It took a lot of reading to get through this book. It is an absolute epic. Some of the description is fabulous and the adventures and encounters along the journey really bring it to life.
There is quite a lot of technical 'boat speak' which I found myself skipping past as I got further into the book as I didn't find it added to my enjoyment as I didn't really understand it, but it also didn't affect the enjoyment of the book to skim past.
I think if anyone reading the book has visited any of the same places there will be an even deeper level of interest, but for those of us less traveled but with big dreams it's definitely a worthwhile and enjoyable read.

Thank you to Stephen Ladd, Seekers Press, and NetGalley for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I saw a review that compared Stephen Ladd to Joshua Slocum and I was very excited to start this journey! However...

Almost immediately, I was thoroughly appalled at the author's monumental lack of preparedness for this journey. He used road maps in most cases rather than marine charts. He did not read up on or interview people with experience in the route to find out important points of note such as spillways and non-navigable portions of rivers. For example, when he first entered the Mississippi River from the Missouri, he mentioned that there was a sign on the other side of the river that said "ALL BOATS" over a shipping canal that paralleled the main river. Unfortunately, he chose to ignore this sign and continued down the main channel of the Mississippi. He soon became aware of the sound of rushing water. He continued on. The sound of rushing water became louder. He continued on. A faint mist was rising from a point in the river ahead. He continued on. He got within 50 yards of a rapid before it occurred to him that all these clues were loudly pointing out to him that the "Chain of Rocks" obstruction was creating a waterfall ahead!

I enjoyed reading about the atmosphere of the rivers that Stephen Ladd traveled, but I found myself wanting a lot more description of the flora, fauna, and ecosystem that surrounded him. His descriptions of these were brief and lacking in curiosity. Much of the text was instead given over to descriptions of the acquaintances that the author makes along his quest. While the author has a very outgoing personality and can seemingly talk any stranger into sharing his food or transportation, the author shows little appreciation or respect for many of these characters and often discusses them with disdain and a lack of empathy. His interactions with women were often abusive and universally disturbing. In spite of all of this I kept pushing on because of the glimpses of scenery.

At 30% of the way through the book I finally decided that it was not worth reading any further at a scene in a bar in a small South American backwater in which the author is resentful of a prostitute that he has hired because once he pays her she no longer seems genuinely interested in him. That scene was the culmination of all the immaturity that I had excused him of up until then. Enough.