Old Glory

Sometimes it takes an outsider to see deeper into a country. Raban was a respected English novelist and critic when he moved to the USA and settled there – something I would later do myself. He proceeded to produce a series of brilliantly vivid travel books about his new homeland, of which this was the first. Avoiding the inevitable road trip (though he did those later), he takes a motorboat for a solo journey down the Mississippi River. Long periods alone allow him the chance to reflect on the river, nature, and the USA, but he also has lively encounters… show more.

In Old Glory, the English travel writer Jonathan Raban sets out in a small motorboat to navigate one of America’s greatest rivers, the Mississippi, all the way from Minneapolis to New Orleans and beyond. The book is, like many great travel books, the tale of a grand adventure, packed with near-calamities and dangerous encounters with whirlpools and wildlife. Raban nearly drowns, falls in love twice, and drinks a lot of whisky. Yet it’s also much more than a straightforward travelogue. As an outsider, Raban offers dozens of sharp observations on American history, race relations, culture, and the gaps between… show more.