Disappointment River
Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage
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Narrated by:
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Brian Castner
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By:
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Brian Castner
About this listen
In 1789, Alexander Mackenzie traveled the 1,125 miles of the immense river in Canada that now bears his name, in search of the fabled Northwest Passage, only to confront impassable pack ice. In 2016 the acclaimed memoirist Brian Castner retraced Mackenzie's route by canoe in a grueling journey - and discovered the passage he could not find.
Disappointment River is a dual historical narrative and travel memoir that at once transports listeners back to the heroic age of North American exploration and places them in a still rugged but increasingly fragile Arctic wilderness in the process of profound alteration by the dual forces of energy extraction and climate change. Eleven years before Lewis and Clark, the Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie actually crossed the North American continent with a team of voyageurs and Indian guides. Before that he was the first to discover a route to the Arctic Ocean from the Great Lakes, along the river he named Disappointment because he believed he'd failed in his mission to find a trade route to the riches of the East. In fact he had - he was just two-plus centuries early.
In this book, Brian Castner not only retells the story of Mackenzie's epic voyages in vivid prose, he personally retraces his travels in an 1,125 mile canoe voyage down the river that bears his name, battling exhaustion, exposure, mosquitoes, white-water rapids, and the threat of bears. He transports listeners to a world rarely glimpsed in the media, of tar sands, thawing permafrost, remote Native American villages, and, at the end, a wide open Arctic Ocean that is quickly becoming a far-northern Mississippi of barges and pipelines and oil money.
©2018 Brian Castner (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Grandma Gatewood's Walk
- The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail
- By: Ben Montgomery
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than $200. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, atop Maine's Mount Katahdin, she sang the first verse of "America, the Beautiful" and proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it."
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Inspiring story about a strong amazing woman
- By David Shear on 12-22-14
By: Ben Montgomery
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A Wretched and Precarious Situation
- In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier
- By: David Welky
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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A remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal, and survival set in one of the world's most inhospitable places. In 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm "Crocker Land". Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean.
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it all comes together at the end
- By Kat on 01-30-18
By: David Welky
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Atlas of a Lost World
- By: Craig Childs
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of Apocalyptic Planet, an unsparing, vivid, revelatory travelogue through prehistory that traces the arrival of the First People in North America 20,000 years ago and the artifacts that enable us to imagine their lives and fates. This book upends our notions of where these people came from and who they were.
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Blaaaa
- By Josh NJ on 07-26-18
By: Craig Childs
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Jungleland
- A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure
- By: Christopher S. Stewart
- Narrated by: Jef Brick
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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On April 6, 1940, explorer and future World War II spy Theodore Morde (who would one day attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler), anxious about the perilous journey that lay ahead of him, struggled to fall asleep at the Paris Hotel in La Ceiba, Honduras. Nearly seventy years later, in the same hotel, acclaimed journalist Christopher S. Stewart wonders what he's gotten himself into.
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If only REI sold ruby hiking boots...
- By Mel on 01-25-13
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Life on the Mississippi
- An Epic American Adventure
- By: Rinker Buck
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven years ago, readers and listeners around the country fell in love with a singular American voice: Rinker Buck, whose infectious curiosity about history launched him across the West in a covered wagon pulled by mules and propelled his book about the trip, The Oregon Trail, to ten weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Now, Buck returns to chronicle his latest incredible adventure: building a wooden flatboat from the bygone era of the early 1800s and journeying down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.
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Too Political and Divisive
- By Bill on 08-29-22
By: Rinker Buck
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Exploration Fawcett
- Journey to the Lost City of Z
- By: Lt. Col. P. H. Fawcett
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the true story of the real Colonel Fawcett, whose life was the inspiration for the best-selling book The Lost City of Z and an upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt. A thrilling account, it tells of Colonel Fawcett and his mysterious disappearance in the Amazon jungle, which is now considered one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.
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boring
- By Ramanda Brockett on 08-07-18
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The Indifferent Stars Above
- The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party
- By: Daniel James Brown
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In April of 1846, 21-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and 14 others set out for California on snowshoes and over the next 32 days endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.
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Absolutely enthralling
- By Sasha Anscum on 06-07-19
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The Captain's Dog
- My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe
- By: Roland Smith
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Born the runt of his litter and gambled away to a rusty old riverman, the Newfoundland pup Seaman doesn't imagine his life will be marked by any kind of glory - beyond chasing down rats. But when he meets Captain Meriwether Lewis, Seaman finds himself on a path that will make history. Lewis is just setting off on his landmark search for the Northwest Passage, and he takes Seaman along. Sharing the curiosity and strength of spirit of his new master, Seaman proves himself a valuable companion at every turn.
