Rating: 
Summary: A Journey
Review: I read this while visiting friends and in-laws in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, and seeing my surroundings through Raban's experience and his accounts of the history, art, and literature of the area made the book that much more resonant. Raban's journey is set forth plainly, but his digressions for his father's funeral and to deal with his disintegrating marriage are perfectly mirrored in the book's structure. The meandering and digression seemed to suit the story and the subject matter very well.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: I suspect that going on an afternoon outing with Raban on his sailboat would be an experience I'd remember for a while. His extensive knowledge on Indian art and culture, the voyage of Discovery, 18th century travels in the Northwest is incredible. It sounds like he read everything on these subjects, internalized it and is now giving you a concise, pleasant tour filled with amazing bits of knowledge.Raban is a good writer who never fails to make his subject matter interesting. His account of a fisherman's funeral service in Seattle brought tears to my eyes. The treatment he received by suspicious Canadian border officials made me laugh out loud. My only complaint comes from the fact that the book has two distinct halves. The first half is his journey up to Vancouver and it is superb. In the second half, he goes back to England for his father's funeral and you can tell that when he comes back he is no longer interested in the places he is sailing through. He starts quoting Shelley instead of journals from the officers on the Discovery. He freely admits he would never want to live in Alaska. The book ends on an unfinished note, Raban is more concerned with personal problems ahead than outlining any benefit he derived from his voyage. All the same, it is an incredible book, worth reading if only because it taught me so much about the places I've been living in blindly for so long.
Rating: 
Summary: fact or fiction
Review: I've just finished reading 'Passage to Janeau' and was left wanting more but unsettled by the possibility that the part of the book that purports to be the personal story of the author might be fictionalised. The blurring of fact and fiction is a powerful tool but one that can leave the reader feeling in shifting sands, or even deceived. It bothers me not knowing whether the two major personal events in the author's life described in the book happened at all or happened in the way and the sequence described. Apart from that I greatly enjoyed the mixture of history, anthropology, explortation, travel and observation.
Rating:
Summary: The Inside story--well worth the passage by armchair!
Review: If you love sailing, the Northwest, NW Coast Indian art, or Raban's other travel books, you've got to get this one. Leave it to a Brit--especially this shrewd, funny Brit--to see things here that others have missed, and to put them all into perspective with warm, witty prose. His observations about NW Coast Indian art, in particular, are uncanny. I've studied NW Coast Indian art for years, and I've rarely encountered better, more insightful writing about it. Raban describes in lush detail how the images and techniques of NW Coast Indian art are intimately connected with life on the water--an insight that seemingly no one has written about before, not even the great scholars Bill Holm, Bill Reid, and Hilary Stewart. For my money, this is the book of the year about the Pacific Northwest, and one of the best ever. Its only serious rivals recently are Raban's other fine Northwest-related books, "Hunting Mr. Heartbreak" and "Bad Land."
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding..............
Review: Jonathan Raban has written his best book since "Old Glory". He brings the mystery and history of the water passage between Seattle and Juneau to life as he recounts his solo journey. Every facet of this wondrous geographical area is portrayed in splendid detail as Raban allows us a deep look at his surroundings and a penetrating window unto himself. When Raban hits his stride, he achieves a level of poignancy not easily paralleled as he seamlessly meshes his personal experience with the environment he traverses. Whether discussing people and places or flora and fauna, Raban strikes a chord in the reader that creates an intense attraction and, at times, an equally intense aversion to this littoral wilderness. Raban simply seems to write better when on the water as is evident in "Old Glory" and I recommend this, his finest effort since, wholeheartedly.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding..............
Review: Jonathan Raban has written his best book since "Old Glory". He brings the mystery and history of the water passage between Seattle and Juneau to life as he recounts his solo journey. Every facet of this wondrous geographical area is portrayed in splendid detail as Raban allows us a deep look at his surroundings and a penetrating window unto himself. When Raban hits his stride, he achieves a level of poignancy not easily paralleled as he seamlessly meshes his personal experience with the environment he traverses. Whether discussing people and places or flora and fauna, Raban strikes a chord in the reader that creates an intense attraction and, at times, an equally intense aversion to this littoral wilderness. Raban simply seems to write better when on the water as is evident in "Old Glory" and I recommend this, his finest effort since, wholeheartedly.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: Jonathan Raban's carefully detailed journey from Seattle to Juneau is beautiful and haunting. His book not only documents this magical area of the world as it now exists, but also as it must have existed when Captain Vancouver led his expedition in the 1790s. Raban's frequent digressions into native symbolism, primitive sociology and life aboard Captain Vancouver's vessel are fascinating and give the book substance that makes it transcend any travelogue. Adding to this enthralling tale, Raban also shares with us important parts of two simultaneuous voyages -- the unravelling of his marriage and the death of his father in England. Glad to surmise from Raban's jacket photo that he should have time to bless us with more prose (he should stop smoking for the sake of us, his would-be future readers). If Raban continues to write, I hope he sticks to the pattern of weaving a variety of messages into his texts; long live the digression!
Rating:
Summary: An Epiphany
Review: Just after reading the conclusion of this lyrical and haunting book, I watched the Eric Rohmer film "Le Rayon Vert" (The Green Ray.) As the film explains, if you see the green ray as the sun sets below the horizon, then you will know the true feelings inside your soul. The connection between the firm and Raban's book was clear. Throughout this book, Raban attempts to understand both the Pacific Northwest and his own family through the experiences of others -- Native Americans, Captain Vancouver, and even the itinerant workers in the Alaskan canneries. Only too late, after the fateful conclusion of the book, does he realize that he has failed to look deep inside of himself. If only he had watched the sunset over the western ocean and seen the green ray! Perhaps his life would have turned out differently.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull
Review: Let me start by stating that I just wrote a review of Raban's book "Old Glory" and said that it was probably the best travel book I've ever read. This book, conversely, is one of the worst. Like readers before me have said, if you like sailing, and want to know more about Raban's personal life, this book is for you. The problem, I found, was that unlike in Old Glory, where he was only a few hundred yards from shore, and would dock any time he felt like it to speak with the local folks, in "Passage", he's stuck out on the Pacific Ocean with nothing to do but recount some history, talk about his family, and describe his boat... dull.
Rating:
Summary: Dull
Review: Let me start by stating that I just wrote a review of Raban's book "Old Glory" and said that it was probably the best travel book I've ever read. This book, conversely, is one of the worst. Like readers before me have said, if you like sailing, and want to know more about Raban's personal life, this book is for you. The problem, I found, was that unlike in Old Glory, where he was only a few hundred yards from shore, and would dock any time he felt like it to speak with the local folks, in "Passage", he's stuck out on the Pacific Ocean with nothing to do but recount some history, talk about his family, and describe his boat... dull.
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