The story of a 12,000 mile canoe trip--down the Mississippi, through the Gulf of Mexico along the coast of Central and S. America, up the Amazon.

A remarkable paddling adventure, and a nice father and son story.

In fact, Don Starkell lost all his fingers and some toes in a kayaking expedition in the artic.  He wrote about it and so did the woman he travelled with (2 out of the 4 summers).  I wouldn't have wanted to travel with him.  I didn't think so when I first read the book about the amazon and when I read Victoria Jayson's book about the artic thing.  Here's a link to an article discussing the differences in their books on the same subject (He wrote a book about the trip also).  Gender notes:  Wilderness unfinished pages 5-7
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Yes, I agree with you Intrepid camper, I thought the one son was pretty good to stay on the trip with him and finish, and the other son left while in Mexico. I think he has a very strong personality that doesn't always listen to reason.

I just finished this book last night - loved it! The entire book is a real page turner; it reads like a long trip report. Don kept a very detailed journal throughout, which was condensed to make this book.

Don definitely has a strong personality, but without that singular drive, I don't believe that you'd ever finish a trip like this. They overcame some amazing adversity. I think most people would go through a tough period, and then get trapped by the relative comforts of the next city/layover and never continue.

I'm going to go look for his Arctic book next...

"The River of Doubt" was also reviewed here

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