What do you think?
Rate this book
The Canoeist: A Memoir
An ardent canoeist for more than forty-five years, John Manuel was first introduced to the solace, natural wonder and exhilaration of canoeing while growing up on the Chagrin River in Ohio, paddling an old Grumman canoe under the scrutiny of his father. Decades later, as he watches his elderly dad succumb to cancer, Manuel recalls this initiation into a lifetime of canoeing with both fondness and confusion. What was the allure of rivers? Was it the challenge of rapids, the natural beauty his father had known? Or was it the need to pursue his own life, to escape from home and family expectations?
At times rollicking and playful as the rapids it portrays, The Canoeist also possesses a rare emotional depth. Manuel gives us a vivid picture of his own human experience—of falling in love, its elation and heart-rending turns; the intimate connection among paddling friends; the fight to save the natural places he reveres; the frustration and joy of bringing children into the canoeing life. Chapters named for a dozen eastern rivers carry the reader from such historic events as the fire on the Cuyahoga River and anti-Nixon demonstrations in Washington D.C. to the wild and some times dangerous watersheds of Manuel’s life. In part an ode to rivers, The Canoeist also affirms the vital importance of family and friends, and reveals a portrait of America in changing times.
At times rollicking and playful as the rapids it portrays, The Canoeist also possesses a rare emotional depth. Manuel gives us a vivid picture of his own human experience—of falling in love, its elation and heart-rending turns; the intimate connection among paddling friends; the fight to save the natural places he reveres; the frustration and joy of bringing children into the canoeing life. Chapters named for a dozen eastern rivers carry the reader from such historic events as the fire on the Cuyahoga River and anti-Nixon demonstrations in Washington D.C. to the wild and some times dangerous watersheds of Manuel’s life. In part an ode to rivers, The Canoeist also affirms the vital importance of family and friends, and reveals a portrait of America in changing times.
215 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
John Manuel
3 books1 followerJohn Manuel is a writer whose published works span the genres from environmental journalism, to creative non-fiction, to fiction. He has published three books, including a guidebook, The Natural Traveler Along North Carolina’s Coast; a memoir, The Canoeist; and a novel, Hope Valley. His articles have appeared in institutional magazines such as The National Institute of Environmental Health Science’s Environmental Health Perspectives, trade journals such as Canoe and Kayak, and popular magazines such as Audubon and Orion.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 29, 2015
The Canoeist (Nonfiction)
John Manuel
ISBN 0-97189-747-6
I remember rolling under the canoe; the way the water muffled the roar of the rapid and softened the sun’s glare. All around me were bubbles, millions and millions of them, rushing along at the same speed. We are like this – souls traveling through space. We are born in the tumult of the river, carried along by forces we cannot control. And we’re also beautiful in the way we hold the light, murmuring to one another on this journey toward the surface, our short spiraling lives.
I stayed under for a long time, safe from the waves crashing overhead. The water ran warm and deep. There was no need to panic, but my air was running out. I kicked out of the thigh straps and burst into daylight. –Page 208
The quotation from page 208 is but one example of the excellence of the narrative prose which fills John Manuel’s book from beginning to end. The river in this passage was Tennessee’s Ocoee, portrayed as an ultimate challenge for canoeists, a river generally reserved for Kayaks and White Water Rafts.
The author’s trip down the Ocoee is the climax to a journey that begins on the peaceful waters of the Chagrin River near his parent’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. Along the way he canoed such well known waterways as the Allagash (Maine), the Nantahala (North Carolina), and the Chattooga (Georgia). This last was the whitewater backdrop for the movie Deliverance based on James Dickey’s novel of the same title.
The Canoeist is neither a how to manual for boaters nor a simple recounting of whitewater adventures, though many adventures appear among the stories. Manuel skillfully weaves in the story of his family and his career along the way. Within the pages he recounts emotional distance from his father, a hard nosed businessman who taught him canoeing skills but never understood his career path as a conservationist working for nonprofit organizations, or his later decision to become a writer.
Manuel also recounts the friendships he gained along the way and the courtship of his wife Cathy, a strong canoeist in her own right. He tells the reader about his son and daughter, and his determination to maintain a healthy relationship with them and not repeat the separation between him and his father.
Manuel’s ability to weave these many stories into a unified whole reveal his skill as a gifted writer. The canoeist is an enjoyable read.
