on the newest adventure. This fact versus fiction thesis statement is nicely summarized in the foreword by archaeologist Eric H Cline, who is a huge fan of Jones, and appreciates what the character has done in raising interest in the field of archaeology.

It is a shame that Cline is not involved with anymore of the book than the foreword (though an article of his entitled “Raiders Of The Faux Ark” has been reprinted here), for his hands-on expertise would have been a welcome voice amongst the pages. Instead, Beahm goes on a rather superficial exploration of the series, before launching into a look at the world of archaeology, and finally sales pitches for tie-in products. While it is clear from the first page to the final page that Beahm is a fan of the series, it is equally unclear who this book is geared toward. Beahm never truly digs deep enough into the realm of Indiana Jones to satisfy hardcore fans who most likely already have an encyclopedic knowledge of the series. Conversely the book, which is an “unathorized” compendium, is by no means the best way to introduce new fans to the series.

Beahm gets the book started with a brief introduction to the main characters that inhabit the world of Indiana Jones, followed by a quick overview of the first three films. This look is more filler than anything, for any self-respecting Indy fan should already know this information by heart. It is in this section that perhaps the most frustrating part of the book becomes increasingly clear — there are no photos from the actual movies. Instead, Beahm fills his pages with countless snapshots from the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular in Disney World, the Indiana Jones Adventure in Disneyland, and images of prop replicas. This alone is almost enough to warrant a complete pass on the book.

However, the book tries to redeem itself in the next chapter, “Fact, Fiction, or Folklore” which is a Q&A that takes a look at the fantastical worlds and countries that Indy visits. The chapter is broken down into sections for each movie, and answers questions like “Did the Ark of the Covenant ever exist?,” “Did the Sankara stones really exist?,” and “What exactly is the Holy Grail?”. Some of the questions are merely a device to explore the magic of movies, but for the most part they try to stay on a historical exploration of what is represented in the films. A few tidbits of information can be found here that are well worth tucking away to pull out at an opportune time to show off to fellow Indy fans.

After a brief look at the Indiana Jones rides in Disney’s two theme parks, and a plug-filled section on how to “look” the part of Indy, Beahm turns his attention to the locations where the Indiana Jones movies were filmed. Here you’ll discover what sequences were shot on location, and as well as a few surprises for settings that stood in place of location shooting. For instance, did you know that the opening South America sequence in Raiders Of The Lost Ark was filmed in Hawaii, or that the final iconic shot in Last Crusade was not actually shot in Jordan, but in Amarillo, TX?

Beahm finishes out his book with Cline’s reprinted article that discusses faux-archaeology and what must be done to stop the advancement of pseudo-science, a day-in-the-life of a field archaeologist, and a list of mythical and legendary places around the world that would be the perfect setting for Indiana’s next adventure. Beahm also can’t resist throwing in yet another section of plugs and tie-ins under the guise of “general resources.”

For all its enthusiasm, George Beahm’s book does little to add to the already vast amount of information and reference material already available for diehard Indiana Jones fans. While there are a few nuggets that will certainly be of interest to most fans of the series, they are few and far between, and nestled deeply in what is otherwise an informercial pointing the reader to other websites, and pushing merchandise. Your best bet is to throw this book into the Well Of Souls, and seek out an authorized compendium instead.