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Drifting: Two Weeks on the Hudson
This candid account of the author's two-week canoe trip down the Hudson River offers an introspective and humorous look at both the river and Recession-Era America. New to fatherhood and fresh from ten years in an Alaskan village, Mike Freeman sets out to relearn his country, and realizes it's in a far greater midlife crisis than he could ever be. With an eye on the Hudson's past, he addresses America's present anxieties--from race, gender, and marriage to energy, labor, and warfare--with empathy and honesty, acknowledging the difficulties surrounding each issue without succumbing to pessimism or ideology.
From the river's headwaters in the Adirondacks, Freeman follows the Hudson south through America's first industrial ghost towns, where ruin begs for rebirth. Next is the Hudson Valley and the river's 153-mile estuary, with its once-teeming fisheries. Here, agriculture is redefining itself, while at West Point, officer candidates train for America's murky modern wars. The Hudson Highlands, too, are prominent, the place where Americans first wed God to nature, and where the mountains remain a potent place to mull that bond. From there it's on to Manhattan, with its skyline that symbolizes the world's financial might as well as its startling fragility.
As controversial as it is comforting, Freeman's narrative makes us think in hard ways about America as the country itself drifts toward an uncertain future. But throughout, of course, is the magnificent Hudson, whose resilient beauty speaks well both to nature's toughness and America's greatest strength--the ability to redirect and change course when necessary.
From the river's headwaters in the Adirondacks, Freeman follows the Hudson south through America's first industrial ghost towns, where ruin begs for rebirth. Next is the Hudson Valley and the river's 153-mile estuary, with its once-teeming fisheries. Here, agriculture is redefining itself, while at West Point, officer candidates train for America's murky modern wars. The Hudson Highlands, too, are prominent, the place where Americans first wed God to nature, and where the mountains remain a potent place to mull that bond. From there it's on to Manhattan, with its skyline that symbolizes the world's financial might as well as its startling fragility.
As controversial as it is comforting, Freeman's narrative makes us think in hard ways about America as the country itself drifts toward an uncertain future. But throughout, of course, is the magnificent Hudson, whose resilient beauty speaks well both to nature's toughness and America's greatest strength--the ability to redirect and change course when necessary.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 26, 2013
I liked the idea - drifting down the Hudson while reflecting on life, but I was disappointed. I would like to have seen much more of a connection between the river and his thoughts. The rich history of the Hudson could have been used much more deeply.
April 10, 2013
Very interesting book about a two week canoe trip down the Hudson. Freeman weaves a little bit of personal history, a little bit of nature and a lot of US, Native American, and NY state/Hudson River history into the book. Very readable!
March 27, 2014
I wanted to like it more than I did; too personal & drifty to hold my attention.
May 25, 2013
I liked some of the historical stuff but found it too slow for me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews