The Long Route to Print

A strange feeling.

Today I received the French edition of my second book "Planning Reliable Routes". The translation and printed edition were prepared by Fabrice Lapergue — huge thanks to him for that. I already had the first book in French — the only printed copy I own so far. And now I’ve received the second one. It’s also in B5 format but about one and a half times heavier — larger in volume, with more pages. It’s a weighty book. Together, the two weigh almost a kilogram.

And it feels… strange. Of course, I still need to make the English print edition — the original version. Only then, I think, will the project feel truly complete. The book deserves to exist in print, to stand on a reader’s shelf at home.

But those first seconds were very emotional, and even now, more than an hour after unpacking the parcel, I’m still under the impression. I didn’t expect to feel such strong emotions — a mixture of deep fatigue and enormous gratitude to everyone who helped make these books happen.

Fatigue from four years of forced migration. I won’t go into details, but it’s not easy to start from scratch in a new country.

And gratitude — to the people who believed in this project from the very beginning. Back when, honestly, it barely existed at all. The very first people who believed were those who knew me personally. Later, as the work began, people who saw the drafts also stepped in.

The editorial team are the people who help shape the text — making it clear (I hope) for readers, logically consistent, and accurate. They also make sure that the examples are realistic, not too difficult, not too simplistic, and truly relevant. I want to name the core team of editors here: 

Clive Allen, Ross Burnett, Dmitry Davidovich, Sergey Pisarchik, and Aleksei Alekseyonok.

There are many more people who helped — test readers, graphic contributors, translators into different languages, and the designer. My deep gratitude to all of them.

And, of course, my gratitude to my family — especially to my wife, Svetlana, and to all our children. They are my support and my mentors. They all understand that this is an important project, and the work continues.

We are now in the middle of preparing Book 3, and the editorial team is working on it — and I’m genuinely happy about that. I hope that by the end of the year everything will be ready. The final part of the series "Confident Orienteering" should be released.

Originally, nobody expected this to become three books — it was supposed to be just one. But there is a lot of material. I can’t present it in a simpler way. Many people say the level of detail is what makes the series valuable, so we’re dividing it into parts to make it easier to read and to follow.

I’m also working to make sure that the original printed edition in English becomes a reality. I really hope that will happen too.

And of course, thank you to all readers. Your purchase of the book makes the project real — and ensures it continues. The whole team sees that the book is being read, that it’s needed, and that there is feedback. And yes, the financial support also helps to keep the work going.

Once again, thank you all.

With love for orienteering,
Aleksandr Alekseyonok, April 10, 2026

All about "Confident Orienteering" books on this website.