William Least Heat-Moon's birthday!

L

ldraker

New member
How many of us bought our C-Dories because we read Heat-Moon's excellent travel book "River Horse"? Lyle and I did! Today is Heat-Moon's 74th birthday. We celebrate that because his writing opened up for us this fabulous way to explore and enjoy our world.
If you haven't read the book, you just HAVE TO! If you're a C-Brat or other small-boater, you'll love his true account of boating in his 22' C-Dory, "River Horse," across the U.S., from New York Harbor to the mouth of the Columbia River--the Oregon-Washington border--in one year (with the boat on a truck for 100 miles in Wyoming, where there's no waterway), with the western portion of the route following the Lewis and Clark Trail.
What a great adventure for him, leading to great adventures for many of us!
Happy Birthday, William Least Heat-Moon!

Janda
 
Got the book as a gift from El and Bill a few years ago. Thought WLHM was a pompous twit for the first hundred pages or so. Then I started to get it. Uses big words and he's opinionated, but so am I. I have it aboard and find I read it at least annually. Few books aboard are read annually. In my case. The Hobbit, Walden by HDT and West with the night by Anne Morrow. So not bad company. Did what he said he'd do. Happy birthday dude! George :thup
 
ghone":19iig55p said:
Uses big words...
Click to expand...

You can say that again! I read the book back in the late 1990's (I mention this because it was before I could just Google things easily), and I wore a path to my dictionary stand. Felt like I didn't even have a vocabulary :wink:

I also particularly remember one sentence (consisting of about three paragraphs :wink) that oh-so-vividly recounted the experience of being in a lock.

My three first exposures to the C-Dory:

1) Seeing (and barely hearing!) one ease up to an island dock sometime in 1997. My first real exposure to a four-stroke engine - so quiet!

2) Reading River Horse, circa 1999.

3) Finding and reading Bill and El's web pages, in the early 2000's, IIRC.

What a set of three "hooks"!
 
Yes, WLHM had a great adventure with his CD. Many of us have followed his lead on the rivers he traveled following Lewis and Clark across the continent (and return). He nicely outlined the joys and adventures one can experience on a well-built small boat with shallow draft and easy trailering, although his writing sometimes seemed to exaggerate (perhaps to better sell his book) some of the hardships of cruising.

He also wrote an earlier book, Blue Highways, about his land cruising across America and the great experiences you can find off the freeways and in small towns across our fine continent. He wrote that book back in the early '80's and when we became vagabonds in the mid-80's we followed his lead land cruising by living aboard a 20" R.V., wandering homeless and without any schedules (except dictated by seasonal weather changes) all over North America.

Now that we have transitioned back ashore from being vagabundos del mar, we are cruising in our pickup (where we can live in the sheltered back when we wish, or stop at hostels or b&b's when weather or conditions dictate). So, we are back on the Blue Highways, although we now have a rental condo as a base and live in a delightful region (Rockies) for short travel and near family (where we can be helpful with those two parent workers and kids with many activities).

Happy B'Day, WLHM -- you have helped inspire many folks to simply enjoy life.
 
George -
So glad that River Horse is an annual read for you. And we share a love for Thoreau, I see. Used to read him late at night when I was a kid, under the covers so my folks wouldn't see the light from my flashlight :-)

Best to you folks
 
There are several other books by William Least Heat Moon:
The italics are partial review from Amazon,some of the books are in Kindle edition, but not Blue Highways or River Horse...

Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road: Was written this year(2013)
"It’s collected-works time for the renowned author of such outstanding travel literature as Blue Highways (1983) and River-Horse (1999). Thirty magazine pieces comprise this assembly, with some articles ranging abroad, such as the author’s depictions of his ventures to New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, and Britain. Most, however, amble around America or radiate from the author’s home states of Missouri and Kansas."

PrairyErth: A Deep Map Was written 1999,: "Whereas Blue Highways dealt with Heat-Moon's auto trip across America, PrairyErth (an old term for heartland soils) records a journey mostly on foot across the tallgrass prairies and grasslands of Chase County, Kans. In a great cornucopia of a book, a majestic, healing hymn to America's potential, Heat-Moon attempts to penetrate the spirit of the land, a land which explorer Zebulon Pike and later white settlers stole from the Kansa (Kaw) Indians."


Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey, was written in 2009.: "Whereas Blue Highways dealt with Heat-Moon's auto trip across America, PrairyErth (an old term for heartland soils) records a journey mostly on foot across the tallgrass prairies and grasslands of Chase County, Kans. In a great cornucopia of a book, a majestic, healing hymn to America's potential, Heat-Moon attempts to penetrate the spirit of the land, a land which explorer Zebulon Pike and later white settlers stole from the Kansa (Kaw) Indians."
 
I totally enjoyed reading river horse . I've been to a lot of places that were in his book . Working for over 37years for United let me see a lot of the USA and the World . Working out of seatac in the 80's I fell in love with the c-dory boat and vowing to get one which did happen in 2005(cd-22) in 2008(cc-23)and again in 2011 with a (cd-16 cruiser ) We still have the cc-23 . Great read and Great boats . Jim
 
Truly WLHM is a pompous twit, but boy, do I envy him that adventure and his literary abilities. In fact, historically, I think most really good writers and adventurers are pompous twits. But, let them be. They've earned it. Prairie Earth is also a spectacular read.

I do wish that such talented people didn't think that because they have such gifts they are not automatically experts on global warming, world hunger and wealth redistribution.

I hope WLHM has another book in the works, but I haven't heard of one.
 
potter water":2y6gokcy said:
<stuff clipped>

I do wish that such talented people didn't think that because they have such gifts they are not automatically experts on global warming, world hunger and wealth redistribution.
<more stuff clipped>
Click to expand...
Why not? Plenty of people without such talents seem to think they are experts. :lol:
 
But what if the pompous, adventurous, literary twits ARE more qualified than most to consider those huge issues? Alexander von Humboldt, the German naturalist, explorer, and writer who explored Central America and helped inspire Jefferson to commission the Lewis and Clark Expedition, said, "The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world." So if the converse is true, then "The most beneficial worldview is the worldview of those who HAVE viewed the world." If that's so, those "twits" may help make that world a better place. And maybe C-Brats have that view! So here's to "twit-hood"!
 
I liked the book. After the first 30 pages I became accustomed to the writing style. sorta like a Russian novel but shorter

I received the book from a C Brat and forwarded to another C Brat. I hope it keeps circulating
 
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