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Floating Down the Country | 
 enlarge | Author: Matthew Mohlke
Publisher: Lone Oak Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $4.70
You Save: $12.25 (72%)
New (3) Used (9) from $4.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 1242397
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1883477492
EAN: 9781883477493
ASIN: 1883477492
Publication Date: February 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Expedited shipping is not available for this item. Items are mailed via USPS media mail within 2 business days and should arrive 4-14 business days later.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"Travel along my fantasy float through experiences with the Chippewa Indians of the north to 4th of July with the KKK, to a standoff in the dark woods of Mississippi at gunpoint. "Dissecting out nation with a paddle was done on a vagabond's budget of $3 a day, on constant lookout for love and free meals. Days of peaceful solitude were broken by bouts of chaotic experiences as I strove to reach a moral plateau, but couldn't avoid trouble along the way. "I was dreaming but knew I was dreaming. ...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
A warning to others February 16, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In David L. Miller's book The Complete Paddler, he speaks of certain people who "somehow managed to stay alive and recover from mishap after mishap as they bungled themselves down the river." Speaking humbly as someone who's had his share of disasters, I do think some of the excitement in this book must be due to Mohlke's ill preparations. A 1-star reviewer here said that this was a story of a "drunken frat boy" with poor equipment and planning who survives by "sheer luck". This is basically true, but the knowing immaturity of the author at the time he wrote this book carries much of its charm. He's not going to preach at you -- not when his confused readings of the Bible and the book of Mormon on the water aren't enough to help him avoid temptation on land. Yet the conclusion of this book clearly allows you to frame the text as a warning to be better prepared physically and spiritually on whatever river you may be traveling.
Mohlke's decision to write this in journal format allows you to go along for the ride, as he tries to find dates, gets intoxicated, and fails to make sense of the world or himself. His writing style is straightforward, and his humor deadpan. He records each of the promises made to himself just before they're broken. Although his lifestyle is very different from mine, his honesty about his weaknesses made me grow to understand him.
I wish this book had been edited. His spelling is idiosyncratic and there are passages that could have been smoother. I got tired of his descriptions of women, which rarely went beyond them being "pretty" and a certain age. It seems typical and perhaps unavoidable for solo travelers to typecast the people they interact with, and while Mohlke does this, his attitude toward them is at least generally positive.
I would recommend any compiler of true short essays on roaming the country to take a look at Day 72: Natchez, Mississippi, easily the most packed, hilarious day of the trip. I would certainly recommend this book (among others) to anyone interested in accounts of major American river journeys. I doubt it would be the first book I'd recommend. Although Jonathan Raban has quite the negative attitude in his book Old Glory, it is more expertly written, and he spends more time visiting different aspects of how the river functions. After that, you can read this book, and Mohlke will show you a powerful way to wrap up this kind of narrative.
 Daring to dream December 4, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I picked up this book after reading Mohlke's most recent book "The Man who Swam the Amazon", which chronicled Martin Strel's world record swim down the Amazon River. Mohlke's writing style of daily journal entries, is easy to read, and makes the book hard to put down. This book is interesting, exciting, and at times heartbreaking as the author stuggles with not only the Mighty Mississippi, but with the changes that inevitably occur in a young man daring to reach his dreams. There's a new adventure on every page. I strongly recommend this book!
exceptional journey November 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Adventure starts even before the river in the troubled soul of a successful young man who decides to leave his fortune 500 job to follow his dream. Mohlke manages to insinuate himself into the lives of all kinds of characters on the river and wrote about them in a deeply insightful manner. His gift for words puts you into the story as he struggles with feelings of his evolution from young rebel into master of his own destiny.
 Don't Bother November 2, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
If you're looking for information about traveling the Mississippi River, you would be better off reading anything by Mark Twain. If you're interested in an account of a solo paddler's spiritual journey, keep looking. If you want a story of a drunken frat boy who bar hops his way through a summer, and survives by sheer luck, add this to your reading list, but don't put it near the top of that list. It starts off with some promise. The author is fed up with the rat race, and claims he's been planning this escape down the river. Turns out that's more cliche than insite. As you read you learn he has been day dreaming rather than planning. It seems he has shoddy equipment, he is counting on his family to acquire maps as he goes, and he intends to 'not polute his body and mind with chemicals' on this journey, but ends up guzzling beer 'til he can't see straight every time he gets the chance.
great book! May 28, 2003
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
this is trully an adventure! the book is well written to include the reader in the excitement. what a journey....the poetry is thought-evoking....great book!
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