River Journey [Paperback]

Clarence Jonk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2003

In 1933, Clarence Jonk, full of youthful naivete and an urge for adventure, decided to build a houseboat from scrap materials and float it the length of the Mississippi River. In the tradition of Huckleberry Finn and Henry David Thoreau, Jonk recounts a first-person tale of high adventure complete with wry and lyrical observations on life, love, and nature that capture the beauty and harshness of existence along the Mississippi River. Hoping to live rent free on a St Paul lake in hard times, Jonk, a carefree college student and would-be poet, cobbled together his own houseboat from empty oil drums, scrap lumber, and two old Model T engines. Then, evicted by the local authorities, Jonk hauled his rudderless craft through city traffic to the Mississippi and boldly set out from Minneapolis bound for New Orleans in the chill month of October and into the teeth of an early winter. Accompanied at times by his sweetheart, friends, and a dog, Jonk fell overboard, was almost capsized by a blizzard, encountered hostile moonshiners, and fled angry farmers while scrounging for provisions on shore. Inexperience, hasty plans, and little cash made the journey a harrowing yet entertaining one as the boat reached La Crosse, Wisconsin, before being locked perilously in shifting ice for the winter. RIVER JOURNEY is as much a portrait of a now-vanished era as it is about a free-spirited man's attempt to find escape from mundane responsibility during the Great Depression. It is a story that begins in delight and ends in wisdom.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"River Journey contains great snapshots of the great Depression but its true subject is youth. Who but a youthful optimist would see voyaging down the Mississippi on a homemade, rudderless boat not as folly but a terrific adventure? And it is."

From the Back Cover

"RIVER JOURNEY contains great snapshots of the Great Depression but its true subject is youth. Who but a youthful optimist would see voyaging down the Mississippi on a homemade, rudderless boat not as folly but a terrific adventure? And it is." -- John Hildebrand, author of "Reading the River: A Voyage down the Yukon" and "Mapping the Farm: The Chronicle of a Family"

"It doesn't matter that [Jonk's] original plan, to navigate the length from one City of the Saints to another, fell short by 1,550 miles. Over the 150 miles he did accomplish . . . he floated into an adventure that allowed him to build a life he could only fancy before. [He] was never the same after his voyage; then he could say with all the others who have traveled boldly, I went, and that has made all the difference." -- from the introduction by William Least Heat-Moon

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Borealis Books; 1 edition (April 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873514351
• ISBN-13: 978-0873514354
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mississippi River state of mind, November 3, 2003

By 

Lee Pederson (Sleepy Eye, MN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: River Journey (Paperback)

Clarence Jonk's classic book is the story of a poor but idealistic young man and his adventures of living on the Mississippi River on a home-made houseboat during the Great Depression. Originally published in 1964, it has been re-released in 2003.

There is something about living by a big river that makes one wonder what the river leads to. It turns out that the destination is not so much a place as a state of mind. The power and magic of the river are transformative and when your journey is over you are better for it. I think that the same can be said for Clarence Jonk's River Journey - if you read it you will be better for it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting somewhat, July 23, 2010

By 

Jon "Jon" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: River Journey (Paperback)

This is a book about a college age guy back in the 1930s. He and his friend build a house boat to save money on rent. The plan becomes to float down the Mississippi from around the Twin Cities in Minnesota. They mess around until the weather gets bad and only make it about to LaCrosse WI. Kind of typical kids, can not get their stuff together to make anything happen. Not a great book by any means, but somewhat interesting if you like the Mississippi River.

5.0 out of 5 stars river trippin from Minneapolis, April 13, 2009

By 

jersey guy "jersey guy" (jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: River Journey (Hardcover)

A pleasant story from a time gone by. You can still recognize the locations described. This is an updated bit of Huck and Tom type stuff. A great read.