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Cork Boat: A True Story of the Unlikeliest Boat Ever Built
165,321 corks
1 boat
Most people have childhood dreams; few ever pursue them. At the age of 34, John Pollack quit a prestigious speechwriting job on Capitol Hill to pursue an idea he had harbored since the age of to build a boat out of wine corks and take it on an epic journey.
In Cork Boat , Pollack tells the charming and uplifting story of this unlikely adventure. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save corks, corrals a brilliant but disorganized partner, and cajoles more than a hundred volunteers to help build the boat, many until their fingers bleed. Hired as a speechwriter for President Clinton midway through construction, Pollack soon has the White House saving corks, too. Ultimately, he and his crew set sail down the Douro River in Portugal, where the boat becomes a national sensation. Written with unusual grace and disarming humor, Cork Boat is a buoyant tale of camaraderie, determination, and the power of imagination.
1 boat
Most people have childhood dreams; few ever pursue them. At the age of 34, John Pollack quit a prestigious speechwriting job on Capitol Hill to pursue an idea he had harbored since the age of to build a boat out of wine corks and take it on an epic journey.
In Cork Boat , Pollack tells the charming and uplifting story of this unlikely adventure. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save corks, corrals a brilliant but disorganized partner, and cajoles more than a hundred volunteers to help build the boat, many until their fingers bleed. Hired as a speechwriter for President Clinton midway through construction, Pollack soon has the White House saving corks, too. Ultimately, he and his crew set sail down the Douro River in Portugal, where the boat becomes a national sensation. Written with unusual grace and disarming humor, Cork Boat is a buoyant tale of camaraderie, determination, and the power of imagination.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2003
17 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
April 23, 2013
The author, a former speechwriter for a Congressman and Clinton, quits his job to build a boat made out of 165,000-plus corks held together by rubber bands, which he then sails with friends down the Douro River in Portugal. It sounds like a fairy tale, and it almost is, a heart-warming true fantasy story of childhood dreams and adult sacrifice and priorities and adventure. Pollack is, of course, a gifted writer, adept at spinning a tale and interweaving personal reminisces, anecdotes and a few strands of history here and there. But it’s Pollack's determination and optimism, though, that make this such a sweet tale. After the descriptions of camaraderie, community, despair and dedication, I felt like cheering along as they pulled into Porto on the final day.
June 11, 2022
How many people get to live one of their childhood dreams? Some kids want to be astronauts but accomplishing that is a rarity. Some kids want to be professional athletes, but that is also a rarity. Then there is the child who would like to build their own boat…out of wine corks. And not only build it but sail it! This book details the efforts of John Pollack to put his dream together, hard-earned cork by hard-earned cork, so that one day he can pilot it down the Douro River in Portugal, the country most associated with the production of cork.
Pollack had enjoyed a successful career as a stressed-out speechwriter for various politicians at the Capitol and the White House. But he hungered for something else and decided it was time for a well-earned sabbatical and a new direction in life. He started letting the local restaurants know that he would be happy to collect the corks from their opened wine bottles and, cork by cork, his dream started to come into play. He also convinced a friend to become his partner in the venture, with neither realizing just how time consuming and stressful the project will really be.
Societal expectations aside, was building a boat any less meaningful than churning out political rhetoric that fell, all too often, on deaf ears? Maybe it was time for me to redefine success. Maybe, after half a lifetime, it was time to actually build the cork boat.
This book is more than just a descriptive diary about building the boat. The reader learns about the history of cork, the resiliency of rubber bands, and stories about the White House. I admired the author for the dedication he devoted to the project, when most people would have walked away. The last chapters are particularly engaging, as the boat makes its way through some tough navigational trials on its way down the Douro. The writing is engaging and the very idea itself rather bold. My only complaint is the lack of photographs to show the beginning-to-end process, so I had to search online. Apart from that, I did enjoy the read.
