Nine Ways to Cross a River: Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There from Here

by Akiko Busch

From Thoreau to Edward Abbey to Annie Dillard, American writers have looked at nature and described the sublime and transcendent. Now comes Akiko Busch, who finds multitudes of meaning in the practice of swimming across rivers. The notion that rivers divide us is old and venerated, but they also limn our identities and mark the passage of time; they anchor communities and connect one to another. And, in the hands of writer and swimmer Akiko Busch, they are living archives of human behavior and natural changes. After a transformative swim across the Hudson just before September 11, Busch undertook to explore eight of America's great waterways: the Hudson (twice), the Delaware, the Connecticut, the Susquehanna, the Monongahela, the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Current. She observes each river's goings-on and reflects on its history (human and natural) and possible futures. Some of the rivers have rebounded from past industrial misuse; others still struggle with pollution and waste. The swims are also opportunities to muse on the ordinary passages faced by most of us―the death of a parent, raising children, becoming older―and the ways in which the rhythms and patterns of the natural world can offer reassurance, ballast and inspiration. A deeply moving exploration of the themes of renewal and reclamation at midlife, Nine Ways to Cross a River is a book to be treasured and given to friends.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Nature, Essays

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2007

About the author

Akiko Busch has written about design and culture since 1979. She is the author of Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live and The Uncommon Life of Common Objects: Essays on Design an the Everyday. Her most recent book of essays, Nine Ways to Cross a River, a collection of essays about swimming across American Rivers, was published in 2007 by Bloomsbury/USA. She was a contributing editor at Metropolis magazine for 20 years. Her essays have appeared in numerous exhibition catalogues, and she has written articles for Architectural Record, Elle, Home, House & Garden, Metropolitan Home, London Financial Times, The New York Times, Traditional Home, Travel & Leisure and Wallpaper*, among other publications. In Fall, 2005 she served as a Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair for the Visual Arts at the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford. She has lectured widely on architecture and design and has appeared on public radio in the U.S. and Canada. Currently, she is a regular contributor to The New York Times Sunday regional section.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book--swimming rivers and then writing about the experience--and liked the beginning of it, but it lost me midway through. It seemed like the author was working too hard, trying to connect the swims in different rivers to each other and with universal themes or larger meaning. The result was that the second half of the book seemed forced, and I felt let down at the end.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this for our campus Terra Nova group, which explores the intersection of science and spirituality. Oh it's beautiful! As an avid swimmer and founder of the 'all girl pond swimming club', I am crazy about these tales of swimming across rivers. The best descriptions I've ever read about textures of water.....I now eagerly eye every river I see to spy reasonable crossing points.

[Karen R. Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get into the flow (pun intended) of this book, but once I did, I so enjoyed 'being there' as Akiko swam and explored rivers and their surrounding communities. Thoughtful, wise, and philosophical, I felt calmer just by letting my mind go as Akiko's prose meanders from water to family to life at large.

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nine Ways is among the most beautifully writing to come along in years. That alone is reason to jump in and swim along with Akiko Busch. But there's more to this elegant and lyrical and watery reflection. Here is a viscous restorative that, whenever you dip in or out, is sure to salve your soul.

[watermoss]

The Hudson River chapter was very well done and caught my attention the most while reading this book. I would buy this book just for that chapter.

[William Boden]

Read only the chapter on Delaware River. Loved it.

[Gail Kennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was fun to cross these rivers with akiko busch though sometimes her speculations left me adrift.

[Alexis Hunzinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t captivated, only read the sections about the rivers I’m familiar with

[Charlotte Kolb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Don’t take no for an answer!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expectations for what one will find in this book is best explained by it's subtitle: Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There from Here. This a book about reflections, it is not about swimming, nor even necessarily the rivers themselves, but about the author's experience with each, or more accurately, within each. It is more prose than literature, more experiential than informative. As such, and much like its focus subject, it meanders, it wanders, and sometimes takes us on unexpected digressions before returning to it's intended path. What I found remarkable about the book was its honesty. When the book is at its best, the author takes us to where her mind wanders in each of the experiences, and explores the innate relationship some us feel with bodies of water; fluid or not. True, the environmentalist spin does get to be tiring from time to time, but it is, within context, on point and related to the passion for the subject.

This was a great read to help make that transition from work to wind-down as iI head into a two week break, and to remember and reconnect with the simple things in life.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is book was part of my book club this month and I must admit I am not sure why it was select or considered a New York Bestseller.

It is individual chapter about the author's experience crossing nine various rivers across the United States. While there were a couple of good moments, it was a relatively dry book and the author attempted in many ways to make connections between the way of the river and life.

There were a couple of good quotes in the book but other than that, it was good I was riding the stationary bike for 35 minutes a day otherwise I think I might have thrown this book into the author's proverbial river.

If you are even remotely interested in reading this book please let me know as I will gladly give you my copy.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book because there aren't many writers that write about understanding water as place by throwing themselves into the water. But, the book was a total disappointment. It could have been a nice short essay, but it just seemed forced as a whole. Busch says the same thing over and over, and doesn't really get at the heart of why people swim to understand water and places. Plus, she totally rips on lakes and pools and often treads too lightly on the danger she sometimes puts herself in (careful...). The whole thing just didn't work for me-- maybe it's because I expected her to be a swimming Annie Dillard.

[Don]

Just shy of turning fifty, and just before the events of 9/11, Busch made a swim across the Hudson River near her home. The tragedy gave her the resolve to embark on journeys to eight other American rivers (the Delaware, Connecticut, Susquehanna, Monongahela, Cheat, Mississippi, Ohio and Current Rivers) and attempt to swim across them (although she received much contradictory information regarding the safety of this venture). These evocative essays blend history and lore of the rivers with environmentalism (including encounters with Pete Seeger) and contemplative philosophical musings on the passages of life (invoking Thoreau and Edward Abbey).

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole thing--just the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers. Out of those 3 sections, I liked the Introduction about the Hudson river the best. The information about the rivers, while not in-depth, was interesting. She seems to clearly state that she wants people to become more connected with rivers, to reinstill them in the popular imagination and our lives, and that one of the ways to do that is to swim, and not be afraid of the rivers. Her message is nice, but I think I would have been content to stop at the Introduction.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains some very poetic insights into immersion and what lies beneath the surface. Metphorically and otherwise. If you like to swim you must read this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty slow meditation on swimming and rivers.

[Steve Tsuchiyama]

enjoyable read about a woman who decided to swim across a bunch of rivers

[Mary K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who love swimming, rivers, nature and philosophy. If you like meaningful deeds and just a bit of daring. Lots of geography, history and conservation talk, too.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the parts of the book where the author was actually crossing the rivers. Unfortunately, that made up a very small part of the book. Badly in need of a heavy-handed editor.

[Carolyn thompson hammack · Rating 4 out of 5]

akiko busch made you feel like you were right there in the river. many of the rivers were in parts of the country where i have spent a lot of time.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some lovely descriptions.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A set of essays and musings about rivers as the author swims across nine of them in the US.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one very much. The structure and the idea are wonderful, in the first place, and I surely admire her values and her courage and tenacity!!