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great book
- By Daniel on 07-17-19
By: Roland Smith
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The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
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They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
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The Longest Road
- Overland in Search of America, from Key West to the Arctic Ocean
- By: Philip Caputo
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Philip Caputo, who had just turned 70, his wife, and their two English setters took off in a truck hauling an Airstream camper from Key West, Florida, en route via back roads and state routes to Deadhorse, Alaska. The journey took four months and covered 17,000 miles, during which Caputo interviewed more than 80 Americans from all walks of life to get a picture of what their lives and the life of the nation are really about in the 21st century.
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Very Disappointing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-25-18
By: Philip Caputo
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American Buffalo
- In Search of a Lost Icon
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Both a captivating narrative and a book of environmental and historical significance, American Buffalo tells us as much about ourselves as Americans as it does about the creature who perhaps best of all embodies the American ethos.
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Phenomenal
- By Hunter Cole on 08-01-19
By: Steven Rinella
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Goodbye to a River
- By: John Graves
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In this classic from the Lone Star State, John Graves learns that the river he knew and loved as a youth, the Brazos in north-central Texas, is slated to be dammed at multiple points - and he understands that things will never be the same. Goodbye to a River is a poignant narrative of one man's journey by canoe down the river of his memories. Along the way, he describes the colorful Texas landscape and recounts its rich history.
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Undoubtedly a great piece of American literature
- By Chris on 04-04-13
By: John Graves
What listeners say about Disappointment River
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-16-18
Obscure History and High Adventure
I enjoyed this saga of little-known history of McKenzie and the English Chief's search for a Northwest Passage interspersed with the challenges of the author's (Brian Castner's) quest to canoe the route in 2016. Further, I was reminded of many similar experiences in backwoods across the globe and found myself looking for time to continue the narrative. Note: I don't recall Castner describing his portages due to waterfalls along his modern day McKenzie River run.
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- Brandon Dunaway
- 04-22-19
Instantly transported to the voyage
This is a great selection. The author does a fantastic job of transporting you to both his and Mackenzie's voyage. The entire book will keep you engaged. I wanted to learn more about Mackenzie's voyage and did so. And as much as I enjoyed the story of Mackenzie's voyage, I enjoyed hearing about the author's voyage more.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-31-22
Canoe Travel Inspiration
This is a fascinating story of two canoe trips happening alongside each other 100+ years apart. The history of Sir Alexander MacKenzie, Native Nation neighbors, and the voyageurs in parallel to Brian Castner's narrative of traveling down the MacKenzie river in 2016 inspire this reader to plan for canoe travel, and aspire to perhaps a larger expedition someday.
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- M. Nano
- 08-11-23
Fantastic adventure story, excellent reading
This was an excellent story of both and historical adventure and a contemporary rediscovery of the same journey. I felt very connected to both of the narrators experience as well as McKenzies adventuresome spirit.
If you are a student of pioneers and adventurers, this one absolutely belongs in your library .
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- Kathryn Y.
- 03-08-23
History come alive!
Learn a long forgotten piece of Canadian high school history, much embelished with colorful detail. sad to hear history of how the colonizers destroyed a plentiful land and willfully created a relationship of dependence among the indigenous population.
Loved the parallel journeys. Author as narrator lent authenticity - a form of oral history.
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- J
- 04-26-21
Part memoir, part history
I really enjoyed listening to this book, the author narrates both his journey and historical parts very well. I found the historical parts about Mackenzie and the trade so interesting and well researched. Castner brings the characters and landscape to life and you feel how harsh and brutal that part of the world was back then, and how not much has changed so many years later. (Except for the glaring effects of climate change).
Well worth a listen and checking out other books narrated by the author too!
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- honestengine
- 09-29-22
high adventure + history
Read by the author, this first hand account of his retracing history is a well woven story of the "then" and the "now." Well done!
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- D Cummings
- 03-31-18
Thoroughly enjoyed this Book!
Great story about an interesting time on the North American continent. Well written and well told, did not want it to end...
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4 people found this helpful
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- Than
- 04-23-19
Great History
This is the first book I've listened to on here that I had to slowdown the play rate of. I listened to this book at 0.75x speed because the reader just seemed to read a little fast to me.
As far as the information in the book. It's good history stuff, a little boring at the beginning but it picks up. My biggest problem with the book is that it's a mix of history which is great with the author's own canoeing trip down the Mackenzie River. It's at least half and half. Would have preferred just a book about Mackenzie's history.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Natalie
- 01-28-23
Great
I enjoyed the book. Canoe the Rockastle river Ky. with no portages and you will appreciate it even more.
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