Book Season = Summer (floating down a river)
Pollack had enjoyed a successful career as a stressed-out speechwriter for various politicians at the Capitol and the White House. But he hungered for something else and decided it was time for a well-earned sabbatical and a new direction in life. He started letting the local restaurants know that he would be happy to collect the corks from their opened wine bottles and, cork by cork, his dream started to come into play. He also convinced a friend to become his partner in the venture, with neither realizing just how time consuming and stressful the project will really be.
Societal expectations aside, was building a boat any less meaningful than churning out political rhetoric that fell, all too often, on deaf ears? Maybe it was time for me to redefine success. Maybe, after half a lifetime, it was time to actually build the cork boat.
This book is more than just a descriptive diary about building the boat. The reader learns about the history of cork, the resiliency of rubber bands, and stories about the White House. I admired the author for the dedication he devoted to the project, when most people would have walked away. The last chapters are particularly engaging, as the boat makes its way through some tough navigational trials on its way down the Douro. The writing is engaging and the very idea itself rather bold. My only complaint is the lack of photographs to show the beginning-to-end process, so I had to search online. Apart from that, I did enjoy the read.
Book Season = Summer (floating down a river)
March 5, 2008
As a child, one of John Pollack's favorite bedtime stories was Holling C. Holling's Paddle-to-the-Sea, the story of a carved toy canoe that, over the course of several years, makes its way from the north shore of Lake Superior, through the Great Lakes, out the St. Lawrence river and, finally, to the Atlantic. Kind strangers aid the canoe's perilous journey and, in the happiest of eventualities, the man who was once the boy who carved the canoe learns of its progress.
Cork Boat, a recounting of John Pollack's lifelong endeavor to build and launch a boat made entirely of wine corks, tells a similar tale of individual determination, a supportive community, and sheer serendipity.
Pollack first turned boatwright at age six, building a craft from orange crates and firewood. It went straight to the bottom of the marsh at the end of the Pollacks' street. Undaunted, he decided then and there that his next boat would be made out of corks. His parents began saving corks, and thus the Cork Boat project began.
By 1999, Pollack was in his 30s, disillusioned with his career as a Capitol Hill speechwriter, and ready to chuck it all in order to devote himself to building his cork boat. At the time, his parents' cork collection topped 3,000. Some quick calculations revealed that Pollack would need at least 60,000.
He quit his job, kicked cork collection into high gear, and took on a partner - a young architect named Garth Goldstein, who soon upped the estimated number of corks needed to 100,000 (the completed boat would actually top out at 165,321 corks). Design work began in earnest, and design solutions (a hexagonal "disk" of corks held together by rubber bands) were stumbled upon entirely by accident.
One by one, difficulties mounted and were surmounted by Pollack and Goldstein's creative thinking, personal connections, determination, and charm. When Washington restaurants and bars failed to come through with the corks they promised to save from the millennium New Year bash, Pollack secured a corporate sponsor - a cork manufacturer who donated tens of thousands of corks. When the completed boat was found to be too large to fit on the boat trailer hired to take it to its launch site, Pollack and Goldstein bought 10 furniture dollies, strapped them to the bottom of the boat, and hired a tow truck to take the craft to the marina.
Not even the horror of September 11, 2001 could sink the dream of the Cork Boat. Though Pollack was certain that none of his volunteers would want to think of something so frivolous in the days after the attack, the opposite was true - volunteers came flooding back because the boat was frivolous. After 9/11, many people were looking for hope wherever they could find it, and the Cork Boat was a hopeful project.
When Pollack's corporate cork sponsor proposed a voyage down Portugal's Douro River, the whole world took notice - everyone from major news networks to the most modest Portuguese villagers. Everyone was determined that the Cork Boat should succeed in winding its way through the Douro to the Atlantic, offering tips for outsmarting customs officers, and tows when the current was too forceful to row against.
Pollack acknowledges that the Cork Boat will probably never sail again. The magic of its trip down the Douro came from the fact that the boat was so unique -- it's sort of a "been there, done that" approach. The story of the Cork Boat, recounted in this book, is an exciting, amazing testament to Pollack's vision and the power of community. Definitely worth reading.
