The Starship and the Canoe

The big ideas, the unique individuals, the juxtaposition of two polar opposites who at the same time are so alike. An enjoyable mind opener.

If someone asked me to recommend a book to explain the Sixties this would be it. George Dyson, son of well-known physicist Freeman Dyson, was raised in a rarefied academic atmosphere. He walked away from that life at sixteen, not because of random rebellion but because this truly was what he needed to do. In this book author Kenneth Brower alternates the telling of the divergent lives of these two men. As a result he captures the generational tension of an era. Freeman Dyson was a product not only of the Fifties but of the flowing optimism of those years that today seems unimaginable. Truly, back then if one could think it then it was possible. One of the ideas Freeman thought possible was project Orion, a huge space vehicle propelled by external nuclear explosions. In the beginning years Freeman actually expected to journey across the solar system in Orion. George's life was nearly the diametric opposite of his father's. He wound up on the Canadian Pacific shore, living in a tree house and designing ocean-going canoes. The irony is that he found a universe to explore in his canoes - the coasts and islands of the Canadian Northwest and Alaska. In a fractal sense, both physically and culturally, George's universe was as infinite as his father's. And while he continues to explore it to this day, his father never got into his universe more than the cruising altitude of a 737. I am nearly the same age as George, long enough into my life to wonder what I've done with it. Frankly, I envy not just George's vision but his ability to follow it. I admire his father's pursuit as well. In much of the story there is clear tension between father and son, yet in the end some sort of meeting of minds happens. Even though this book was written over twenty-five years ago it offers a still-fresh notion of the gulfs between people, and how our failures in bridging these distances cause us to forsake a real future.

Just what I wanted

This is a great story of Father-Son relationship of a very interesting family, and the way its written is also extremely well-done and almost reads like fiction until 2/3rds in. Thumbs up.

I read this book when it first came out and bought this one for a friend thirty some years later. Some books stay with you over time.

The book arrived on time and as described.

I bought a Baidarka kayak designed by George Dyson and had to read this. The fact that his father was one of the greatest minds of the 20th century was icing on the ship!

Fascinating story of Science, Earth, father/son relationships. Also, if you were a fan of Galen Rowell and adventure, read it.

ex

good price, fair copy

This is one of the best books I've read for quite a while. it's one of those books you never want to end.George's antic's made me feel very much at home..