On the Water : Discovering America in a Row Boat

by Nathaniel Stone

Release Date: 08 July, 2003

Edition: Paperback

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Let's Get Away From it All!

Have you ever been driving across a bridge and looked up the river and wondered what it would be like to be on the river instead of the road? Well this book will give you a look into what it is like to be on that river. The author does an excellent job painting the picture of isolation and contact with the rest of the world. While the reader does get some feel for what it is like to row for mile after mile, the author does not push the physical requirements too far. The writer treats us with his various encounters with different people along his way while covering a wide range of personalities. If you have wanted to take that long walk (or boat ride) down the road (or river) then this book is for you.

A Gentler Paul Theroux

Nathaniel Stone brings to mind a gentler version of Paul Theroux or perhaps a more innocent Jonathan Raban. He relates the concept and experience of the short-term nomad with a skill that at times makes even Bruce Chatwin seem clumsy. And being an oarsman, though my voyages last but a few hours, I can attest that Stone captures the magical feel of sculling.
But most impressive is the obvious joy and the wonderful people Stone finds during his travels. I read this book over three days when The Washington Post (my local paper) was filled with depressing headlines about the war-mongers Americans had just elected and the impending ruin of our environment. My wife and I were, half seriously, discussing to which city in Canada or Europe we should move. Stone snapped me out of my funk with his upbeat take on Middle America.