Cork Boat, a recounting of John Pollack's lifelong endeavor to build and launch a boat made entirely of wine corks, tells a similar tale of individual determination, a supportive community, and sheer serendipity.
Pollack first turned boatwright at age six, building a craft from orange crates and firewood. It went straight to the bottom of the marsh at the end of the Pollacks' street. Undaunted, he decided then and there that his next boat would be made out of corks. His parents began saving corks, and thus the Cork Boat project began.
By 1999, Pollack was in his 30s, disillusioned with his career as a Capitol Hill speechwriter, and ready to chuck it all in order to devote himself to building his cork boat. At the time, his parents' cork collection topped 3,000. Some quick calculations revealed that Pollack would need at least 60,000.
He quit his job, kicked cork collection into high gear, and took on a partner - a young architect named Garth Goldstein, who soon upped the estimated number of corks needed to 100,000 (the completed boat would actually top out at 165,321 corks). Design work began in earnest, and design solutions (a hexagonal "disk" of corks held together by rubber bands) were stumbled upon entirely by accident.
One by one, difficulties mounted and were surmounted by Pollack and Goldstein's creative thinking, personal connections, determination, and charm. When Washington restaurants and bars failed to come through with the corks they promised to save from the millennium New Year bash, Pollack secured a corporate sponsor - a cork manufacturer who donated tens of thousands of corks. When the completed boat was found to be too large to fit on the boat trailer hired to take it to its launch site, Pollack and Goldstein bought 10 furniture dollies, strapped them to the bottom of the boat, and hired a tow truck to take the craft to the marina.
Not even the horror of September 11, 2001 could sink the dream of the Cork Boat. Though Pollack was certain that none of his volunteers would want to think of something so frivolous in the days after the attack, the opposite was true - volunteers came flooding back because the boat was frivolous. After 9/11, many people were looking for hope wherever they could find it, and the Cork Boat was a hopeful project.
When Pollack's corporate cork sponsor proposed a voyage down Portugal's Douro River, the whole world took notice - everyone from major news networks to the most modest Portuguese villagers. Everyone was determined that the Cork Boat should succeed in winding its way through the Douro to the Atlantic, offering tips for outsmarting customs officers, and tows when the current was too forceful to row against.
Pollack acknowledges that the Cork Boat will probably never sail again. The magic of its trip down the Douro came from the fact that the boat was so unique -- it's sort of a "been there, done that" approach. The story of the Cork Boat, recounted in this book, is an exciting, amazing testament to Pollack's vision and the power of community. Definitely worth reading.
October 30, 2007
I don't know what it says about me, but I loved this story o how a person followed a childhood dream and does something really unusual - build a boat from wine corks and floats it down the river in Portugal (where all the good corks come from - remember the story of Ferdinand the bull?).
While telling this story, we take enchanting detours into the history of corks and rubberbands and all sorts of ephemera. It is not as boring as it sounds - not at all.
A nice light read. Absorbing, uplifting and entertaining.
Read the book, open a bottle of wine. Enjoy.
While telling this story, we take enchanting detours into the history of corks and rubberbands and all sorts of ephemera. It is not as boring as it sounds - not at all.
A nice light read. Absorbing, uplifting and entertaining.
Read the book, open a bottle of wine. Enjoy.
June 17, 2017
I enjoyed reading this quite a bit. My only criticism is that there weren't any photographs of the boat or of their adventures. That would have made it a bit more compelling.
January 2, 2021
This book is the worst book I have ever read, and I have read Exquisite Corpse.
June 9, 2007
The summer that my son was born John Pollack and a crew of friends sailed a self built cork boat up a river in Portugal. Some of the event was covered on NPR but I completely missed it. I came across the story through BookCrossing when the memoir of the ship's construction was offered up at one of last year's meetings.
The book is an interesting glimpse at the way things were in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now by 2007 things have already so changed since the time that Pollack decided to finally follow his childhood dream and actually build Cork Boat. He started it while Clinton was in office (and worked for him as a speech writer in his second term). Like so many young professionals then he tried to break free of the traditional job scene to do his own thing (in this case, building a ship). Companies were willing to sponsor just about anything and Pollack found a willing sponsor (and provider of corks) with Cork Supply USA.
