Reviews for Junior Pears encyclopaedia

The average rating for Junior Pears encyclopaedia based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-10-16 00:00:00 Rebecca Brugler Snarky - 1: crotchety, snappish. 2: sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner; 3: sarcastically critical or mocking and malicious When Jonathan Raban was a seven-year-old boy living in England, he first read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and fell in love with the Mississippi River. Or maybe he fell in love with Mark Twain's graphic portrayal of the river. I read the same book at about the same age, but I have a more substantial basis for my fascination with the subject. Almost my entire life has been spent within at least thirty minutes of America's mightiest natural force. The only exception being the years I spent going to college and even then I was never more than ninety minutes from the Mississippi. I have moved from my birthplace in almost a straight line north but never east nor west (or south, for that matter). The result of Raban's fascination was "Old Glory: A Voyage Down the Mississippi," published in 1981. It is the story of his attempt to travel almost the full course of the mighty river, 1400 miles, in a small sixteen-foot boat powered by a 15 h.p. motor. I first read the book a number of years ago and recently gave it a second look after reading Raban's latest travel book. I have to admit that I liked the book better the first time than I did the second go around. Here is the problem as I see it. Raban loved the river, but didn't have much use for what Americans have created along its banks, which in many cases is understandable. However, he seems to have a visceral disregard for the people that he meets along the way. He seems to be - well - snarky in his regard for the folks he meets. Personally, I have had a much more pleasant experience in my contacts in the communities and rural areas that border the river. And I know why. Raban didn't exactly re-enact Huck and Jim's river voyage. Whereas they camped along its banks or on its islands, Raban headed for the nearest motel each evening. I don't blame him for that, but on his way he nearly always stopped at the nearest bar - the seedier and sleazier the better. No wonder he didn't like the people he encountered. When he stopped in the charming little historical town of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, he headed for a bar and became involved in conversation with somebody totally unlike anybody I have ever met in that community. And yet, Raban leaves us with the impression that he has just met a person who is generally representative of the town. Raban does a similar thing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, another town with which I am intimately acquainted. The people that he writes about are not truly representative of the people who live there either. In his conversation with a waitress, whom he makes out to be scatterbrained, he misconstrues her comments. He thinks she is talking about Columbia University when in fact it is the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri to which she is referring. Well, he is not a native of either the United States or the state of Missouri and could be forgiven for his error, that is, if he hadn't been so snarky about it. But then one reviewer writes that Raban is "a sort of English Capote; vivid, funny, accurate, full of hyperbolic wit and outrageous metaphor; no reticence at all. But at least as important is the author's ability to make an instant connection with virtually any human being whomsoever." (I admire a writer who can so unselfconsciously use a word like 'whomsoever,' a word that I believe I just typed for the first time.) Even though Capote would have to be considered the epitome of snarkiness, I have always enjoyed reading him. And I admire Raban's innate ability to connect with the people he meets, but I do believe that he and the reader could have been better served had he broadened his circle of connections. Of course, Raban wants to write about the offbeat and thus seems to shun any objectivity in his analysis of the American people. But had he tried just a little harder he would have found some interesting people who do not frequent the bars and taverns to which he tends to gravitate. (I apologize if that came off a bit snarky.) But having said all this, I have to admit that I like the book. It took courage for Raban to travel down the river the way he did. And he is a good writer and his vivid descriptions of the river - its seductive beauty, its dangerous siren call, and its unwillingness to be tamed -- saved the book for me. I like "Old Glory" better than I do Raban's "Hunting Mister Heartbreak: A Discovery of America" (published in 1990), but not nearly as well as his "Bad Land: An American Romance" (published in 1996). When I originally reviewed this book the title was "Old Glory: An American Voyage," which I indicated was rather meaningless. I went on to say that I thought a much better one would have been "Big River: An American Voyage." At some point somebody else must have decided that the title was lacking, and on later editions of the book the subtitle was changed to "A Voyage Down the Mississippi."

Review # 2 was written on 2019-10-16 00:00:00 Debra Roe The Mississippi is the fourth longest river in the world and drains a total of 31 states with a watershed of1,245,000 square miles over its 2300 mile length. In parts, it is up to a mile wide, though the largest lake is 11 miles wide. Raban had first come across this river that cleaves America in two after reading about the Tales of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and wanted to travel along it and absorb the American culture. Starting in Minneapolis which is about 200 miles from the source of the river, he bought a 16-foot Aluminium boat with a 15hp engine, a tiny minnow compared to the vastness of the river. After a crash course in how to handle his new transport and some advice that will prove invaluable later, he is ready to depart, but he just needs to get through the first of the massive locks. That terrifying experience achieved, the next few days are quite relaxed while cruising downstream. After a days boating, he pulls into the bank to find the nearest hotel or motel and to find some of the locals to talk to. It is a dangerous trip and he has a few near misses. Thankfully he follows the advice that he was given earlier to get off the river when the sky looks strange and just misses a horrendous storm. Apart from these moments, it is a relaxed trip, he enjoys smoking a pipe while watching drifting down the river, only resorting to the whisky when he has been scared witless. One lock keeper advises him to travel at night, but it nearly gets him killed by a barge, so he decides against that. Where this book comes alive though is his interaction with the people that he meets. He talks to anyone and everyone, from politicians to widows, rednecks and the transient men who work the river. In Memphis, he joins the black reverend judge, Otis Higgs, campaign to overturn the incumbent mayor and sees the endemic racism that was bubbling under the surface of society, something that is worryingly prevalent once again. Every day the river teaches him something new, sometimes it is about the places he passes and other times it is about himself. This is the second of his books that I have read. The intention is to read them in the order that he published them. Really enjoyed Arabia, but this is another level up again. He is a keen observer of people and places and his writing is spectacular, probing and lyrical. He can sketch a place or a person in a scant number of words, making you feel that you are bobbing along in the boat or sitting alongside him at a bar. Fantastic book. Looking forward to the next, Coasting.