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A review by rhaines46
River-Horse: Across America by Boat by William Least Heat Moon
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."