Customer Reviews:
How to get from Here to There (and where to stop in between).......2000-02-24
This book was one of the most important references my wife and I used on our passage from Seattle to Skagway. Not only did it give us ideas on where to go the next day, but where to hide in case the weather didn't cooperate. A must have reference for every boater cruising the Inside Passage.
Amazon.com
British-born Jonathan Raban sets out on a passage from Seattle to Juneau in a small boat that is more a waterborne writing den, and as usual with the brilliant Raban, this journey becomes a vehicle for history and heart-stopping descriptions that will make readers want to hail him as one of the finest talents who's picked up a pen in the 20th century. The voyage through the Inside Passage from Washington's Puget Sound to Alaska churns up memories and stirs up hidden emotions and Raban dwells on many, including the death of his father and his own role of Daddy to his young daughter, Julia, left behind in Seattle. More than just a personal travelogue, however, Passage to Juneau deftly weaves in the stories of others before him--from Indians whom white men formerly greeted with baubles set afloat on logs, to Captain Vancouver, who risked mutiny on his ship when he banned visits with prostitutes, some of whom offered their services for bits of scrap metal. Pressed into every page are intimate descriptions of life at sea--the fog-shrouded coasts, the crackly radio that keeps him linked to the mainland, the salty marine air, and the fellow sailors who are likewise drawn by a life of tossing on water. While Raban successfully steers his boat to the desired port, readers ultimately discover that this insightful, talented sage is in fact emotionally in deep water and may not fully be captain of his own life. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
With the same rigorous observation (natural and social), invigorating stylishness, and encyclopedic learning that he brought to his National Book Award-winning
Bad Land, Jonathan Raban conducts readers along the Inside Passage from Seattle to Juneau. The physical distance is 1,000 miles of difficult-and often treacherous-water, which Raban navigates solo in a 35-foot sailboat.
But
Passage to Juneau also traverses a gulf of centuries and cultures: the immeasurable divide between the Northwest's Indians and its first European explorers-- between its embattled fishermen and loggers and its pampered new class. Along the way, Raban offers captivating discourses on art, philosophy, and navigation and an unsparing narrative of personal loss.
Customer Reviews:
My book of the year.......2007-08-29
Raban deftly weaves George Vancouver's expedition with his own journey up North America's West Coast two centuries later.
Introspective and heartfelt, the book is in parts auto-biography, travel-guide and biography. As a Passage to Juneau unwinds, Raban describes situations and others with great perception, yet is never afraid to expose his own frailties.
Passage to Juneau is beautifully written and explores Raban's thoughts every bit as much as the miles of water he covers. A tremendous book and fully deserving of the great praise it has received.
Much Better Than Earlier Raban Book.......2007-05-07
I tend to ignore author Raban's political diatribes (most of his writing, unfortunately) and revel in the beauty of his books about his personal boat journeys. I had earlier read "Old Glory: A Voyage Down The Mississippi" and felt that it lost focus about halfway through the narrative. That book seemed to reflect the desperate lack of focus and national malaise that the Carter administration brought on in the late 70's, and "Old Glory" would not be a Raban book I'd recommend.
However, Passage to Juneau is different. His solo journey by sailboat from Seattle to Juneau in the late 1990s is beautifully written with haunting scenes of his personal life interspersed with his musings on the sea. During the journey, his father dies and his wife demands a separation, the first personal tragedy giving Raban insight into his personal feelings about life and the sea, the second (at the midpoint of his journey, reaching Juneau) causing him to focus inward for the return trip to Seattle.
Despite his occasional lapses towards anti-americanism (throughout the book I kept wondering why he didn't move back to England or at least move north to British Columbia), Passage to Juneau is an intimate portrait of a man who is facing life's trials and the vagaries of some of the more treacherous seas in the world at the same time.
the inside passage.......2007-04-03
I've read many of Mr Raban's books and loved them all but this is my favorite. This isn't just a "travel" book, it's the history of the beautiful Inside Passage. You really feel like you are on Mr Raban's boat as he travels from Seattle, where he lives, to Juneau. He recounts the history of all the travellers who went before him - how certain Sounds and Inlets got their names - tells you about the people he meets - the things he sees - and shares a little piece of his own life history as he travels. During this journey he deals with the death of his Father and his upcoming divorce from his wife. He is a master storyteller. I live on the Puget Sound and have scuba dived up and down this Passage - this book brings the whole area to life. If you haven't enjoyed Mr Raban's prose before now, start here. You'll be hooked.