John Manuel
ISBN 0-97189-747-6
I remember rolling under the canoe; the way the water muffled the roar of the rapid and softened the sun’s glare. All around me were bubbles, millions and millions of them, rushing along at the same speed. We are like this – souls traveling through space. We are born in the tumult of the river, carried along by forces we cannot control. And we’re also beautiful in the way we hold the light, murmuring to one another on this journey toward the surface, our short spiraling lives.
I stayed under for a long time, safe from the waves crashing overhead. The water ran warm and deep. There was no need to panic, but my air was running out. I kicked out of the thigh straps and burst into daylight. –Page 208
The quotation from page 208 is but one example of the excellence of the narrative prose which fills John Manuel’s book from beginning to end. The river in this passage was Tennessee’s Ocoee, portrayed as an ultimate challenge for canoeists, a river generally reserved for Kayaks and White Water Rafts.
The author’s trip down the Ocoee is the climax to a journey that begins on the peaceful waters of the Chagrin River near his parent’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. Along the way he canoed such well known waterways as the Allagash (Maine), the Nantahala (North Carolina), and the Chattooga (Georgia). This last was the whitewater backdrop for the movie Deliverance based on James Dickey’s novel of the same title.
The Canoeist is neither a how to manual for boaters nor a simple recounting of whitewater adventures, though many adventures appear among the stories. Manuel skillfully weaves in the story of his family and his career along the way. Within the pages he recounts emotional distance from his father, a hard nosed businessman who taught him canoeing skills but never understood his career path as a conservationist working for nonprofit organizations, or his later decision to become a writer.
Manuel also recounts the friendships he gained along the way and the courtship of his wife Cathy, a strong canoeist in her own right. He tells the reader about his son and daughter, and his determination to maintain a healthy relationship with them and not repeat the separation between him and his father.
Manuel’s ability to weave these many stories into a unified whole reveal his skill as a gifted writer. The canoeist is an enjoyable read.
September 5, 2016
I first connected with author John Manuel through an article he wrote in Montana Outdoors magazine about watching wildlife on local rivers via canoe. The author’s byline at the end of the article revealed that he resides in North Carolina. It seemed a bit odd that someone from the other side of the country would provide expert tips for wildlife viewing in Montana, but he was spot on in the article, citing the Jefferson River as a prime waterway encountering moose, otters, bald eagles, and just about anything else that lives in the northern Rockies. I’ve also seen bears along the river, and other people have seen wolves and mountain lions. As president of the Jefferson River Canoe Trail, I reached out to John Manuel and sent him a copy of our Canoe Trail Maps of the Jefferson. We also traded books, a copy of my Foraging the Mountain West for his memoir, The Canoeist.
As an admitted workaholic, my reading is usually work-oriented, so it was a rare treat to read a book for pleasure, and what a wonderful book it is! Manuel tells his life story through canoeing adventures from childhood onward, embracing life in the shadow of death--the drowning death of neighbor girl when he was young, and the eventual loss of his own father. The story relives his troubled relationship with his father, his hope to win his father’s praise, and his challenge to avoid becoming his father in his relationships with other people. It is a beautiful story of friendship, family, love, and adventure. I am an avid canoeist myself, but prefer long, lazy river trips, spending days or weeks on quiet wilderness waterways. I don’t have much of an appetite for whitewater, which made the harrowing adventures of The Canoeist that much more appealing, the opportunity to vicariously join Manuel in the canoe while safe and dry in my own comfort zone. If you love rivers, you will love this book.
As an admitted workaholic, my reading is usually work-oriented, so it was a rare treat to read a book for pleasure, and what a wonderful book it is! Manuel tells his life story through canoeing adventures from childhood onward, embracing life in the shadow of death--the drowning death of neighbor girl when he was young, and the eventual loss of his own father. The story relives his troubled relationship with his father, his hope to win his father’s praise, and his challenge to avoid becoming his father in his relationships with other people. It is a beautiful story of friendship, family, love, and adventure. I am an avid canoeist myself, but prefer long, lazy river trips, spending days or weeks on quiet wilderness waterways. I don’t have much of an appetite for whitewater, which made the harrowing adventures of The Canoeist that much more appealing, the opportunity to vicariously join Manuel in the canoe while safe and dry in my own comfort zone. If you love rivers, you will love this book.
September 8, 2008
River-by-river memoir which cronicles the author's growing paddling skills with his life experiences, with a dash of American history thrown in. Note: with an abundance of vulgar language and a few steamy scenes, this is not rated "G".
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews