Journey on the James: Three Weeks Through the Heart of Virginia

Rating:
Summary: an ego trip, not a canoe trip
Review: The author comes acros as egotistical. Most readers, other than his family and friends, probably won't care about his opinions and the personal details of his trip. When telling us of the people he encounters who work, live and play along the rivers banks, he displays a superior attitude (the educated reporter meets us uneducated local yokels)

Rating:
Summary: Just what we needed.
Review: With all the regional travel books out there, what we really needed was one
more uninspired book about a canoe trip. This one, though, has the benefit
of being written by someone with little canoeing experience. This often
leads to a Bill Bryson-type narrative detailing amusing fact and fiction
about the author's misshaps. I have no doubt that this author combines fact
and fiction to weave his story ... but he chose a
less-interesting venue than Bryson. If your child were assigned a report on
the James River, this would be an excellent resource. If, on the other
hand, you are looking for an entertaining read, this book falls short. It
is basically a compilation of flood stories interspersed with bland
anecdotes about the author's experiences. The only mildly interesting
anecdotal segment was about an animal taking some item while the author
slept. Even that story was so gripping that I can't at this point (a week
later)remember what it was that was taken. I am sure the author finds
himself truly witty, and he may be in person, but this book falls short of
most regional travel accounts I have read. Perhaps the author should look
into writing textbooks.