A Rougher Sea.......2007-01-09
Let me see if I can write a review that does justice to this book and at the same time explain to myself why it is such a great piece of literature.
I think the first point to make is that the writing mirrors the, by turns, eddying, chaotic, reflective quality of the sea itself, leading one deeper and deeper into the author's own meandering introspections about life and, yes, water in a very (to this reader anyway) seductive style, a style which is nothing if not allusive, reflecting Raban's own lifelong fascination with and profound love of literature. The account of Captain Vancouver's voyage along this same passage, taken from many sources, while certainly the most superficially parallel and certainly the most discursively ongoing of the allusions, is not in the end, the most significant and profound. That award must surely go to Raban's recounting of Shelley's last days and ultimate demise in the chapter entitled "Charred Remains", striking a parallel, in a much more profound manner than those accounts of Vancouver's voyage, to the last days and death of Raban's father and to the unsurpassed final chapter in which he invokes Cowper's "The Cast-Away" as a metaphor for his crumbling marriage and his own mortality.
Perhaps one, like Raban, has to already have a love of and familiarity both these poets to see what a feat he has pulled of here - though Raban provides the basic biographical background for each. To stick with the last chapter---Cowper isn't a poet much read anymore. But he's always been one of my favourites. One really has to be familiar with his intensely unbalanced life and mind to fully appreciate his poetry. In any event, by this last chapter of the book, we know what it's like to walk in Raban's shoes, to be in his boat, to wander through his mind and heart and to know how much he loves his family. When the hammer falls at the end with his wife and daughter deplaning in Juneau, we feel how crushed he is by it. And Cowper's "The Cast-Away" is the perfect poetic expression of the way we feel he feels, drowned not by the "real" sea he's been traversing, but by Cowper's metaphoric sea of despair. I frequently return to Cowper's "The Task"-A poem given him as a sort of assignment to ward off one of his mental fits-as well as "The Cast-Away" as two of the greatest poems in the language. I NEVER thought I'd see a modern author apparently effortlessly bring the despair of the all but forgotten poet back to life, but......Raban does.
So, yes, readers looking for a "sea adventure" yarn had better look elsewhere. How to know if you will fancy the book? Do you love history, English literature, introspective depths? Above all, do you know the feeling of being drowned by despair? Can you relate to Cowper's couplet?
"But I, beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm'd in deeper gulfs than he."
In short, do you know that INNER Sea? If so, this book will not disappoint.
Drifting, not sailing.......2006-04-26
The author fails miserable to hold together the historical journey of Vancouver, his current plodding through the inside passage, and his personal family life. Drifting from one to the other I dreaded learning more of this egomaniacs personal life! If the 430 pages had been edited down to 100 dealing with the history of the area, told as he travels through it, it might be a winner. But alas it's not.
Book Description
Inspired by Robinson Crusoe and Jack London, Michael Modzelewski, jettisoned all baggage accompanying life in the comfortable middle class and set out to find raw, unharnessed wilderness. He found it on Blackfish Sound ("Blackfish" is the Kwakiutl Indian word for the killer whale) in the Inside Passage, the rugged coastline between Seattle and Alaska.
Leaving his home in Aspen, which had become a false Shangri-La for him, Modzelewski settled on a desolate island in the Inside Passage, a place which "after seducing you with beauty would shake you with fear. An unpredictable place that kept you always prepared, honed to the keen edge of life." Here he lived alone for months on end.
Inside Passage describes his experiences in this unspoiled setting, where the sky is his ceiling, mountains are his walls, and physical challenges test him down to the marrow. He also forms unusual friendships with passing yachters, salmon fishermen, Kwakiutl Indians, loners, and the owner of the house he is staying at, Will Malloff, a man of oversized personality -- a healer, builder, woodsman, and thinker. Modzelewski writes with a love for nature and gentle humor about his interactions with the native animals (eagles, whales, wolves), local animals (cats, dogs, "tame" wild boars), and other settlers.
Inside Passage is the powerful story of one man learning the ways of self-reliance in a soul-filled search through the northern wilderness.
Customer Reviews:
Real Deal.......2006-04-25
I live in Alaska and a friend recommended Mr. Modzelewski's book. And now I recommend it to the world. Sure, there's the usual descriptions of animals, ocean, weather and solitude but what makes this book special is the author goes so much deeper into the Spirit behind things. Haven't stopped thinking about his experiences and it's been a month now since I finished the book.
