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kirstenrose22's review
4.0
I am a huge fan of Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. This book traces his trip across America by boat. It's pretty good, but a little draggy and pedantic in spots. Best read in front of your computer with Google Maps open so you can see the satellite images of what you're reading.
coffeestove's review
2.0
I've tried to finish this book multiple times over the last several years and I've finally done it.
I've heard nothing but wonderful things about the author and the premise of the book sounds amazing but every time I've picked it up it's been a struggle fest. Least Heat Moon combined several live humans into composite characters and the effect can be a bit jarring at times.
I still really want to read Blue Highways but this was not a promising entry into his work.
I've heard nothing but wonderful things about the author and the premise of the book sounds amazing but every time I've picked it up it's been a struggle fest. Least Heat Moon combined several live humans into composite characters and the effect can be a bit jarring at times.
I still really want to read Blue Highways but this was not a promising entry into his work.
vgracee's review
3.0
The descriptions of rivers in this book are beautiful. At some points, it was pure poetry. However, I felt he wrote about women in a dismissive way and glorified both the destructive history of "westering" and the men who were part of it.
rhaines46's review
3.0
In its favor: I like a travelogue, and I like a writing that's interspersed with interesting quotes and trivia. There were some neat coincidences, which are certainly much more exciting to experience than to read about, but are still cool.
Counting against it: much like a cross-country boat trip, this book is long. Much like I would get annoyed with a real traveling companion on a trip that's gone on too long, I got annoyed with Least Heat-Moon. He's such a dude; he gets so aggrieved when strangers suggest he's anything less than an expert at boat stuff and talks shit about other boat guys, while REGULARLY screwing up. I have no stake or standing in this dispute, not being a being a boat guy myself, but I still wanted to tell William that I bet he actually sucks at boat stuff. He talks a lot about how hard the Missouri River is to read, and I just want so badly for him to confront the possibility that maybe he's just not all that great at it but he never does.
Also, being riverbound really limits the number of people who Least Heat-Moon encounters which is a shame because landscapes are much more interesting to see than to read about, but interesting people come across real nicely, like the guy in a bar in North Dakota who, when asked if he'd like another beer, said: "I would -- I want to cuss some more."
Counting against it: much like a cross-country boat trip, this book is long. Much like I would get annoyed with a real traveling companion on a trip that's gone on too long, I got annoyed with Least Heat-Moon. He's such a dude; he gets so aggrieved when strangers suggest he's anything less than an expert at boat stuff and talks shit about other boat guys, while REGULARLY screwing up. I have no stake or standing in this dispute, not being a being a boat guy myself, but I still wanted to tell William that I bet he actually sucks at boat stuff. He talks a lot about how hard the Missouri River is to read, and I just want so badly for him to confront the possibility that maybe he's just not all that great at it but he never does.
Also, being riverbound really limits the number of people who Least Heat-Moon encounters which is a shame because landscapes are much more interesting to see than to read about, but interesting people come across real nicely, like the guy in a bar in North Dakota who, when asked if he'd like another beer, said: "I would -- I want to cuss some more."
pattieod's review against another edition
3.0
Across the US by small boat. A long and dogged trip, but worth the ride.
kairosdreaming's review
3.0
Have you ever thought about traveling across America by boat? No really, not around, across; through the rivers and portages taking each snakey way around the land in a trusty motorized boat or canoe. Well Least Heat-Moon did, and with a friend (well a few friends at times) he did just that. Having read his Blue Highways and enjoyed it, I figured this would be a good one too.
Later in life after having traveled the blue highways of America, and with an impending divorce, Least Heat-Moon decides that he wants to take another trip across America. Only this time he wants to do it on a different kind of blue highway. The watery kind. So he buys a little boat, finds some friends who can help him on his way, and maps out a course where he can travel the most by river and by not having to use too many portages. He meets people along the way, stops every night to rest in a different city, and learns what the majority of America's waterways look like.
Least Heat-Moon is a decent narrator. He tells you a lot about himself and the people he travels with. You get to hear a few stories about the people he meets along the way, but really not too many. More often than not he's telling stories about the people he's traveling with's pasts and such. He also treats the boat as if it were a person, and there's a ton of description and history behind the boat and why it's named what it is and why he chose such a boat.
While this was an interesting book I still don't feel as if I know America's waterways. I know the laws, the ways that it has changed due to the damming and infrastructure and population of America, but I don't really recall too much in the way of scenery described. Oh sure there was some, but not the in-depth descriptions I was looking for. And that goes for almost everything aside from the boat itself. I wanted to know more about the people and the nature scenes and I felt that it was a bit lacking in this book. There was a lot of social commentary, a little politics, and a lot of personal history about the author and his friends. Which made it seem more like a memoir than a travel narrative.
An ok book, but not quite what I had expected it to be. If you're fond of Least Heat-Moon's writing, you'll like it.
River Horse
Copyright 1999
502 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2015
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Later in life after having traveled the blue highways of America, and with an impending divorce, Least Heat-Moon decides that he wants to take another trip across America. Only this time he wants to do it on a different kind of blue highway. The watery kind. So he buys a little boat, finds some friends who can help him on his way, and maps out a course where he can travel the most by river and by not having to use too many portages. He meets people along the way, stops every night to rest in a different city, and learns what the majority of America's waterways look like.
Least Heat-Moon is a decent narrator. He tells you a lot about himself and the people he travels with. You get to hear a few stories about the people he meets along the way, but really not too many. More often than not he's telling stories about the people he's traveling with's pasts and such. He also treats the boat as if it were a person, and there's a ton of description and history behind the boat and why it's named what it is and why he chose such a boat.
While this was an interesting book I still don't feel as if I know America's waterways. I know the laws, the ways that it has changed due to the damming and infrastructure and population of America, but I don't really recall too much in the way of scenery described. Oh sure there was some, but not the in-depth descriptions I was looking for. And that goes for almost everything aside from the boat itself. I wanted to know more about the people and the nature scenes and I felt that it was a bit lacking in this book. There was a lot of social commentary, a little politics, and a lot of personal history about the author and his friends. Which made it seem more like a memoir than a travel narrative.
An ok book, but not quite what I had expected it to be. If you're fond of Least Heat-Moon's writing, you'll like it.
River Horse
Copyright 1999
502 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2015
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com