The ship was finished in the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center and Bush's presidency (which continues to stagnate). The ship was finished with grim determination and without the naivety under which it was started.
It's only until near the end of the book that any diagrams are included to explain how the cork boat was built. Most of the book covers the collection process of the project and his other side jobs (like working for Clinton). I know that it wasn't until late in the process did he and his friends have a schematic for building Cork Boat but the book could have provided more illustration in the form of photographs or maps or perhaps even diagrams of the different types of corks.
I enjoyed reading the book. It was nonfiction fluff and a nice mental vacation from the classics I've been reading.
The book is an interesting glimpse at the way things were in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now by 2007 things have already so changed since the time that Pollack decided to finally follow his childhood dream and actually build Cork Boat. He started it while Clinton was in office (and worked for him as a speech writer in his second term). Like so many young professionals then he tried to break free of the traditional job scene to do his own thing (in this case, building a ship). Companies were willing to sponsor just about anything and Pollack found a willing sponsor (and provider of corks) with Cork Supply USA.
The ship was finished in the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center and Bush's presidency (which continues to stagnate). The ship was finished with grim determination and without the naivety under which it was started.
It's only until near the end of the book that any diagrams are included to explain how the cork boat was built. Most of the book covers the collection process of the project and his other side jobs (like working for Clinton). I know that it wasn't until late in the process did he and his friends have a schematic for building Cork Boat but the book could have provided more illustration in the form of photographs or maps or perhaps even diagrams of the different types of corks.
I enjoyed reading the book. It was nonfiction fluff and a nice mental vacation from the classics I've been reading.
July 24, 2010
I love this book.
As a boy, JP had a dream of a cork boat. His first sank back home in Ann Arbor but he has a dream for life.
And it isn't until the Republicans get elected (he was a speech writer at the White House) that he has the opportunity to go back to his dream - he has time on his hands and no job to speak of; although he does do a turn as a speech writer for Sen. Levin (MI) and apparently goes off to Antarctica - but I guess that's another book, because all he does here is tell us he had an opportunity to go and he went.
The first half of the book is about building the dream. His architect friend, Garth, helps him plan the boat, plan how to put it together, the design the boat should take, etc.
Then, once they have the boat built - they need to put her in the water. I think they briefly got it in the Potomac River but then they were invited to bring the boat to Portugal and to sail down the Douro River.
Interesting, when no one knows any Portuguese. I think maybe he learns a few rudimentary phrases. And they do have their problems getting the boat through Customs. But before you know it, they are on the River and all sorts of friends and relations show up to lend a helping hand (as they previously had done in building the boat). And it is nowhere near as easy as JP originally thought. But Dad comes along - so how bad could it be.
I found it very enjoyable.
As a boy, JP had a dream of a cork boat. His first sank back home in Ann Arbor but he has a dream for life.
And it isn't until the Republicans get elected (he was a speech writer at the White House) that he has the opportunity to go back to his dream - he has time on his hands and no job to speak of; although he does do a turn as a speech writer for Sen. Levin (MI) and apparently goes off to Antarctica - but I guess that's another book, because all he does here is tell us he had an opportunity to go and he went.
The first half of the book is about building the dream. His architect friend, Garth, helps him plan the boat, plan how to put it together, the design the boat should take, etc.
Then, once they have the boat built - they need to put her in the water. I think they briefly got it in the Potomac River but then they were invited to bring the boat to Portugal and to sail down the Douro River.
Interesting, when no one knows any Portuguese. I think maybe he learns a few rudimentary phrases. And they do have their problems getting the boat through Customs. But before you know it, they are on the River and all sorts of friends and relations show up to lend a helping hand (as they previously had done in building the boat). And it is nowhere near as easy as JP originally thought. But Dad comes along - so how bad could it be.
I found it very enjoyable.