PURE DRAMA.......2005-06-19
I'm an actress and read scripts, rarely books -- but after a producer friend recommended Inside Passage to me, I couldn't put it down! In fact, I read it three times. It was like watching a movie -- that's how vividly Michael Modzelewski writes. Alaska is a far different world than Los Angeles and I escaped completely to a pure and inspiring reality. Thank you, Michael! You are gifted and blessed. And who knows? Maybe we can turn this captivating story into a film, with the author and animals the main characters and could there be a more beautiful setting than the Inside Passage to Alaska -- as evoked so wonderfully in this poetic prose.
Interesting but too idealistic.......2005-04-01
Quick read. Definitely worth it if you have been or are going to be in the region. Some of his scientific stuff is a little off but it's not the right book if you are looking for exacting detail on these subjects. Modzelewski's perspectives were very idealistic and I found it a little difficult to believe that the experiences he relates were quite a spiritual or mind altering as he sometimes makes them seem. The author does pull series of stories or facts together well. The chapters addressed themes - like the tribes, animals, the island's owner, etc. Modzelewski doesn't try to tell you everything there is to know about any of these subjects but selects what he thinks is interesting and relates it briefly. Often the points he makes or the stories he chooses to tell are not ones that you might have expected.
Inside Passage -- Captivating!!!!!.......2004-09-08
A wonderful voyage in mother nature's womb, evoking feelings of awe, and revere at the colossal universe, inhaling the powerful imagery of wilderness through Michael.
Beyond Human.......2004-08-11
Michael Modzelewski writes like a wild animal. If the beasts could speak it wouldn't come out much different than how Michael describes them. The author knows no limits -- extending into and giving shape to all animate matter in super insightful poetic prose.
Book Description
In July of 1897, the S.S. Portland sailed from Skagway, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, carrying two tons of Yukon gold--its arrival setting off the famed Klondike Gold Rush. Now, a hundred years later, amid great fanfare and publicity, another ship is recreating the fabled voyage. But this time Death is on board.
A true Gold Rush buff, Alex Jensen is thrilled to be representing the Troopers on the Spirit of '98's historic journey down Alaska's spectacular Inside Passage even though it means having to dress up in an uncomfortable period costume and keeping an eye on the ton of gold the ship carries below. But as long as his lady love, the famous "musher" Jessie Arnold, is at his side, this leisurely trip through a giant maze of scenic straits, sounds, harbors and inlets is as close a thing to heaven as the quiet, serious policeman can imagine. That is, until an unexplained rash of shipboard robberies--followed by the strange disappearance and probable death of a crew member--pulls Alex rudely back to Earth.
Meanwhile, a stolen ketch sails north out of Douglas Island harbor in the Southeast Alaska Panhandle--silently cutting through the black waters of Gastineau Channel under cover o darkness, with a two-man crew and the bound I dead body of an innocent woman in the hold heading toward a fateful encounter that could write a grim new chapter in Alaska's history.
The only law officer in the vicinity, it is now Alex's duty to unravel the twisted skein of lies greed and lethal secrets that entangles the crew and passengers on this historic cruise, before Death once again hails the Spirit somewhere along the Inside Passage.
Customer Reviews:
Death Takes Passage.......2007-01-21
This is another fast-paced murder mystery by Sue Henry with great descriptions of the Alaskan countryside. It keeps you guessing until the end.
good book.......2005-01-26
the book death takes passage was a good book but the beginning was very slow and it was hard to keep track on what was going on with alex and jessie, the theifs, and the people planing to steal the gold from the ship. But as the book went on it got more interesting and when the crooks hijacked the ship the book got really interesting and i couldn't put it down.
Pirates of the Inside Passage.......2005-01-21
This book proves to be rather interesting and somewhat entertaining murder-mystery. Its part of Sue Henry's Alex Jensen and Jessie Arnold series. This time around, Jessie is without any doggies to help her around, a changed of pace for her. Most of the story take place aboard a ship and the story - which proves to be somewhat unoriginal - still was well written and paced.
I thought due to the fact that it take place aboard a cruise ship, this was one of Sue Henry's lesser Alaskan atmospheric books. Tidbits of Alaskana flavors is shown but this proves to be rather a run of a mill thriller. This book is more of an Alex Jensen book with Jessie Arnold playing somewhat of a second fiddle.
Despite of this rather lackluster endorsement, I still thought that the book was a page turner and the plot ended up working out pretty well. But overall, Sue Henry readers may regard this book as one of her lesser works.
