Overview

Tired of an unfulfilling life in Kansas City, Missouri, Patrick Dobson left his job and set off on foot across the Great Plains. After two and a half months, 1,450 miles, and numerous encounters with the people of the heartland, Dobson arrived in Helena, Montana. He then set a canoe on the Missouri and asked the river to carry him safely back to Kansas City, hoping this enigmatic watercourse would help reconnect him with his life.  In Canoeing the Great Plains, Dobson recounts his journey on the Missouri, the country’s longest river. Dobson, a novice canoeist when he begins his trip, faces the Missouri at a time of dangerous flooding and must learn to trust himself to the powerful flows of the river and its stark and serenely beautiful countryside. He meets a cast of characters along the river who assist him both with the mundane tasks of canoeing—portaging around dams and reservoirs and finding campsites—and with his own personal transformation. Mishaps, mistakes, and misadventures plague his trip, but over time the river shifts from being a frightening adversary to a welcome companion.  As the miles float by and the distinctions blur between himself and what he formerly called nature, Dobson comes to grips with his past, his fears, and his life beyond the river.

Full Product Details

Author:   Patrick Dobson
Publisher:   University of Nebraska Press
Imprint:   Bison Books
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.395kg
ISBN:  

9780803271883

ISBN 10:   0803271883
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   01 May 2015
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Prologue 1. Doomed 2. Drunkenness, Fear, and Determination 3. Your Friend, the River 4. Life Preserver 5. Carless 6. Medicine River 7. A Speck in the Landscape 8. Spirits of the Dead 9. Cheap Cigars 10. Oaths and Vulgarities 11. Staying in Motion 12. Owl Headdress 13. Doris 14. A Startling Leap 15. Rather Be Fishing 16. The Toughest Part 17. Home but not Home 18. Epilogue

Reviews

This is a work of strength and beauty, of care and courage. Patrick Dobson's voyage down the length of the Missouri River is not simply one of self-discovery, but a journey that allows the reader to look inward as well. . . . We are fortunate to be able to share in his odyssey of exuberance and discovery. --Alan Boye, author of Just Walking the Hills of Vermont and Sustainable Compromises --Alan Boye (09/16/2014)

Author Information

Patrick Dobson is a writer, historian, and ironworker with a PhD in history. He is the author of Seldom Seen: A Journey into the Great Plains (Nebraska, 2009).

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