John L. Mathews

A fascinating peek inside the world of living on the Mississippi River in the early 1900s. Mathews and his wife Janet built their own shantyboat and sailed down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers in it, beginning on the day they married. One of the most unorthodox honeymoons on record, I would thing. Mathews writes eloquently about the beauty of the rivers and the challenges of living on them and presents several sympathetic portraits of the river people they met at a time when those river folk were often portrayed as bums and criminals. As the trip gets into the South, Mathews description of the lives and ways of African Americans fully displays the racist views of white people of the day. Overall, though, the book is well written and a good chance to read about a world that no longer exists.… (más)