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michelleflaherty's review against another edition
4.0
This guy takes his teenage son and paddles to the Amazon.... from Winnipeg.
kristenlesperance's review against another edition
5.0
When I first started dating my husband he told me about this book and how it was one of his favourote books. I loved hearing him tell me stories he remembered from it amd couldnt wait to get my hands on a copy. 19 years later I found a beaten up old copy and was elated. As a Winnipeger this books gives me great prode in a fellow Winnipeger and as an outdoors women pride in such a feat of courage, adventure and will by a fellow outdoors person. Don is a great story teller and this book was a good show of just how good he was. His detail makes you feel you were there experience it along with them. I wish I had the chance to met Don before he passed away. Highly recommend to anyone.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
If we’d known we were going to make it, the challenge would not have been the same—we might not have gone. If we’d known what lay ahead, we certainly would not have gone. (13)
Oh man. My previous impressions of Starkell stand: I was at my mother's when I read this, and every so often I had to look up and say, 'Mummy, I'm so glad I wasn't on this trip.' (I mean, the trip happened almost a decade before I was born, so there wasn't exactly a risk of that, but...) Starkell describes a trip in which he pushed his sons (who were, at best, partially invested in the trip to begin with) to—and sometimes past—breaking point, setting a punishing pace for no reason other than that he cannot see middle ground between 'resting' and 'leave nothing on the table', coming to blows with his sons over navigation and other decisions.
In the cross-Canada Centennial canoe race in 1967, the six men in our Manitoba canoe, Radisson, covered 3,283 miles in 104 days to win the race. Jeff, Dana, and I have now been paddling 104 days and have come 3,220 miles. And back then I was with some of the strongest paddlers in the world. (64)
I don't mean to make Starkell out to be a villain. It's actually pretty fascinating to consider the difference in tone between Amazon and [b:Arctic|886797|Paddle to the Arctic The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World|Don Starkell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179190274l/886797._SY75_.jpg|872055]—here, Starkell is learning some of his limits; by Arctic, he has a good (sometimes inflated) sense of what they were and less patience for the need to learn as he goes along. But even so, at times he...has a hard time holding on to self-awareness. Take these two passages:
Yet there is so much adventure here, and Starkell is so clearly so passionate about what he is doing. So while I cannot recommend him as an expedition leader (among other things, too high a chance that he'd rate the success of the expedition more highly than your survival), it makes for quite the read.
Oh man. My previous impressions of Starkell stand: I was at my mother's when I read this, and every so often I had to look up and say, 'Mummy, I'm so glad I wasn't on this trip.' (I mean, the trip happened almost a decade before I was born, so there wasn't exactly a risk of that, but...) Starkell describes a trip in which he pushed his sons (who were, at best, partially invested in the trip to begin with) to—and sometimes past—breaking point, setting a punishing pace for no reason other than that he cannot see middle ground between 'resting' and 'leave nothing on the table', coming to blows with his sons over navigation and other decisions.
In the cross-Canada Centennial canoe race in 1967, the six men in our Manitoba canoe, Radisson, covered 3,283 miles in 104 days to win the race. Jeff, Dana, and I have now been paddling 104 days and have come 3,220 miles. And back then I was with some of the strongest paddlers in the world. (64)
I don't mean to make Starkell out to be a villain. It's actually pretty fascinating to consider the difference in tone between Amazon and [b:Arctic|886797|Paddle to the Arctic The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World|Don Starkell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179190274l/886797._SY75_.jpg|872055]—here, Starkell is learning some of his limits; by Arctic, he has a good (sometimes inflated) sense of what they were and less patience for the need to learn as he goes along. But even so, at times he...has a hard time holding on to self-awareness. Take these two passages:
[On quitting his job for a race when he was 34] For the first time in my life, I had made a major decision that was not subject to someone else’s expectations or control. I had done as I pleased—I would do so from that point on. (20)
My other major concern was that, off and on throughout the spring, Jeff’s commitment to the trip had been something less than total… We needed his skills as a handyman. More than anything, of course, we needed him as a son and brother. It bothered me that his relatives on his mother’s side had encouraged him to do what he wanted to do, without obligation to the trip. (21)Telling, no? He can see, on the one hand, how going his own way shaped his life; on the other hand, he struggles at times to see past the very specific goals he'd set for his sons—no matter what they did for careers, but first, time to see about that epic trip he'd been prepping them for for the past decade (though, oddly, the prep doesn't seem to have included all that much experience on a canoe or money put towards updated supplies). They'd be doing the trip, come hell or high water...low water...swamp water...treacherous water...
