grayduck's review
Reviewed 3/31/2005
Annotation:
William Least Heat-Moon, along with his co-pilot “Pilotis”, set sail from New York’s Harbor for a trip of over five thousand miles to Astoria, Oregon and the Pacific. This cross-country trek solely by boat gives the travelers a view of the United States that not many have seen – the Erie Canal of the great steel ships; the Mississippi of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn; the Missouri of Lewis and Clark; the Colombia of the gold rush. At times, River-Horse reads like a lazy stream on a summer day – filled with Heat-Moon’s ruminations and observations. There are dangers and narrow escapes, unique people along the way, and the rush to reach the Continental Divide before the Rockies’ snow melts. The gracefulness of Heat-Moon’s prose set against the beautiful backyard of the United States stirs up wanderlust within the reader. A highly recommended journey for armchair travelers and philosophers.
Actual Review:
Oh, I adore William Least Heat-Moon's books. Blue Highways is my favorite travel book, and one of my favorite books in general. Written almost 20 years later, River-Horse is also excellent, but it doesn't hold the same place in my heart.
"Only the curious, if they live, have a tale worth telling."
"Live little, change little."
"Live lots, change your lot with the dead."
"What is this, a competition of homilies?"
Annotation:
William Least Heat-Moon, along with his co-pilot “Pilotis”, set sail from New York’s Harbor for a trip of over five thousand miles to Astoria, Oregon and the Pacific. This cross-country trek solely by boat gives the travelers a view of the United States that not many have seen – the Erie Canal of the great steel ships; the Mississippi of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn; the Missouri of Lewis and Clark; the Colombia of the gold rush. At times, River-Horse reads like a lazy stream on a summer day – filled with Heat-Moon’s ruminations and observations. There are dangers and narrow escapes, unique people along the way, and the rush to reach the Continental Divide before the Rockies’ snow melts. The gracefulness of Heat-Moon’s prose set against the beautiful backyard of the United States stirs up wanderlust within the reader. A highly recommended journey for armchair travelers and philosophers.
Actual Review:
Oh, I adore William Least Heat-Moon's books. Blue Highways is my favorite travel book, and one of my favorite books in general. Written almost 20 years later, River-Horse is also excellent, but it doesn't hold the same place in my heart.
"Only the curious, if they live, have a tale worth telling."
"Live little, change little."
"Live lots, change your lot with the dead."
"What is this, a competition of homilies?"
maneatingbadger's review
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I enjoy detail. Least Heat-Moon is known for it. As he sails a motorboat across America, his observations wind likewise through geography, geology, history, linguistics, politics, and memoir. Nothing is so tangential or inconsequential that it can't be tied back to some grand unified theory on American Indian genocide, dam construction, or pork barrel spending. A little in love with his own voice and views perhaps, but more than witty and insightful enough to be worth it. Not coincidentally, this book led me to Cadillac Desert.
More...