Cork Boat

Rating:
Summary: 165,321 Corks. 1 Boat.
Review: Follow the exploits of John Pollack as he faces uncountable obstacles while building his childhood dream - a boat made of wine corks - and then sails it down the Douro River in Portugal.

At turns funny and touching, this is a great read.

The only fault I could find in this book is there are no photos of the downriver journey, or even of the boat - even though several times the narrative mentions pictures being taken! (The curious can find a few pictures of it by typing "Cork Boat" in the google "image search", though...)

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read to Float You Through the Winter.
Review: I read about this book when it was Friday "Hot Pick" in the Boston Herald. I ended up picking this up and found it to be an enjoyable read. John Pollack is a former Clinton speech writer who had a dream since childhood to build a cork boat that floats. He does after assembling over 165,000 corks with an architect friend, alot of neighborhood help, and some large cork donations from a cork facility in CA. This is a pretty quick read that tells a good story about a dream, a boat, and bonding with friends and family. Pick this up today.

Rating:
Summary: Cork Boat
Review: John Pollack quit his high status political career and pursued a dream he'd harbored since he was a child. It's an inspiring story about doing what you dream rather than just working a job. He became famous in Portugal and if you're interested in seeing the boat, pictures of which are sadly missing from the book, then check out his website as you read about his adventures - www.corkboat.com. Also, the timing of the Cork Boat's launch, Fall 2001, is one of the factors that makes this book more than just about a boat.

Rating:
Summary: Unreadable
Review: So what? Who cares? That was the basic impression I was left with after reading about two thirds of this sophomoric, self-congratulatory ego fest. I could not finish the book. The combination of his cliche-ridden style, his bursts of self-promotion, and his unchecked rants against his "friend" Garth was more than I could stomach. Any emotional capital he may have earned (his sister's death, the all-nighters to finish the boat) was just squandered. This would have made a great magazine article, but it makes a terrible book.