Yet there is so much adventure here, and Starkell is so clearly so passionate about what he is doing. So while I cannot recommend him as an expedition leader (among other things, too high a chance that he'd rate the success of the expedition more highly than your survival), it makes for quite the read.
canada_matt's review against another edition
5.0
Back in the late spring of 1980, Don Starkell began an epic canoe journey with his two sons, Dana and Jeff. They planned to travel from the Red River in Winnipeg (Canada) down through to the Amazon, into the depths of Brazil. At over 12,000 miles, this would be the longest attempted journey ever in a canoe, which would test them at every turn. From the early attempts to get their rhythm and try not to bicker with one another, the Starkells sought to create a strong connection and teamwork as they made their journey into the Mississippi. While travelling through Canada and the United States was, for the most part, smooth sailing, their crossing into Mexico started a series of events can none of them could have predicted. Being stuck on land due to the weather, running out of supplies, and the start of salt sores, which almost paralyzed Don and Dana, things were sometimes overwhelming. Six months into their trip, Jeff decided that this was not the trip for him and he left, happy to return back to the barren winter of the Canadian Prairies. This left Don and Dana to forge onwards, where gun-toting pirates awaited them, as well as various military contingents, all wanting to see their documents. While Don documented the trip, Dana honed his guitar skills and entertained locals wherever he could. The journey progressed and while there were setbacks, the Starkell men were able to push onwards and make significant progress, eventually reaching the Amazon. It was there that much of the flora and fauna changed, becoming extremely tropical (as well as dangerous for cuts and infections). Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, these two pushed themselves past their limits and made it, twenty-three months later, to the heart of Brazil, having accomplished their ultimate journey. Left with memories and a lifetime of stories, Don and Dana Starkell made that incredible trek, paddling to the Amazon in their canoe. A wonderful read for those who can handle journal storytelling, told frankly and with much inspiration. I am so happy to have been able to revisit this story so many years later.
While I do not have a personal connection to this story, I did grow up in Winnipeg and read the complete published book in grade school, as well as meeting the author. His tale left me wanting to know all about it and I cannot be happier that Don Starkell took his massive handwritten journal and put it into something that could be published. His story is not only one of determination, but a journey of the soul, where he was able to get closer to his son (Dana) no matter the adversity that was placed before them. The Starkells faced many a dangerous experience and wanted to turn around numerous times, but did not let this spoil their sense of adventure. Sickness, disaster, political roadblocks, and even weather shaped their trip, but the Starkells simply rolled with the punches and made the best of what they could. This book, told in a number of journal entries, breathes life into this journey and helps the reader better understand what was at stake and how daunting this trip turned out to be. While they did earn entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, it was not praise or notoriety that drove these men, but the sense of wanting to accomplish something. It is for that reason that this was such a great book for me to choose as I sought something about a journey for my Book Challenge. I would encourage anyone with a sense of adventure to strap themselves in and try this book, then go out and see Don Starkell’s more troublesome adventure in Canada’s Arctic waters. But that, my friends, is another story entirely!
Kudos, Mr. Starkell, for your wonderful determination. I am so happy to have shared in this adventure and to have met you all those years ago. I hope others take the time to learn about this adventure and what it meant to you.
This book fulfills Topic #4: Here to There in the Equinox #3 Book Challenge.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
While I do not have a personal connection to this story, I did grow up in Winnipeg and read the complete published book in grade school, as well as meeting the author. His tale left me wanting to know all about it and I cannot be happier that Don Starkell took his massive handwritten journal and put it into something that could be published. His story is not only one of determination, but a journey of the soul, where he was able to get closer to his son (Dana) no matter the adversity that was placed before them. The Starkells faced many a dangerous experience and wanted to turn around numerous times, but did not let this spoil their sense of adventure. Sickness, disaster, political roadblocks, and even weather shaped their trip, but the Starkells simply rolled with the punches and made the best of what they could. This book, told in a number of journal entries, breathes life into this journey and helps the reader better understand what was at stake and how daunting this trip turned out to be. While they did earn entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, it was not praise or notoriety that drove these men, but the sense of wanting to accomplish something. It is for that reason that this was such a great book for me to choose as I sought something about a journey for my Book Challenge. I would encourage anyone with a sense of adventure to strap themselves in and try this book, then go out and see Don Starkell’s more troublesome adventure in Canada’s Arctic waters. But that, my friends, is another story entirely!
Kudos, Mr. Starkell, for your wonderful determination. I am so happy to have shared in this adventure and to have met you all those years ago. I hope others take the time to learn about this adventure and what it meant to you.
This book fulfills Topic #4: Here to There in the Equinox #3 Book Challenge.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
lissamphibian's review
4.0
What is there to say about the late Don Starkell and this truly unbelievable adventure? Perhaps only that I'm convinced the man was secretly eight cats in disguise for the number of lives he went through in such a short time. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cringe, and usually just did both. By page 267/310 we were playing chicken with an anaconda and I was ready to throw in the towel, though Don and Dana never did even when it would have been advised. Amazing overall, lost one star in my mind for the occasional, unavoidable tedium.
raehink's review
5.0
Phenomenal! Such a good read. The author and his sons travel by canoe from Canada to South America. 12,000 miles! In a 21-foot canoe! They encounter wild animals and natives, drug runners, ocean storms, near-starvation, illness and despair. This is a true family affair and a refreshingly clean read. Highly recommended.
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