Customer Reviews

Travels With A kayak

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Have you ever ventured forth out of the cocoon of your local river scene? I don't mean a weekend jaunt from DC to West Virginia. I'm talking about the big trip: jumping on board a gas-guzzling silver bird; cramming your torso into the economy section in a way that would make a chiropractor cringe; drinking or drugging yourself into oblivion after dining on plastic airline food; and finally uncoiling after an indeterminable amount of hours at some Third World airport in the cloying heat of the night, accosted by manic taxi drivers, while throngs of brown-eyed, dark-skinned people stare in wonder at this thing--your kayak--you're dragging on the tarmac. If you've been there, read Travels With A Kayak by Whit Deschner. For those of you that haven't, his zany travelogue will motivate you to go.

Buy this book. Whit's non-profit organization--himself--needs the money. Maybe he'll even sign your copy like he did mine, "May all your dreams be wet."

Years ago Whit Deschner wrote the best book there is was or ever will be about kayaking. It's been years since my copy of "Does the wet suit You" fell apart and in that time there's been nothing to replace it. So this is one of those books you wait for and wonder...can it be worth it? The short answer is yes. The long answer is well, you either think he's hysterically funny or you'll find him boring and pointless. His solution to the problem "how do you write about a trip that everyone else has written about" (in this case the Grand Canyon), is ...different? And his description of the Alas in Sumatra is as flat as the bit he paddled (he should have done the upper gorges) but the book is excellent. Not for those of the politically correct brigade, those who are easily offended, or those without a sense of humour. This is international kayaking described in a humorous way that goes beyond the "we went, we paddled huge holes, we got drunk/scared we cheated death and came home" school of writing. It drifts from rivers to people to places in a way that means it might even be readable by that strange species of human being, the non kayaker.

Perhaps I am biased because I am also a paddler and because I hail from the same area as Deschner, but even when adjusting for these factors I think anyone with a sense of humor could at least get a lot of good laughs out of this volume. Descher's humor really gripped me and my abs are much stronger now after all the fits of laughter that overcame me while reading this book. Deschner consistently drops bombs that you won't see coming. A lot of kayaking and whitewater writing is over-the-top self-aggrandizement, and in this sense "Travels with a Kayak" is a breath of fresh air. The cultural observations are hilarious and the cast of characters complements the stories well. All told I highly recommend buying this book. It's a hidden gem and would compliment any coffee table quite nicely.

There is very little to not like about this book. Deschner juxtaposes adventure travel with soul searching, and makes you laugh the entire trip. This book won the 1998 Benjamin Franklin award for humor.