White's debut takes (and gives) sheer delight in charting his evolution as a wooden-boat builder. Not on the Maine coast either, mind you, but down in the red hills of Georgia, among the ponds and little rivers, with excursions to the Gulf coast. This infuses a certain flavor to the proceedings, but White's brand of slow wisdom has core values that would puncture pretentiousness no matter what end of the Eastern seaboard he inhabited. It all started, he explains, during "those old wonderful wild and naked days" of youth, when he poked about in doubled-ended duck boats owned by his rich Yankee cousins, who would come to summer in the long-leaf pine forests of Georgia. Things really took off when the Navy stationed him in Puerto Rico. San Juan boat building was a matter of an axe, a machete, and wood, and the product's elemental purity bewitched him. Not that White is a purist-he is happy to tinker and try all sorts of boat stuff . . . well, maybe not fiberglass, but certainly outboards and metal screws-but he knows what gives him pleasure, and boats made of wood are central. Financially, such work is punishing, so he had to take employment elsewhere, often enough on water. The stories of his aquatic adventures provide him with so many asides that they pretty much make up this recounting: these tales are as tight and trim as his boats, paced to observe and reflect upon such curiosities as courting rituals in the Caribbean, building a tin canoe, teasing a Mississippi catfish with "toilet-seat-sized lips," or pulling a snapping turtle into a boat by mistake: "Eating the front of the boat up, she busted her way out from under the seat and headed aft." A graceful primer on life and how to sailthrough it with character, easy grace, and personal priorities all in a row. Agent: John Silbersack/Trident Media Group
While still a young boy, Robb White built his first boat, hewn from the tin roof of an abandoned chicken coop in the back yard. Today, without any formal training, White constructs some of the most sought-after wooden boats around.
In How to Build a Tin Canoe, this Southern raconteur and self-taught, expert wooden-boat builder builder recounts tall tales of a life lived on the water, from his childhood exploring the Gulf of Mexico to growing up-or not really growing up-to share his accrued wisdom with others. With wry humor, he offers such life lessons as how to survive rampaging monkeys and how to stop a turtle from eating your boat. Both wise and entertaining, How to Build a Tin Canoe will find a place on the shelves of all readers who love fishing, boating, and great storytelling.
While still a young boy, Robb White built his first boat, hewn from the tin roof of an abandoned chicken coop in the back yard. Today, without any formal training, White constructs some of the most sought-after wooden boats around.
In How to Build a Tin Canoe, this Southern raconteur and self-taught, expert wooden-boat builder builder recounts tall tales of a life lived on the water, from his childhood exploring the Gulf of Mexico to growing up-or not really growing up-to share his accrued wisdom with others. With wry humor, he offers such life lessons as how to survive rampaging monkeys and how to stop a turtle from eating your boat. Both wise and entertaining, How to Build a Tin Canoe will find a place on the shelves of all readers who love fishing, boating, and great storytelling.
How to Build a Tin Canoe: Confessions of an Old Salt
How to Build a Tin Canoe: Confessions of an Old Salt
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173915238 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 06/27/2005 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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