April 16, 2020
Cork Boat is about following through with an amazingly difficult project against huge obstacles. I can’t believe how much work went into it’s construction, how much dedication Pollack and his friend Garth showed, and how many people really pooled around their project to help them. It’s really an inspiring story, but you really feel the grit of how many things really got in their way. Part of the frustration from Pollack’s point of view that really shows through is his strained relationship with his architect and parter on the project Garth.
At first I was a little bit put off by the potential environmental impact of their project, especially after they decided that used corks were going to take way too long to collect and decided to accept a donation of new corks from a cork manufacturer. But Pollack does a lot of research and teaches us in the beginning of the book that trees aren’t actually cut down to make corks. The outer layer of bark is stripped off and then corks are punched out of it, with the average cork tree living to be at least 200 years old.
At first I was a little bit put off by the potential environmental impact of their project, especially after they decided that used corks were going to take way too long to collect and decided to accept a donation of new corks from a cork manufacturer. But Pollack does a lot of research and teaches us in the beginning of the book that trees aren’t actually cut down to make corks. The outer layer of bark is stripped off and then corks are punched out of it, with the average cork tree living to be at least 200 years old.
March 29, 2015
We listened to this as an audiobook, from Audible. It was about a guy who decides to build a boat out of corks, in order to sail it down the Douro River in Portugal.
The premise was really fun, but I think it needed editing. He got lost in the details, such as squabbles with his fellow boat builder (Garth), transportation logistics, design schematics, etc. He also included tangents about various jobs he did, some of which were very interesting. He was a speech writer, so sometimes his writing read like a speech, including a lot of puns and sentences that read like sound bites.
Whenever the project got hard or time consuming, they took shortcuts that dulled the magic of the story for me. They planned to recycle used corks collected from various individuals and restaurants, but eventually decided to seek a donation from a cork company. Their voyage across Portugal was sponsored too. I'm sure they worked hard, but overall I think the whimsy of the project got lost among the minutiae and the compromises.
The premise was really fun, but I think it needed editing. He got lost in the details, such as squabbles with his fellow boat builder (Garth), transportation logistics, design schematics, etc. He also included tangents about various jobs he did, some of which were very interesting. He was a speech writer, so sometimes his writing read like a speech, including a lot of puns and sentences that read like sound bites.
Whenever the project got hard or time consuming, they took shortcuts that dulled the magic of the story for me. They planned to recycle used corks collected from various individuals and restaurants, but eventually decided to seek a donation from a cork company. Their voyage across Portugal was sponsored too. I'm sure they worked hard, but overall I think the whimsy of the project got lost among the minutiae and the compromises.
January 12, 2011
I was just as excited by the idea of a boat made of corks as the author was, and tho the book itself isn't mind-blowing, and sometimes events seem a bit cliche or have been filtered down to a timeline, much of the detail condensed away, still the energy and the plain fact that this guy really built and sailed this wacky craft, that all cant be just written away. Couple things tho, this book will leave a slight aftertaste of 'I guess you can do anything if you dont have to worry about money.' Also, get ready for a quickly rotating cast of minor characters who's stories could make up another book of equal size, and a narrator who in his middling 30's sometimes sounds like a college kid, but that's just the nature of guys who quit the political sphere to build a boat out of wine corks, and I dont want to hold it against him.
July 21, 2012
The description would have you believe that the author selflessly pursued his passion of fashioning a boat entirely from cork. The premise sounds whimsical and romantic. The reality of the book is that he realizes that he cannot accomplish this on his own and ends up soliciting mass donations of cork from businesses, and even having others work on building the boat when it was inconvenient for him to do so. The description of the work in progress ended up being neither romantic nor whimsical... rather, it sounded like a description of a floating trash bag. It may be a good narrative on the benefit of teamwork, but as for one man accomplishing a lifelong dream...? Most people don't hand off their dreams to a committee for completion.
September 8, 2009
Do you remember your fondest childhood dream? John Pollack never forgot his, even after he grew up and became a speechwriter for the Clinton White House -- and even more unusual, he ended up ditching it all to go out and make that dream come true.