Passage to Adventure.......2003-01-31
I took almost the same voyage with the Cruise West's Spirit of Endeavor from Juneau to Seattle a few years ago. This book relives that Inner Passage voyage with the Spirit of 98 brilliantly. Each town is described excellently. Mystery was inventive. I recognized so many real people in this book. The author must have enjoyed writing this immensely and it shows. A wonderful series. Got out all my pictures from that voyage to enjoy once again. Great adventure!
Shipboard mystery.......2002-04-20
The Spirit of '98, a small cruise ship, sets sail up the Inside Passage of Alaska to commemorate the Gold Rush of 1898. Alex Jensen and his girlfriend Jessie Arnold are aboard as official representatives of the State of Alaska. Alex is looking forward to a leisurely cruise, but his police skills are called into play when some valuable items are stolen from several staterooms. Soon the problems compound when a dead body is found in the water and one of the crewmembers disappears. In the meantime, 2 men have stolen a sailboat and later a powerboat to commit a crime which is unknown to them. Eventually the two story lines merge and the entire ship is threatened by a diabolical plot. Alex untangles the mystery and sets out to save the ship from imminent danger. Sue Henry can always be counted on for wonderful descriptions of Alaska interwoven with an intriguing mystery.
Product Description
This book was designed to be your onboard guide while cruising through Alaska's Inside Passage. You will get the inside scoop on what cruise passengers most want to see, do, and know while sailing in Alaska. From insights on elusive wildlife to the majesty and grandeur of the ancient glaciers, let Terry Breen open the porthole of understanding on an Alaska you never knew existed. It s fun, informative and will give greater meaning to your Alaskan cruise experience! It's 'Cruiser Friendly'!
Customer Reviews:
Like having her there!!.......2007-09-06
I was lucky enough to hear Terry Breen lecture on several occasions, so was delighted to read her book. A quick scan before the cruise helped my wife and I make tour decisions. The best thing was to read each short section as we were sailing ( usually the night before.) We would have missed tons of important sights and some stunning wildlife it it wasn't for the book. Alaska is expensive, and it is a shame not to get the most out of it. Buy this book.
Excellent guide.......2006-12-21
This book is a must read for any alaska bound cruisers. Take it on the ship with you, and refer to it often. Terry Breen is an absolute expert on cruising Alaska and having her 'with you' on your cruise is a must!
Customer Reviews:
An education on the Inside Passage.......2000-10-06
What a great account of cruising the Inside Passage from Seattle to Alaska from a fisherman who has been there and done that! It is a book I could not put down. You get an education on the cruising challenges, the weather, the fishing industry and breathtaking beauty of the Area. Joe Upton's experience from a small boat is nature in your face and will keep you on the edge of your seat. The book is full of great pictures and maps showing Joe's cruising routes during his 7 month season of fishing. This book gave me an education on what to expect cruising the Inside Passage which I want to do someday in a small boat. Anyone who wants to know more about the Inland Waters will love this book. Someday a movie will have to be made about this true story. Thank-you Joe for writting this book... it is a classic of history.
Very real!.......1999-10-26
Easy to read and to get 'involved in the story'. I have fished many of the areas described and the author is very accurate. Great reading if you have spent any time in Alaska.
Preping for Travel.......1999-04-25
We are preparing to Experience the Inside Passage during the summer of 1999. This will be our first trip. We wanted to read a book that would give us an idea of history, and what to expect on this first trip. This book is excellent on preparing one for a trip to this magestic country. Not only do you learn about the fishing industry, you learn about history, the summer weather, how residents survive in this country, its wildlife and senery. The maps in the book and their description of travel through the many inside passages is great and we now have a much better idea of what to expect when we arrive.
Certainly worth reading if you have an interest in the coast line from Seattle to Skageway.
Gary Beach
A beautifully detailed and illustrated fisherman's diary........1999-03-09
Joe Upton has a way with words and pictures that captures the changing, and often savage, beauty of the Southeast Coast of Alaska. Follow the daily adventures of the author, his wife and a dog as they ply the Alaskan salmon trade in a 32' boat from Seattle to Scagway and back. Beautifully illustrated with the authors own photos and maps its a must read for anyone who loves Alaska, the sea, boats or fishing. We had the good fortune of meeting and dining with the author in l998,(he now writes travel books), while on a cruise of the inside passage. We quickly became a fan of Joe and have devoured all three of his books. I just wish that I had read this book before the cruise. It would have made the trip all that more enjoyable.
