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Product Description
Product Description
A couple of quiet weeks sailing on the river Severn was the intention, 'Somehow things got out of hand...' Writes A J Mackinnon. 'A year later I had reached Romania and was still going.' Equipped with his cheerful optimism and a pith helmet, this Odysseus in a Mirror dinghy takes you with him from the borders of North Wales to the Black Sea-4900 kilometres over salt and fresh water, under sail, at the oars or at the end of a two rope-through twelve countries, 282 locks and numerous trials and adventures including an encounter with Balkan pirates. An epic voyage undertaken with courage and recounted with flair and humour.
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like the Author, once you start this journey it is difficult to stop. This book is very difficult to put down.
As you breeze along the waterways and across seas with Sandy you find yourself saying "No! You can't? You won't? You shouldn't..." then you turn the page and he can, he will and he has; your eyes open wide and you read fervently onwards.
After one crisis is over you are calmed back into the beautiful journey, bumbling along serenely and naively into the arms of the next demon waiting beyond the horizon.
Whilst many of the literary quotes went over my head I found this a fantastically written story of eccentric daring-do with laugh-out-loud moments of extreme hilarity.
A real, live "Lord Of The Rings" journey full of near-death experiences told as if they weren't and real life experiences told like it was.
You have to read this book.
Incidentally whilst not putting down this book at 1 am, high up in the Taipei Hilton the other week I found my hotel bed shaking with laughter, when I stopped, the bed didn't and the contents of the min-bar spilled out onto the floor. It was then that I realised the Earth was moving! That's never happened with any other book I've read.
Well done Mr. Mackinnon!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A beautifully written book - but then you would expect that from an English teacher! Full of hilarious escapades, frightening experiences and gloriously colourful accounts of this unbelieveably exciting yet delightful journey! Should be on the bookshelf of every Mirror Dinghy owner and on the reading list of every school! I look forward to the author's next publication - which I hope will be forthcoming in due course!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To sail and row all the way from North Wales to the Black Sea in a dingy that most people would not be able to differentiate from a bath tub may have seemed like a good idea to some people, and it is no more outlandish an idea than many of the crazed schemes that are dreamed up over a pint. However, in this case the author actually follows through with the idea. This journal of disaster and triumph would seem to support the general contention that it was in fact a good idea - although at times even the author seems unconvinced. It is a remarkable feat indeed, but it was not accomplished without a reasonable degree of good luck, numerous charitable interventions by strangers and it must be said a fair number of attempts to kill himself by the author.
The book itself is split into two very uneven halves, with the first half of the journey taking ¾ of the book, and the final part of the journey being accounted for in a rather hasty fashion. I really think that the author was rather "over" the whole experience by the end, and I think this may account for the dash to the line. It's this that makes this a 3 star book not a 4 star book.
Is it an interesting, often entertaining read? Yes it is. Is it a 5 star piece of travel writing - not always. Would I recommend it - yes I would. Is it a classic - I'm not sure.
The book itself is split into two very uneven halves, with the first half of the journey taking ¾ of the book, and the final part of the journey being accounted for in a rather hasty fashion. I really think that the author was rather "over" the whole experience by the end, and I think this may account for the dash to the line. It's this that makes this a 3 star book not a 4 star book.
Is it an interesting, often entertaining read? Yes it is. Is it a 5 star piece of travel writing - not always. Would I recommend it - yes I would. Is it a classic - I'm not sure.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Reflections from afloat.
As Mr Ratty said, it doesn't matter what you're afloat in as long as you're messing around in boats. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Pusser
Great read
A great read, hard to put down & a useful River guide for anyone planning a trip on any part of this amazing journey.
Published 15 months ago by Wanderer
Jack de Crow
I loved this book. Helped by knowing the waterways that he starts on, and perhaps I was in the right mood, but I felt swept along with him on his journey. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Livsey
fascinating read
This is a great book, very well written, funny and enthralling, amazing and inspiring. Enjoyable for anyone interested in travel and adventure whether a sailor or not
Published 23 months ago by chrisvolkes
An outstanding read
Anyone with an interest in sailing (particularly dinghy sailing) and certainly anyone who has owned or sailed a Mirror, should buy this book !! Read more
Published on 12 April 2010 by NPBM
unlikely voyage of JDC
ive enjoyed reading this book, its the sort of adventure that is within the grasp of many people, its all out there, you have to get on and do it. Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by Mr. RAQ Treloar
Beautifully written and laugh out loud funny.
Like others, I found this book hard to put down. It is beautifully written, each chapter vividly and wonderfully expressed. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2009 by RobF
Very entertaining read
I really enjoyed this book. There is a spirit of adventure through it and some very well observed detail. Read more
Published on 24 April 2008 by K. Munnoch
Only Sandy Mackinnon...........
As a student at Ellesmere College when Sandy Mackinnon was there, it is lovely to be reminded in such a tangiable way of the joy he found in adventure, drama and words. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2008 by E Letts
A Modern Masterpiece
A joyous tale of a glorious journey. Read this book and be glad that you're alive.
Published on 4 Nov 2006 by L. C. Welsh
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