About book Old Glory : A Voyage Down The Mississippi (1998)
Snarky – 1: crotchety, snappish. 2: sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner; 3: sarcastically critical or mocking and maliciousWhen Jonathan Raban was a seven-year-old boy living in England, he first read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and fell in love with the Mississippi River. Or maybe he fell in love with Mark Twain’s graphic portrayal of the river. I read the same book at about the same age, but I have a more substantial basis for my fascination with the subject. Almost my entire life has been spent within at least thirty minutes of America’s mightiest natural force. The only exception being the years I spent going to college and even then I was never more than ninety minutes from the Mississippi. I have moved from my birthplace in almost a straight line north but never east nor west (or south, for that matter).The result of Raban’s fascination was "Old Glory: A Voyage Down the Mississippi," published in 1981. It is the story of his attempt to travel almost the full course of the mighty river, 1400 miles, in a small sixteen-foot boat powered by a 15 h.p. motor.I first read the book a number of years ago and recently gave it a second look after reading Raban’s latest travel book. I have to admit that I liked the book better the first time than I did the second go around.Here is the problem as I see it. Raban loved the river, but didn’t have much use for what Americans have created along its banks, which in many cases is understandable. However, he seems to have a visceral disregard for the people that he meets along the way. He seems to be – well – snarky in his regard for the folks he meets.Personally, I have had a much more pleasant experience in my contacts in the communities and rural areas that border the river. And I know why. Raban didn’t exactly re-enact Huck and Jim’s river voyage. Whereas they camped along its banks or on its islands, Raban headed for the nearest motel each evening. I don’t blame him for that, but on his way he nearly always stopped at the nearest bar – the seedier and sleazier the better. No wonder he didn’t like the people he encountered. When he stopped in the charming little historical town of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, he headed for a bar and became involved in conversation with somebody totally unlike anybody I have ever met in that community. And yet, Raban leaves us with the impression that he has just met a person who is generally representative of the town.Raban does a similar thing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, another town with which I am intimately acquainted. The people that he writes about are not truly representative of the people who live there either. In his conversation with a waitress, whom he makes out to be scatterbrained, he misconstrues her comments. He thinks she is talking about Columbia University when in fact it is the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri to which she is referring. Well, he is not a native of either the United States or the state of Missouri and could be forgiven for his error, that is, if he hadn’t been so snarky about it.But then one reviewer writes that Raban is “a sort of English Capote; vivid, funny, accurate, full of hyperbolic wit and outrageous metaphor; no reticence at all. But at least as important is the author’s ability to make an instant connection with virtually any human being whomsoever.” (I admire a writer who can so unselfconsciously use a word like 'whomsoever,' a word that I believe I just typed for the first time.)Even though Capote would have to be considered the epitome of snarkiness, I have always enjoyed reading him. And I admire Raban’s innate ability to connect with the people he meets, but I do believe that he and the reader could have been better served had he broadened his circle of connections.Of course, Raban wants to write about the offbeat and thus seems to shun any objectivity in his analysis of the American people. But had he tried just a little harder he would have found some interesting people who do not frequent the bars and taverns to which he tends to gravitate. (I apologize if that came off a bit snarky.)But having said all this, I have to admit that I like the book. It took courage for Raban to travel down the river the way he did. And he is a good writer and his vivid descriptions of the river – its seductive beauty, its dangerous siren call, and its unwillingness to be tamed -- saved the book for me.I like "Old Glory" better than I do Raban’s "Hunting Mister Heartbreak: A Discovery of America" (published in 1990), but not nearly as well as his "Bad Land: An American Romance" (published in 1996). When I originally reviewed this book the title was "Old Glory: An American Voyage," which I indicated was rather meaningless. I went on to say that I thought a much better one would have been "Big River: An American Voyage." At some point somebody else must have decided that the title was lacking, and on later editions of the book the subtitle was changed to "A Voyage Down the Mississippi."
I wanted to quit this book 50 to 100 pages in. I thought he was condescending and snobbish towards Midwesterners and maybe the Midwest in general. Even now that I have finished and loved the book, I can say that he was. At the same time, though, he was open and kind with hundreds more people than those he knocked around and that makes all the difference. His humanity and reporting skills are perfect and have created an entirely engrossing book.I have gotten the impression that in the 70s and early 80s, people loved taking trips around America, often in an unconventional way. Then they wrote books about it (see A Walk Across America and see this book). This is an interesting time in our history. There is a presidential election in the background-- Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. There is the transition from the old ways, the early- to middle part of the century ways of doing things, especially considering how rural the areas he passes through are. On top of all that, there are people he comes across born in the 1880s and 1890s (including Rush Limbaugh's grandfather!) who lived and thrived in those times, who bemoan the changes they have seen-- sometimes in not the most sensitive ways.Maybe the point is this country and this world have always been in flux. Maybe there have always been people who are cranky and unhappy about the way things are going. Even knowing that, though, it is still a fascinating ride-- literally and figuratively!
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When I heard an NPR piece by Tony Horwitz encouraging the reading of Raban's, Old Glory, as being the classic of travel literature, I remembered that it had been on my book shelf for over 20 yrs. I love rivers, their historical mystique, and how they are ever changing. Thus, reading about a one-man voyage down the Mississippi seemed like a great chance to understand "The Father of All Waters" that has been in the news so much this past summer because of flooding. Raban is hilarious, & his insights & comments on the people he meets, remind me of William Least Heat-Moon & Tony Horwitz. The book was written in the late 1970s so is dated, sadly the river towns are not in their glory years, but I was amazed at the similarities between the post Oil Crisis times of the late '70s, and our present struggles w/ $4+ gas prices. Had to laugh when he described men saying that only wimps & sissies drive small, fuel efficient cars. Since Raban is British he found America's love of huge vehicles perplexing. What would he say about today's SUVs vs. fuel efficient hybrids? History sure does keep repeating itself. A funny & informative summer read.
—Marilynmayer
Cerebral, yet accessible, Old Glory is difficult to peg in terms of genre. Travel narrative approaches, but any classification would fall well short of the mark. Raban incorporates history, mesmerizing descriptive prose, biographical morsels, and sparse but welcome bits of dry British wit in this journey through America atop its longest river. In fact, Raban's Englishness is part of what makes the book so appealing. You see America, warts and all, from the eyes of an intrepid and analytical outsider. Raban is a stylist who reveals himself to the reader slowly. I found him to be a very interesting, complex, and slightly tortured figure. He is nearly as intriguing as the voyage itself. Never again will I look at the Mississippi River as just some long line on a map. The whirlpools, the logs, the dangers; always moving atop and into the unknown on a vessel ridiculously undersized and unsuited for such a trip; a metaphor, certainly. In terms of writing style, there cannot be many better than Jonathan Raban. Here's a writer, you think, you will come back to.
—Troy Parfitt
Entertaining...written when Carter was Prez and Raban was in his 30's. He was very observant and noted that many towns along upper Big Muddy had formerly boasted of "button factories" that all the hole-punched clam shells lying around attested to. Hey...I used to have a old button collection with dozens of those shell buttons worn thin by fingers pushing them through button holes year after year.Raban's recollections of his interactions with people who live along the river make them sound like ignorant jackasses who have very poor grammar.But I feel that people were trying to make him feel comfortable by speaking very informally to him - him being a skinny furriner and all.Would I recommend this? Possibly, but I would recommend his Oxford Book of the Sea to everyone.
—Cnap
