Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure by Rinker Buck

Perfect reading for armchair travel and history buffs, by the author of the entertaining The Oregon Trail. With lots of help and plenty of advice, both good and bad, Rinker takes a year to build the flatboat Patience. With a varied crew, Rinker spent four months in 2016 traveling the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans. Many people told Rinker that it couldn’t be done, especially navigating the mouth of the Wabash River and dealing with the commercial barge traffic on the Mississippi. Chapters about the Ohio River portion of the journey show his fondness for the journey, especially the kind folks he meets in Newburgh, Indiana, and other river towns. There are broken ribs and other mishaps, but Rinker is most worried about keeping the boat and its crew supplied with fuel and water. The Mississippi River is certainly more challenging to travel, including the rip rap embankments, but even there Rinker encounters helpful tug and barge captains. This is a compelling, memorable, and sometimes lighthearted tale.

Brenda