Customer Reviews

Far Appalachia: Following the New River North

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Noah Adams follows the New River from its headwaters in North Carolina to its end in West Virginia. This is not a textbook of the river's history, geography or geological formation. Instead, it is a conversational documentary. The pace of the river seems to set the pace of the book. Some chapters sit still for a minute and gaze in detail at a plant or a fish. Some chapters offer glimpses of the residents and communities along the New River. Some chapters fly by with the the excitment and adrenalin rush of the whitewater rapids. Some chapters ponder the past, some ponder the future. It's a trip worth taking through Noah Adam's eyes, thoughts, and words.

As you read this book, you can hear Adams talking: slowly and carefully, stopping here and there to dwell on a minor detail that focuses on the essence of a place. This is a good place to start if all you know about Appalachia and its people is what you learned from seeing "Deliverance", but it's also fine reading if you're from the hills or have spent some time on the New River. As a native son of the Mountain State, whose ancestors settled on the Bluestone River in 1790, I was amused to discover that some folks still regard West Virginia as a scary place populated by violent, barefoot hillbillies (only the guides on the river are barefoot here).

One small quibble: Adams doesn't devote any time at all to the geological history of the river itself. Given that it's generally regarded as the oldest river in North America, I thought this was surprising. My only complaint is that, just like a rafting trip down the New in Spring, it's over way too soon.

Noah Adams is a great story-teller - this much we know from his sure, relaxed style on NPR. That he has a knack for detail and a love of the outdoors is a welcome surprise. The result is a thoroughly engaging book about a part of the country that many don't know.

The book borrows its pace from the river itself. In several passages, there appears to be no point: just a casual observation of a minor detail, told in many pages. Whether it's the point where he considers leaping a fence because the trail may or may not be closed, or it's the rich detail of the rapids ahead on the river, you feel as if you're on the journey with Adams every step of the way.

The strength of the book is that Adams tells it on his own terms: this book is an exploration of a part of *his* history. His people are from here, and he wants to learn more about the region that produced his ancestors. At one point he even traces his roots beyond Appalachia, back to England where his ancestors originated. These diversions, much like the tributaries of the New River, simply fill out the story and make your experience all the more complete.

A final note - I listened to this book, rather than read it. Since Noah Adams does the narration, it adds just a bit more to the overall experience. Because you already know his voice, you feel as if you're listening to an old friend tell you stories by the campfire. One can't help but hear the love of the river, and the outdoors in general, as Adams recounts his story. It's a wonderful experience.

This rather thin book is chock full of things I never knew and was interested to learn! I grew up in Va. but had no previous knowlwdge of Mary Ingles--a fascinating true story. The book is far ranging ,from pioneer stories to a thrilling account of white water rafting (I'm wondering if a 56 year old couch potato dares try it!)Travel writing at it's best!

If you caught Noah Adams talking about his book recently on NPR, you might think, as I did, that it talks about the early settlers who followed the New River from North Carolina into Virginia and what is now West Virginia (and then onward to Kentucky and Ohio and beyond, as his ancestors did, and mine; we grew up about 10 miles from each other). About their subsistence farming and forestry and mining. It does not. Much of it is about touristy white water rafting and canoeing, which has nothing to do with the people of that region. In the final chapter, in a couple of sentences, he says he "wondered" about those early settlers. So did I. That's why I bought the book. I was disappointed.

Noah Adams goes on a journey down the New River, stopping to chat with the natives. I love this part of the country and I like Noah Adams, so I was happy to accompany him as a reader. But there is not a lot more content than you would find in several All-Things-Considered segments stitched together...it won't take you much more time to read it than it would to listen to it. The commentary is pleasant but if you want a deep or detailed introduction to the New River Valley of Appalachia you will have to go elsewhere.

So set aside a nice Sunday afternoon and have a go at it.

Noah Adams has provided the reader with a detailed description of the demographics, landscape, environment as well as folklore of the New River as it winds its way North from North Carolina to West Virginia. Having paddled the river from Pembroke to Glenn Lynn Va and living in this region since 1977 I was amazed at his description of the simplest details such as how to run the Narrows Falls to his stories about the surrounding communities. If you are fond of the New River Valley you will treasure this remarkable desciption of the people and places he visits while on his journey down the New River.

I used to live near the New and Noah Adams describes it wonderfully. While on a quest to learn more about his family from the area, he also spends most of his Spring, Summer, and Fall in and around the New River. He bikes, hikes, canoes, and whitewater rafts in and around the New while telling about the history of all 350 miles of it. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific location on the river and he even gives the Latitude/ Longitude so you can visit the places he was. I highly reccomend this book!!

The review on the back of this book describes it as powerful and passionate. Hardly. It is a pleasant, easy book. If you've got a weekend coming up with not much to do, get yourself a copy of this book to read. The book is not very in-depth or thought-provoking but is an enjoyable way to pass the time. Adams has taken a series of snapshots of life along the New River, featuring historical characters, old-time musicians and young kayakers. What he has achieved is a portrayal of a region that has suffered much from the negative stigma of poverty and backwards hillbillies and made it seem like a very appealing place to live. For that I applaud Mr. Adams. But he does not get into the history, culture and society of a place that many other travel writers are so good at. For that I'm a little disappointed. It is a very nice read though.

In traveling the New River from North Carolina to West Virginia, Noah Adams found a part of America that sometimes stands still in time, and other times seems to go backward. Part of his journey relates to an earlier epic of his own life spent in Appalachia. Whatever the reasons, he paints a picture of the river's path that is both nostalgic and distant.

Coal mining was a big industry in much of this section of the country, but much of it is gone now. Towns, mines, have almost completely disappeared, while others are ugly blots on the landscape. And still, the New River cuts its way through mountains, creating gorges, south to north, in the same way it has done for millennia. Bridges cross it. People live beside it. And a new industry -- whitewater rafting, kayaking, and other touristy pursuits -- has encroached on its waters.

As Adams traveled the river, he met professional guides, herbalists, and others who make their livings on the river. Many, perhaps most of them love the river. Each knows some of its history, and their stories often only whet our appetites.

Readers of travels in America would enjoy this book. However, someone who once lived in North Carolina, Virginia, or West Virginia, having some knowledge of both history and geography of those areas, will be reminded of their time there and stories they may have heard. It might even make some of those who moved away want to go back. Even if only for a vist.