A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe [Paperback]

J. MacGregor (Author), Brian R. Kologe (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1929516061 | ISBN-13: 978-1929516063 | Publication Date: May 2000

First published in 1866, this book caused a sensation in Europe and America, sparking a wave of recreational canoeing by such well-known figures as Robert Louis Stevenson and inspiring paddlers from the Victorians to the modern practitioners of canoe camping and sea kayaking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lovers of the water sports--canoeing and kayaking--will enjoy having this book. A great read for vacation. -- Patricia J. Bell, Midwest Book Review, March 2000

From the Back Cover

"I am so very well acquainted with the Rob Roy canoe and have taken passage in her with so much pleasure . . ."
--Charles Dickens

"If we dare to think of kayaking as having a literature the way fishing does, then MacGregor is our Izaak Walton."
--Brian Kologe, Sea Kayaker magazine, 1999

"When John MacGregor, of the Inner Temple, published his entertaining account of the Rob Roy's thousand mile voyage on the lakes and rivers of Europe, he established canoeing as a summer pastime."
--Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1880

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Dixon Price Publishing (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929516061
• ISBN-13: 978-1929516063
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,946,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, February 1, 2001

By 

A reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe (Paperback)

This is a delightful book by a Victorian gentleman who obviously had some dash and a sense of the theatrical, but also a wonderful dry humor and spirit of daring. It is a wonderful book to read as you get ready for an extended canoe or kayaking trip, or just to read by the fire on a cold winter evening. It is interesting to see that MacGregor faced many of the same challenges of traveling by kayak through Europe that you still find today.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the earliest kayaks, June 5, 2007

By 

Stephen Balbach (Ashton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe (Paperback)

Scottish sportsman John Macgregor was an outdoor writer and distant relative of Scottish folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy. Macgregor designed and built a hybrid canoe / kayak with a sail and kayaking paddle which he named the "Rob Roy". He then paddled through the rivers, lakes and canals of Germany, France and Switzerland, portaging between waterways on a cart or on trains. This was a completely novel idea for the time, traveling alone, by water, in a boat so light it can be carried, and it fired popular imaginations across Europe. His account of the journey became a best seller read by royalty and laymen alike, attracting newspaper attention and crowds along the route.

"A Thousand Miles" was written as both an account of the journey and a sort of travel guide for those wishing to follow in MacGregors wake. Indeed, fellow Scotsman Robert Louis Stevenson was so enthralled by MacGregors trip, he soon made his own Rob Roy, which he wrote about in An Inland Voyage, Stevenson's first published book. One can profitably find comparison between MacGregor and Stevenson's accounts, Stevenson being the genre imitator, but superior in writing quality.

MacGregor's account has a degree of Victorian optimism that is refreshing, not unlike Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days", the world is an Englishman's oyster with new and exciting modes of transportation making outdoor expeditions available to everyman. At times his account becomes journal-like and banal, commenting on every town, supper and rapid he comes across, and there is no central narrative other than the curious mode of travel and incidental encounters - but for learning about the details of European life in the 1860s and the zeitgeist of the time it is an authentic and pleasurable journey that was influential.

Originally published in 1866, there were many later editions while Macgregor was still alive, I think up to nine, that had additions including a map, discussions of the Prussian War in the 1870s etc.. the success of "A Thousand Miles" would spur Macgregor to take many more voyages and other travel accounts of his trips in the Rob Roy, but this was the first.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only a significant part of history, but a great read., July 28, 2008

By 

Anonymous - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe (Paperback)

This is the book that single-handedly launched not only modern canoeing and kayaking, but most modern small boating. It is absolutely marvelous to read-- fun in it's own right, and also a time capsule that allows you to travel back in time 150 years and see how many things have changed and how many things have not.