The dream? Building a boat out of corks. It sounds silly, and it really could have been, but Pollack's account of the adventure that took him from a sweaty D.C. garage all the way to a river in Portugal is as heartwarming and inspirational as it is humorous. Implausible as it sounds, "Cork Boat" is a tribute to the dreamer in us all.
The dream? Building a boat out of corks. It sounds silly, and it really could have been, but Pollack's account of the adventure that took him from a sweaty D.C. garage all the way to a river in Portugal is as heartwarming and inspirational as it is humorous. Implausible as it sounds, "Cork Boat" is a tribute to the dreamer in us all.
October 19, 2014
John Pollack's project of building a boat from corks and sailing it around Europe was almost, but not quite, worth writing a book about. He ends up padding it with way too much personal detail about the people who helped him and the like. But he gamely puts in some humor and interest into it, so it's not boring, just somewhat unexciting overall. I'll round up to three stars because it's kind of fun.
June 24, 2008
I learned that there are many character traits that Mr. Pollack and I unfortunately don't share. That is why he is so successful.
August 19, 2009
Great Ann Arbor references. Wonderful if you love boats, sailing, politics....
June 7, 2023
I love historical events like this.
Boats and historical events are what make me love reading. Could you please share the sequel books of your series?
In fact, even though I started reading very late, I'm getting more and more immersed every day.
It is a great chance to read the books of important authors. I know that. I'm looking forward to your new books.
I am writing the importance of reading a book here for friends who want to read this book. I hope it will benefit sellers and customers...
Are the top 10 benefits of reading for all ages:
1. Reading Exercises the Brain
While reading, we have to remember different characters and settings that belong to a given story. Even if you enjoy reading a book in one sitting, you have to remember the details throughout the time you take to read the book. Therefore, reading is a workout for your brain that improves memory function.
2. Reading is a Form of (free) Entertainment
Did you know that most of the popular TV shows and movies are based on books? So why not indulge in the original form of entertainment by immersing yourself in reading. Most importantly, it’s free with your Markham Public Library card.
3. Reading Improves Concentration and the Ability to Focus
We can all agree that reading cannot happen without focus and in order to fully understand the story, we have to concentrate on each page that we read. In a world where gadgets are only getting faster and shortening our attention span, we need to constantly practice concentration and focus. Reading is one of the few activities that requires your undivided attention, therefore, improving your ability to concentrate.
4. Reading Improves Literacy
Have you ever read a book where you came across an unfamiliar word? Books have the power to improve your vocabulary by introducing you to new words. The more you read, the more your vocabulary grows, along with your ability to effectively communicate. Additionally, reading improves writing skills by helping the reader understand and learn different writing styles.
5. Reading Improves Sleep
By creating a bedtime routine that includes reading, you can signal to your body that it is time to sleep. Now, more than ever, we rely on increased screen time to get through the day. Therefore, by setting your phone aside and picking up a book, you are telling your brain that it is time to quiet down. Moreover, since reading helps you de-stress, doing so right before bed helps calm your mind and anxiety and improve the quality of sleep.
6. Reading Increases General Knowledge
Books are always filled with fun and interesting facts. Whether you read fiction or non-fictions, books have the ability to provide us with information we would’ve otherwise not known. Reading a variety of topics can make you a more knowledgeable person, in turn improving your conversation skills.
7. Reading is Motivational
By reading books about protagonists who have overcome challenges, we are oftentimes encouraged to do the same. The right book can motivate you to never give up and stay positive, regardless of whether it’s a romance novel or a self-help book.
https://numberoneboats.com/
https://theboatyacht.com/
https://theboatyacht.com/davis-rock-h...
https://numberoneboats.com/davis-rock...
https://theboatyacht.com/searunner-tr...
https://numberoneboats.com/searunner-...
Boats and historical events are what make me love reading. Could you please share the sequel books of your series?
In fact, even though I started reading very late, I'm getting more and more immersed every day.
It is a great chance to read the books of important authors. I know that. I'm looking forward to your new books.
