The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow

September 15, 2002
More nutty stunts come from the British Isles than from anywhere else on earth, and the escapade Australian-born Mackinnon recounts here is as addled as anyone's. One day, he stepped into a dinghy, intending to sail a few hundred miles down the Severn River, stopping at pubs and having a lark for a few days. He named his little craft Jack de Crow in honor of his childhood dream of owning a tame crow (not a cuckoo?). To make a short story even shorter, he passed up most of the pubs in England, almost got gored by a bull, sank Jack in a drunken stupor, patched the little boat back up, battled pirates, and landed in Romania. Loaded with self-deprecating humor and one giddy adventure after another, this fun account of Mackinnon's voyage is definitely for armchair travelers. as it is highly unlikely that anyone would be wacky enough to use this book as a guide to try a similar stunt. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., CA

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.