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SELECTED REVIEWS FOR
Mind Over Water
The New York Times
Book Review, Caroline Knapp
...thoughtful, lovingly drawn meditation.... In his hands, the river
becomes a character in its own right, something to dip into for a time,
something transporting. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of
this title
The Boston Globe,
Gail Caldwell
Lambert has finished the course well in Mind Over Water, which has
the same attributes as the rowing he adores: precision, grace, and total
immersion.
From Booklist,
September 1, 1998
Written by an editor at Harvard Magazine, this meditation on the
art of rowing is oar-stroke precise. Its themes are distilled into tight,
poetic summations; its autobiographical elements (including the portrait
of Boston's Charles River rowing community) prove engaging; its
feels-like-you're-there descriptions have an appealing immediacy; and the
author's passion for rowing is conveyed convincingly. Unfortunately, many
of these virtues are smothered by tedious attempts to impart wisdom under
the flimsy rubric of rowing as a metaphor for life. Lambert's metaphors,
however, rarely resonate, leaving him in the uncomfortable position of
seeming to exalt the unamazing. Still, there aren't many books on rowing
out there, and this one attempts to look seriously at the sport's strange
allure. Lambert's gaze occasionally drifts out of focus, but fellow rowers
will applaud him for looking in the right direction. Recommended where the
sport is popular.
-- Dane Carr
Copyright© 1998, American Library Association. All rights reserved
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