non-fiction

Perhaps it's a result of aging, or maturing, or maybe it's just a natural changing of tastes, but I find that I enjoying reading non-fiction more than I ever have in the past.

I've been thoroughly enjoying The Last River Rat, much to my own surprise. While I do have a certain love of the outdoors, I wondered if the book would speak to me at all. It does!

The book is broken down in very interesting ways. First, the "chapters" are broken down by month, but then each chapter is broken down in to three sections. First is a short segment telling us what each month means to the "river rat" -- a person who lives off the land and among the sloughs and backwaters of the great Mississippi River. Then the middle section (which I have enjoyed the most) in which the author describes an outing he has taken with the "last river rat", and finally, a tale told by the river rat himself.

I definitely get a feel for the land and can picture the encounters described by the author, J. Scott Bestul. It has brought back some delightful memories I've had of my time exploring the woods and fields near my home, as well as reading the books of Sigurd F. Olson -- books that my grandfather had passed down to me and my brother.

Now I have to admit that Scott Bestul is a friend of mine. A good enough friend that our families, and one other, enjoyed a barbeque lunch together yesterday. But I could just as easily not mention the book at all if I didn't enjoy it.

Scott tells me that the BBC recently did a documentary on the subject of the book (Kenny Salwey), and the book is soon coming out in paperback.

I urge you to pick up a copy. It's worth the read.