I am writing the importance of reading a book here for friends who want to read this book. I hope it will benefit sellers and customers...
Are the top 10 benefits of reading for all ages:
1. Reading Exercises the Brain
While reading, we have to remember different characters and settings that belong to a given story. Even if you enjoy reading a book in one sitting, you have to remember the details throughout the time you take to read the book. Therefore, reading is a workout for your brain that improves memory function.
2. Reading is a Form of (free) Entertainment
Did you know that most of the popular TV shows and movies are based on books? So why not indulge in the original form of entertainment by immersing yourself in reading. Most importantly, it’s free with your Markham Public Library card.
3. Reading Improves Concentration and the Ability to Focus
We can all agree that reading cannot happen without focus and in order to fully understand the story, we have to concentrate on each page that we read. In a world where gadgets are only getting faster and shortening our attention span, we need to constantly practice concentration and focus. Reading is one of the few activities that requires your undivided attention, therefore, improving your ability to concentrate.
4. Reading Improves Literacy
Have you ever read a book where you came across an unfamiliar word? Books have the power to improve your vocabulary by introducing you to new words. The more you read, the more your vocabulary grows, along with your ability to effectively communicate. Additionally, reading improves writing skills by helping the reader understand and learn different writing styles.
5. Reading Improves Sleep
By creating a bedtime routine that includes reading, you can signal to your body that it is time to sleep. Now, more than ever, we rely on increased screen time to get through the day. Therefore, by setting your phone aside and picking up a book, you are telling your brain that it is time to quiet down. Moreover, since reading helps you de-stress, doing so right before bed helps calm your mind and anxiety and improve the quality of sleep.
6. Reading Increases General Knowledge
Books are always filled with fun and interesting facts. Whether you read fiction or non-fictions, books have the ability to provide us with information we would’ve otherwise not known. Reading a variety of topics can make you a more knowledgeable person, in turn improving your conversation skills.
7. Reading is Motivational
By reading books about protagonists who have overcome challenges, we are oftentimes encouraged to do the same. The right book can motivate you to never give up and stay positive, regardless of whether it’s a romance novel or a self-help book.
https://numberoneboats.com/
https://theboatyacht.com/
https://theboatyacht.com/davis-rock-h...
https://numberoneboats.com/davis-rock...
https://theboatyacht.com/searunner-tr...
https://numberoneboats.com/searunner-...
May 7, 2021
I am incredibly grateful that the modern Democratic Party has become more inclusive and representative of the American constituency than the elitist pompous bore that wrote this book.
Pollack, works at the highest level of civil service in the United States that many may work their entire lives to achieve is still unsatisfied with his life. Thus he sets out on a journey made possible by his proximity to wealth and power, without acknowledgement or admittance of his familial connections, privilege, or free riding.
He bounces from idyllic and whimsical opportunity to the next made possible by the generosity of his beltway compatriots, and while quite a wonderful journey indeed he gets to go on- all in all an incredibly frustrating read. Self-indulgent and without a hint of introspection, read Cork Boat if you yourself have immense financial means to succeed in fanciful projects, otherwise this may just be another reminder of how different the opportunities really are for those at the top.
Pollack, works at the highest level of civil service in the United States that many may work their entire lives to achieve is still unsatisfied with his life. Thus he sets out on a journey made possible by his proximity to wealth and power, without acknowledgement or admittance of his familial connections, privilege, or free riding.
He bounces from idyllic and whimsical opportunity to the next made possible by the generosity of his beltway compatriots, and while quite a wonderful journey indeed he gets to go on- all in all an incredibly frustrating read. Self-indulgent and without a hint of introspection, read Cork Boat if you yourself have immense financial means to succeed in fanciful projects, otherwise this may just be another reminder of how different the opportunities really are for those at the top.
