Amazon.co.uk: The Laugh of the Water Nymph: And Other River Stories (Na): Doug Ammons: Books

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The kayaking book that will get you thinking more about the "why", 3 April 2007

By	D. G. Manby (SHREWSBURY, Shropshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

The Laugh of the Water Nymph and other River Stories.
By Doug Ammons.

Doug's book arrived through the post the other day; delivered to me at work. We broke for breakfast/lunch and went down to the cafe for a traditional British fry-up. I tore into the book. I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't stop myself; I wanted to find out what stories Doug had included. Trying to read the introduction and the chapter listings between mouthfuls was a bad idea - baked-bean sauce now stains the pages!

For many the name Doug Ammons will be unknown this side of the Atlantic and even over States-side he is not well known. Doug hails from Montana where he learnt to paddle and then used to drive crazy drives to the North Fork of the Payette in Idaho. There he met Rob Lesser and through Rob developed what can only be described as an unhealthy fixation with the Stikine, leading to Doug's biggest "head game" paddle: his solo descent of the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. He is from the generation when "freestyle" was in its infancy, the term "Park and Play" had not been coined and the hottest move when playing was a "Polish Ender". Doug won pretty well everything for a couple of those early years but exploring and river running was where he wanted to be.

The book is divided into three. In the first section - entitled "Horizon Lines" - the tales tell of learning, discovery and the joys of youthful naivety and enthusiasm. In this section is the eponymous "The Laugh of the Water Nymph", a summer afternoon reverie half way through a relaxed river trip.

The second section, called "Other Truths", is Doug's musing on the state of the kayaking world. His satirical attack on the destruction of the soul of extreme sports by their commercialisation in "The Attack Of the Killer Radical Extremes" pulls no punches and is as subtle as a sledge hammer. The companion piece "The Tahiti Room" is the answer and through the introduction to the reader of the sport of underwater climbing in rivers tells how enjoyment of a sport can become a pursuit of dreams and then a dangerous single-minded fanaticism.

The final section of the book "Beyond Class V" details some of Doug's major trips: trips to the Stikine and Aqua Azul and others but as you would expect these are not just accounts of how the trip went, with a list of the logistics and a few descriptions of the bigger rapids. Doug goes further and reveals to the reader his emotions, the ebb and flow of the trip giving you more than just a flavour of the exploit.

Sandwiched in the middle are 32 superb pages of colour photos from around the globe: British Columbia and the Stikine, Nepal and the Thule Beri, Mexico, Bolivia, and more

Doug has written the best book on white water - period. This is not a collection of tales of derring-do or reportage of epics had; it is Doug's attempt to answer that question "why". It is the nearest I am going to get a written reason why I paddle/have paddled hard white water. Even if it does not answer your questioning why you paddle white water it will give you a whole load of new questions to ask yourself on those lonely drives back from a weekend of river running. You know the drive: your mate is asleep, the radio is broadcasting only phone ins, the tape deck has a chewed tape in it / the CD player jumps / the ipod is out of battery or you just want quiet. Reflecting on Doug's book will get you home awake!

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