Mississippi Solo - by Eddy Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

The true account of a young black man's journey in quest of a lifelong dream: to canoe the length of the Mississippi River, from its source in Minnesota down to New Orleans.

Book Synopsis

"A wonderful book--and a highly original contribution to the literature of travel."
--Paul Theroux, author of The Great Railway Bazaar

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 end. 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.

Review Quotes

"A wonderful book--and a highly original contribution to the literature of travel."
--Paul Theroux, author of The Great Railway Bazaar

"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

"Eddy L. Harris isn't your everyday tourist. His travels almost always have a purpose, and that purpose is to write about not only what he sees, but what he feels."
--USA Today

About the Author

Eddy L. Harris is the author of several critically acclaimed books, including 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.