July 26, 2025
Building a functioning boat from wine-bottle corks is obviously not practical. I did get tired of the portions of the book dedicating to spelling out all the difficulties and hardships they faced. But the author does not overdo it. Same for the tragic loss of his sister in childhood. I had not anticipated that the Douro River journey would be so grueling. But I loved how the boat had become a point of celebration for all the locals. I also would never have guessed they would be able to score free corks and transport of the boat to Portugal. I doubt this book will inspire me to take on such a task, but I did enjoy the reading.
September 18, 2023
The first of my Portuguese books. About a US man who collects corks, builds a boat with them and sails, rows and is towed down the Douro River. Full of typical US broggadicio, success at overcoming obstacles that were actually caused by serious ignorance (a river being tidal near the sea, who knew). Some of the American arrogance was worse. The truck is pulled over by a policeman with ‘jackboots and a gun, are Portuguese still Fascist'. He’s obviously never been pulled over by an American cop. A light enough tale that annoyed me, but not so much I didn’t finish it.
August 3, 2021
Interesting biography of John Pollack and his quest to build a boat completely made of wine corks. Pollack served as a speech-writer for President Clinton and on his personal time he pursued a Quixotic obsession to sail a boat made of everyday cork. His dream was fulfilled when he sailed the Douro River along wine country in northern Portugal and became a media sensation. A quick and fun read.
March 29, 2024
Project is cool. I love the follow through and problem solving. For such a tiny book it seemed a bit long winded. But heck if you love something talk about it! Love his parents. Changing flights to see their corks take off. Loved taking the cork rejects and the act-dedication of wine cork bar collecting. Fun. Not something I'd read again. I think I'd rather have scene a short doc on it. Would have liked some pictures of the launch. Appreciated the few diagrams.
October 3, 2017
One of my favorite books. Pollack finds meaning after personal tragedy and after 9/11 by building a boat entirely out of wine corks and sailing it down the Douro River. It was an amazing story of people coming together for something greater than themselves. Something the world could use more of these days.
June 23, 2018
What a story! A long held dream is brought to fruition with the help of many people in the author's life. A boat made from cork! Shades of Thor Heyerdahl's sailing adventures.
A dream to build a cork boat and take it on a river becomes a reality when John quits his job in Washington D. C. to build the boat, but not without the help of many people: friends and strangers.
A dream to build a cork boat and take it on a river becomes a reality when John quits his job in Washington D. C. to build the boat, but not without the help of many people: friends and strangers.
September 8, 2021
I started this book years ago when my granddaughter, Sydney, was young. She had built a small cork boat in school and won the contest of keeping a boat afloat the longest. I read the complete book to my brother, Walter via telephone recently while he was in a nursing home suffering from brain cancer. We both enjoyed it and had a good time reading it together. Keep collecting corks! :)
June 16, 2022
Disappointing. Got as prep for a trip to Porto… the boat‘s journey down the Duoro river was sadly less than a third of the book. I could never really connect with his boyhood dream or the beauty of this particular dream fulfilled… and his methodology left me feeling like I was watching a horror film: “No! Don’t do that!!!” Planning was ridiculously poor… Have I lived in Germany too long?
March 19, 2023
I found this book when I started gathering reading material to prepare for a trip to Portugal, and what a fun find this turned out to be. I love the spirt of this project and journey, and appreciate the way assembling corks often served as a kind of stress relief. Many laugh-out-loud moments. Highly recommend this completely unhinged, triumphant story.
October 5, 2025
John Pollack carries out a childhood dream of building a boat out of corks, sailing on an epic journey. I love a good story of someone leaving behind working life (in this case, speech writing in Washington) to pursue an off-the-beaten path chapter in their life. Great story, but 3 stars because it was a little dry at times and took me a while to get through.
February 29, 2020
A childhood fantasy fully realized, this story about building a cork boat shows how hard work, perserverance, a few prayers and friendship can result in an amazing adventurous experience. I really enjoyed it and if you love boats of any kind, you will definitely like this book. True story!
February 15, 2025
Fun. Nothing really life changing. I was really enjoying it until the author (36 years olf at the time) describes trying to hook up with a 19 year old Portuguese girl - very creepy. Completely changed my view of the author and ruined the rest of the book for me.
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