Mississippi Solo

A River Quest

Eddy Harris

Holt Paperbacks

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Since the publication of his first book, Mississippi Solo, Eddy L. Harris has been praised for his travel writing. In this exciting reissue of his classic travelogue, readers will come to treasure the rich insightful prose that is as textured as the Mississippi River itself. They will be taken by the hand by an adventurer whose lifelong dream is to canoe the length of this mighty river, from Minnesota to New Orleans. The trip's dangers were legion for a Black man traveling alone, paddling from "where there ain't no black folks to where they still don't like us much." Barge waives loom large, wild dogs roam the wooded shores, and, in the Arkansas dusk, two shotgun-toting bigots nearly bring the author's dream to a bloody . Sustaining him through the hard weeks of paddling were the hundreds of people who reached out to share a small piece of his challenge. Mississippi Solo is a big, rollicking, brilliant book, a wonderful piece of American adventure, and an unforgettable story of a man testing his own limits.

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Praise for Mississippi Solo

"A wonderful book--and a highly original contribution to the literature of travel." --Paul Theroux"

In his mastery of language, glinting irony, poetic prose, and uncanny powers of observation, Eddy L. Harris is the equal of Paul Theroux and Bruce Chatwin."--Publishers Weekly

Reviews from Goodreads

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Joe  rated it  
Oct 29, 2008
An interesting take on travel writing and how the travel experience can change you. Sounds cliche, but it is true. ...more
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Andrea  rated it  
Aug 18, 2011
This book is about a man who is taking a canoe down the Mississippi River from the headwaters to the mouth. It is an entertaining and easy read and I find Mr. Harris a relatable man. I wish I would have had the opportunity to meet him on his journey. Living along the River, this is one journey th ...more
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Catherine  rated it  
Jul 29, 2011
I read this when we spent a week on a paddlewheel boat going down the Mississippi River--a man who has a mid-life crisis and canoes down the Mississippi. My oft quoted line from this book is when he loses his canoe and asks someone to help him, thinks it might have been stolen, and the woman says " ...more
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About the Author

Eddy Harris

Eddy L. Harris is the author of three critically acclaimed books, Native Stranger, South of Haunted Dreams, and Still Life in Harlem, a New York Times Book Review notable book of 1997.  A graduate of Stanford University, he teaches at Washington University in Missouri.

Eddy Harris

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Mississippi Solo
A River Quest
Eddy Harris

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Henry Holt and Co.
Holt Paperbacks
September 1998
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780805059038
ISBN10: 0805059032
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 256 pages
$16.00
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