Book Description
Discover the rich landscape and scenic beauty of Alaska's Inside Passage, including Skagway, Haines, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Alaska's Southeast details the region's history, culture, geography, and flora and fauna. It also provides extensive information on when to go, what to bring, how to get there and how to get around, where to eat, and where to stay. With more than 10 million acres of forest, 1,000 islands, 10,000 miles of shoreline, 50 to 70 major glaciers, and thousands of brown bears and eagles, Alaska's Southeast offers much to be explored.
Book Description
A giant six-foot by 11-3/4" fold-out map opens up to reveal vital details of this magnificent 1,000 mile Inside Passage-- names of glaciers, islands and channels that the cruise ships navigate through. Read about early explorers and ancient Indian cultures. Information on land and sea mammals are colorfully illustrated along with various types of fishing vessels that are likely to be seen. Learn about the exciting cities and ports-of-call along the cruise line route. Each city and port-of-call is covered by descriptive text, photos and a map showing the major points of interest.
Customer Reviews:
Exactly as expected.......2006-03-24
I was surprised at some of the other reviewers who expected this to be a book. It is a 6-foot long by 12-inch fold out map of the inside passage from Glacier Bay to Seattle. It does have some basic facts and information on the reverse side as well as basic road maps of most of the towns along the passage. I'm looking forward to tracking my entire cruise route on this relatively detailed map. If you're looking for more detail, I think you'd have to get a topo or a nautical map.
elementary disappointment.......2006-01-08
when i read the description in amazon on this "book", i thought it would make a pragmatic addition to my small library on the inside passage, its history and peoples. this is nothing more than a non-detailed not-to-scale map with information printed on the back which anyone who has attended high school would know. this is not a book. at $2.00 i would not have written a negative review (my first), at $3.00 i would have felt cheated, at $10.36 i feel tricked and outraged.
Just maps very little narrative.......2005-09-10
When I received this item, I thought they had forgotten to send me the book and had only enclosed the maps. They sent it to me again and then I realised that this flat map was the whole thing. Very dissapointed. Not much info for the price.
Good general info but needs upgrading.......1999-06-17
The chart is good for general information contained in one document. The quality of construction is excellent, allowing opening and closing many times without any tearing. As many of the cruies ships go further north of the present chart, the chart would be of greater value if it were extended to the Seward AK area. The course on the chart was a bit confusing as the ship I was on used a different route.
I LOVE this map!.......1999-02-13
A foot wide and eleven feet tall IS a weird shape for a chart, but I find it to be very enjoyable because it shows the whole inside passage in detail. Where else can you find something like this? Let's hope this map stays around. It's a great concept and allows one a greater appreciation of the region.
Book Description
The Inside Passage is something of a holy grail for contemporary sea kayakers. It is without question the most scenic and challenging paddling trip in North America. Kayaking the Inside Passage will aid kayakers both in planning and in carrying out paddling trips on the rugged Pacific artery that runs along the western edge of North America.
It is a complete through-trip guide to sea kayaking the entire 1,300-mile length of the Inside Passage along one select route with some alternate variations. This route runs from Olympia, Washington, past Vancouver Island and up through Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. No other paddling guide covers the entire length of the Inside Passage. There are 33 maps, 50 photos, and pen-and-ink illustrations. Miller includes complete historical and natural background along with proficiency and equipment recommendations. 50 black & white photographs, 33 maps, index.
Customer Reviews:
Kayaking the Inside Passage: A Paddling Guide from Olympia, Washington to Muir Glacier, Alaska.......2006-03-02
Mr. Miller has a wealth of knowledge in kayaking, the passage, and the environment. He shares this with humor and historic accuracy. I particularly enjoyed his observations of human interaction. However, it would be a much more digestable read if I didn't have to use the dictionary every ten minutes to discover the meaning of the obscure language he uses throughout the book. Although I clearly understand the gist, the audience (me)... would be more interested in a text that had a manageable rhythm. Perhaps he is trying to prove he is a literate, intellectual outdoor person. I will use this book to help plan my own month long trip in the inside passage.
Been There, Did It ... With This Book........2005-10-20
This summer 2005 I used this book to kayak the inside passage from Anacordis WA to Glacier Bay, AK. I left Anacordis on 18 June 05 and reached Glacier Bay on 25 Sept O5. This book was my guide the entire way. I tried every recommended campsite, and paddled the recommended route almost entirely, without stopping, for 1400 miles, and 3 1/2 months. So ... perhaps, in a small way, I am qualified to review this book.
