Rating: 
Summary: A fair book with strengths and weaknesses
Review: The author succeeded in capturing the enormity of his journey and gave a believable portrayal of the coastal regions and the people. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of interactions with the people. The book really came alive in these parts. Also, many of his descriptions of kayaking in stormy seas were exciting. These are the parts of the book that kept me engaged to the end. It seemed that the book got better near the halfway point, so my recommendation is for readers to stick with it because there is something of a momentum to his trip and some exciting events occur midway thru his journey and beyond. But aside from the scenes of kayaking in dangerous seas, I found his accounts of kayaking to be on the dull side. This may be because often the author seemed unimpressed with his surroundings. For example, he describes calm seas as "boring". Days of smooth paddling are summarized in a few sentences. I believe that the author is so much the expert kayaker that some of the moments that would impress the neophyte kayaker are trivial to him. Just a guess. Like other reviewers, I was distracted by his tendency to write about what he was thinking rather than what he was experiencing. This might have worked but often these sections consisted of strings of questions such as "who were these people? why are they gone?" or bland musings such as "I thought that....", or "I wondered about..." Moreover, although I did like his accounts of dangerous kayaking, there were a number of moments where in the midst of describing how he was negotiating a difficult section of the coast, he would slip into his head and relate his thoughts on nature and God, then go back to the kayaking description. Also, his exultation in the strong waves could be melodramatic, overly explicit, for example, a direct quote: "Yes! Yes! More! More! You are beautiful!" He does give a few glimpses of the history of the coast, and the wildlife, but I found myself eager for more of that and less of the inside of his head. In short, I have lukewarm feelings towards this book because I wanted to know All about the Irish Coast, and All About kayaking the Irish coast, rather than What Duff was thinking as he kayaked the Irish coast. I got a taste of the former and way too much of the latter. Why this book was published in this manner puzzled me because the sections where the author is not focused on his musings are generally excellent. Like another reviewer, I made my way thru this book and enjoyed it by skipping his internal reflections as much as I could. Trying to meld internal reflections with observations of the wild world can work, just read a book by Richard Nelson, but it's only the exceptional writer that can tackle that successfully, and even then it may take a patient reader to get through someone else's personal dialogue. I'll close with a recommendation for a another great kayaking book: Homelands by Byron Ricks, about the Inside Passage from Washington State to Alaska.
Rating: 
Summary: colorful picture of irelands haunting and historic coasts
Review: the book is an excellent journal of the writers kayak journey around ireland.i was pleasantly surprised by the author's references to ireland and the coasts history and its lessons for our own lives.
Rating:
Summary: A solid read
Review: This is a soulful look at one man's journey around Ireland. The author gives us a great view of Ireland and its people as well as describing a great kayak adventure. The book relates the authors experiences, and thoughts as he circumnavigates Ireland. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: From the Publisher
Review: This wonderful book won the 2000 National Outdoor Book Award for literature.
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