|
The Survival of the Bark Canoe | 
 enlarge | Author: John Mcphee
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy Used: $1.36
You Save: $11.64 (90%)
New (28) Used (40) Collectible (1) from $1.36
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 193887
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 132
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.4
ISBN: 0374516936
Dewey Decimal Number: 623.8129
EAN: 9780374516932
ASIN: 0374516936
Publication Date: May 1, 1982
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Different Cover Buy from the best: 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship today!
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
In an age of mass-produced and disposable objects, traditional crafts are becoming extinct, and appreciation for craftsmanship has become a hobby for the wealthy dilettante. But here and there, a few stalwart individuals carry on the old traditions. Henri Vaillancourt of Greenville, New Hampshire is in large part responsible for the continuing survival of the birch bark canoe. McPhee tells the story not only of Vaillancourt and his work, but of the canoe's role in American history. Many McPhee fans consider this lovely and lucid book one of his finest works.
Product Description
In Greenville, New Hampshire, a small town in the southern part of the state, Henri Vaillancourt makes birch-bark canoes in the same manner and with the same tools that the Indians used. The Survival of the Bark Canoe is the story of this ancient craft and of a 150-mile trip through the Maine woods in those graceful survivors of a prehistoric technology. It is a book squarely in the tradition of one written by the first tourist in these woods, Henry David Thoreau, whose The Maine Woods recounts similar journeys in similar vessel. As McPhee describes the expedition he made with Vaillancourt, he also traces the evolution of the bark canoe, from its beginnings through the development of the huge canoes used by the fur traders of the Canadian North Woods, where the bark canoe played the key role in opening up the wilderness. He discusses as well the differing types of bark canoes, whose construction varied from tribe to tribe, according to custom and available materials. In a style as pure and as effortless as the waters of Maine and the glide of a canoe, John McPhee has written one of his most fascinating books, one in which his talents as a journalist are on brilliant display.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Received on time and in good condition. August 14, 2007
I have enjoyed many of John McPhee's books. I'm looking forward to reading this one. McPhee almost always presents a movable feast.
McPhee on Canoes and Canoebuilders September 25, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A very enjoyable little book by McPhee, especially for those of us who enjoy his work, but can be overwhelmed (bored?) by his frequent choice of geology as his primary subject.
As usual with McPhee we learn a great deal about the technical subject at hand; here the building of authentic birchbark canoes, but even more about the tradecraft and personality of the person and type of person dedicated to the subject.
Like McPhee, I live in New Jersey and have hiked and camped in the Pine Barrens, and fished for and caught shad in the Delaware River, and perhaps understand a little of his wanderlust. McPhee mentions canoes in many of his other works, is clearly fond of and experienced with them, and can barely contain his excitement over getting authentic with a birchbark canoe.
As others have noted, his portrayal of Henri changes a bit as we move from "the yard" to the water. McPhee notes that Henri is an artist in both ability and temperament. This is an academic conclusion that is easy to come by while watching in the yard, but not without a little personal discomfort to realize in the field.
I often tell my kids that one of the most critical rules one must follow to get along with a group while on a team, on a trip, or even on a family vacation is to take care of your own stuff and do a little more than your share of the work.Henri violates this rule and complicates matters further when it is revealed that although he is the self appointed leader, the emperor has no clothes with regard to actually using the canoes.
There is a faint sense of attempting to, but not quite being able to experience that which is desired. Do the canoes actually work as well as imagined? Is the land as beautiful? What of Thoreau and his observations? Have we incrementally embraced technology because it is quicker and easier, or because it is better? It seems to me that McPhee asks this question in many contexts, and slyly shows all sides without taking one, reminding me of the also excellent book by McPhee "Encounters with the Archdruid".
Read the book to see how you answer these questions.
A very simple, very beautiful book October 1, 2005
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Typically, I hate it when people write books about really short trips that aren't very adventurous or eventful.
But this is John McPhee, and he can write about whatever he wants.
This book is about a guy obsessed with building bark canoes like the Indians did, about a camping trip in the Maine woods, and about travelling through the wilderness when the rest of the world's advancing further into civilization.
It's a good book on bark canoes, on canoeing in general, on Maine, on the history of fur trapping, on the idea of wilderness, on obsession, and on Thoreau.
It may make you want to build a canoe, and it will almost certainly make you want to go camping. It's worth it just for that.
The book is written in John McPhee's clear, simplistic prose, and always feels focused and well-paced. It's a good introduction to McPhee, and a good book, period.
You should read it.
Thoreau and Beyond September 18, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read this book years ago and have even given a couple of copies away to friends! So I highly recommend this book and many of McPhee's other works. As to Henri Vaillincourt, the hero of the book; he would say don't believe everything you read in the book... He builds canoes still today, and very nice one at that. He even has a website that I will not list here. The true beauty of the book is first it recreates how to build a true Algonquin style canoe. Second it recreates Thoreau's "Maine Woods" trip. Lastly it shows a man, Henri with an interest that has became his passion for the last forty years or his life. If you ever drive up up New Hampshire Route 31 you can see his works of art in progress on the side of the road. I also recommend Thoreau's The Maine Woods as a companion book to this one!
It left me with a tremendous appreciation of bark canoes July 17, 2000
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
As a canoeist, handyman, and McPhee fan, I enjoyed this little book very much. Like the 5-11-2000 reviewer, I found it to come in two parts. The first part details technical details about birch-bark canoes and how Vaillancourt became a self-taught master of their construction. The second part describes a canoe trip with Vaillancourt and others. That other reviewer found the second half to be parody of Vaillancourt, but I disagree. As in The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed, real life sometimes takes a turn that a dreamer would not expect. Like his other non-fiction, I felt that McPhee offered real insights to the peoples' character and doesn't hesitate to sing their praises nor describe their shortcomings. I enjoy the copious background information that McPhee includes in all of his books. Even more than a Tracy Kidder book, you come away feeling like you have some in-depth understanding of the subject.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