The book's recommended route is impecable - perfect all the way from Anacordis to Glacier Bay, with one exception, as follows: Between Petersburg and Juneau AK, the author routes the kayaker along admiralty island to see a bear sanctuary, and then into a blind lagoon where the kayaker is forced to use a land trolley to transport his kayak across a peninsula. This route is a poor selection because 1)The bear sanctuary is impossible for kayakers to see because of beligerant forest service policies requiring advance reservations. No exceptions; 2)The blind lagoon's trolley has the rails disconnected at the north end, requiring the kayaker to CARRY his kayak on his back down a steep, high hill to finish the portage. Instead, kayakers buying this book would do best in ignoring the author's Petersburg to Juneau route, and instead paddle along the mainland shore, where multitudes of iceburgs float, where the second best whale-watching area in north america is, and best of the best, where the Tracy Arm Glacier is, arguable the finest, most impressive and actively calving glacier in all of Alaska. Why the author bypassed the miraculous Tracy Arm to NOT see a bear sanctuary that doesn't permit impromptu kayakers ... we can only guess.
Campsites: The author openly admits that he lost his notes on what his campsites were for much of the trip. Thus, the campsites recommended on the book's maps are anotated in the book with painful phrases paraphrased like "... the topo map shows this to be flat ground, so there maybe SHOULD be a campsite there...." OUCH. Speaking as a traveller who has visited all the author's recommended campsites, the author is right only better than half the time, and when the campsite he recommends turns out to be a swamp ... or indeed IS flat ground but is fronted by jagged rocks impossible to haul a kayak up the beach on ... that means the tired kayaker must continue paddling blindly and exhaustedly, perhaps with light failing and conditions deteriorating, looking for a campsite on his own. Now this wouldn't be so bad, except that for the vast majority of the inside passage, the mountains fall directly into the sea, leaving jagged cliffy coastlines where campsites appear only once every ten miles or so. Campsites are as scarce as hens teeth. So ... a tired kayaker having timed his paddling day to end at the author's recommended campsite ... has only a 50-50 chance of indeed finding shelter there, and will perhaps be forced to continuing paddling on ... and on ... and on.
Author's commentary and background research is superb. Many times I found myself teaching the locals about their own area by reading them this guidebook's commentary. The book is very readable and fun, yet is highly educational. The author's anecdotes had me rolling on my tent floor in laughter many times. Exceptions: The author comments that one can expect to see one to five bears a day along the inside passage. This is not so. I paddled 3 1/2 months, and only saw 6 bears, all of them black, none of them browns. Bears, and signs of bears, were few. Land wildlife is actually very rare along the entire inside passage ... but marine wildlife abounds. Only three places in 1400 miles did I see a deer, for example.
Overall, this book earns its 5 stars. But note the exceptions above to correct the book's few quirks. Hats off to the author on doing such a good job guiding us through such a demanding, lengthy, and thrilling journey.
Not Just a Kayak book.......2005-10-04
Full of history, regional politics, and local knowledge, this book is not just for kayakers. Anyone planning or dreaming of an Inside Passage voyage will enjoy this read. And yes, it has the maps,references, and all the hard-to-find details for actually doing this trip.
Kayaker's and Armchair Cruiser's Delight .......2005-07-08
Miller's book is filled with delights on every page. I picked it up because I'm heading up The Passage by ferry for the first time and I thought a kayaker's perspective could be interesting. I was not disappointed! Every page is an entertainment. From the trials of flood and ebb tides to the ever-present danger from bears to the capsulated history about almost every one of the 3,000 islands along the way. I felt I was present.
This is not just about paddling, which is detailed to the max, but about economics; and the climate; and the sheer brutality as well as the compassion of the men and women who braved it;
As I go on my comfortable armchair cruise, I will now know not only what is in front of me but what transpired at this spot 100 years ago, 500 years ago and even how the surface of the earth came to this spectacular visage.
How the eminent naturalist, John Muir got his come-up-ence from an elderly chief; how the first settlers crossed the land bridge into the new continent; how the more recent "discoverers" overcame hardship and missed opportunities to enter into a struggle between nations that, although currently without bloodshed, is still continuing.
I received much more than I was expecting from "Kayaking...". I received a wealth of background which will make my coming trip a true "delight".
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