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Summary: I can't believe I loved this book
Review: But I did. It is not at all the typical stuff I usually read. It was such an entertaining and gentle read. Adams is such a wonderful story teller. I felt as if I took that journey right beside him. As far as I am concerned, I have floated down "The New" myself now. I borrowed the book I read from my library but I am purchasing two for my Mom and my sister.
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe I loved this book
Review: But I did. It is not at all the typical stuff I usually read. It was such an entertaining and gentle read. Adams is such a wonderful story teller. I felt as if I took that journey right beside him. As far as I am concerned, I have floated down "The New" myself now. I borrowed the book I read from my library but I am purchasing two for my Mom and my sister.
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Summary: Great adventure
Review: I thought this book was a great adventure down the New River. I enjoyed the descriptions of appalachia people he encountered along the way, and had a great time as he meandered through the valleys of the New.
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Summary: What an experience!!!...
Review: I used to live near the New and Noah Adams describes it wonderfully. While on a quest to learn more about his family from the area, he also spends most of his Spring, Summer, and Fall in and around the New River. He bikes, hikes, canoes, and whitewater rafts in and around the New while telling about the history of all 350 miles of it. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific location on the river and he even gives the Latitude/ Longitude so you can visit the places he was. I highly reccomend this book!!
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Summary: Fun and fascinating adventure reading
Review: In Far Appalachia, Noah Adams captured the essence of the New River and the surrounding areas. His keen observances and descriptive detail of scene and setting make the book come alive. Although this book is quite interesting, it is not particularly dense with information; the book is light reading that moves very quickly. Instead, Adams captures snapshots of the river and the varied people he meets along his journey via canoe, bicycle and foot trail. I thoroughly enjoyed Far Appalachia; it made me feel a little bit homesick for North Carolina, which is where I grew up.
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Summary: A place in time and history
Review: In traveling the New River from North Carolina to West Virginia, Noah Adams found a part of America that sometimes stands still in time, and other times seems to go backward. Part of his journey relates to an earlier epic of his own life spent in Appalachia. Whatever the reasons, he paints a picture of the river's path that is both nostalgic and distant.Coal mining was a big industry in much of this section of the country, but much of it is gone now. Towns, mines, have almost completely disappeared, while others are ugly blots on the landscape. And still, the New River cuts its way through mountains, creating gorges, south to north, in the same way it has done for millennia. Bridges cross it. People live beside it. And a new industry -- whitewater rafting, kayaking, and other touristy pursuits -- has encroached on its waters. As Adams traveled the river, he met professional guides, herbalists, and others who make their livings on the river. Many, perhaps most of them love the river. Each knows some of its history, and their stories often only whet our appetites. Readers of travels in America would enjoy this book. However, someone who once lived in North Carolina, Virginia, or West Virginia, having some knowledge of both history and geography of those areas, will be reminded of their time there and stories they may have heard. It might even make some of those who moved away want to go back. Even if only for a vist.
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Summary: A worthwhile trip down a wonderful river...
Review: Noah Adams follows the New River from its headwaters in North Carolina to its end in West Virginia. This is not a textbook of the river's history, geography or geological formation. Instead, it is a conversational documentary. The pace of the river seems to set the pace of the book. Some chapters sit still for a minute and gaze in detail at a plant or a fish. Some chapters offer glimpses of the residents and communities along the New River. Some chapters fly by with the the excitment and adrenalin rush of the whitewater rapids. Some chapters ponder the past, some ponder the future. It's a trip worth taking through Noah Adam's eyes, thoughts, and words.
Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile trip down a wonderful river...
Review: Noah Adams follows the New River from its headwaters in North Carolina to its end in West Virginia. This is not a textbook of the river's history, geography or geological formation. Instead, it is a conversational documentary. The pace of the river seems to set the pace of the book. Some chapters sit still for a minute and gaze in detail at a plant or a fish. Some chapters offer glimpses of the residents and communities along the New River. Some chapters fly by with the the excitment and adrenalin rush of the whitewater rapids. Some chapters ponder the past, some ponder the future. It's a trip worth taking through Noah Adam's eyes, thoughts, and words.
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Summary: Charming but slight, like several NPR segments put together
Review: Noah Adams goes on a journey down the New River, stopping to chat with the natives. I love this part of the country and I like Noah Adams, so I was happy to accompany him as a reader. But there is not a lot more content than you would find in several All-Things-Considered segments stitched together...it won't take you much more time to read it than it would to listen to it. The commentary is pleasant but if you want a deep or detailed introduction to the New River Valley of Appalachia you will have to go elsewhere. So set aside a nice Sunday afternoon and have a go at it.
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Summary: The New River
Review: Noah Adams has provided the reader with a detailed description of the demographics, landscape, environment as well as folklore of the New River as it winds its way North from North Carolina to West Virginia. Having paddled the river from Pembroke to Glenn Lynn Va and living in this region since 1977 I was amazed at his description of the simplest details such as how to run the Narrows Falls to his stories about the surrounding communities. If you are fond of the New River Valley you will treasure this remarkable desciption of the people and places he visits while on his journey down the New River.
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