Cork Boat

By: John Pollack

Narrated by: John Pollack

In the late 1990s John Pollack was working as a Washington speechwriter when, frustrated by the cynicism and hypocrisy on Capitol Hill, he quit his job to pursue a boyhood dream: to build a boat made entirely of wine corks and take it on an epic journey.

Cork Boat tells the story of Pollack’s improbable quest. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save their corks, corrals a brilliant but disorganized partner, and eventually cajoles more than one hundred volunteers who help build the boat until their fingers bleed. Ultimately, Pollack completes his vessel of 165,321 corks and sets sail on a fantastic voyage down the Douro River in Portugal, where the Cork Boat becomes a national sensation.

In recounting these adventures, Pollack skillfully meanders through fascinating arcana, from the cork wars to the history of rubber bands (some 15,000 of which help hold his boat together). He also offers an insider’s look at the White House, where he was a Presidential speechwriter and enlisted navy stewards to save corks for the boat.

Written with unusual grace and disarming humor, Cork Boat is a buoyant tale of whimsy, adventure, and the power of imagination.©2004 John Pollack; (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A Quixotic tale that made me chuckle—and brought a lump to my throat.”
—Witold Rybczynski, author of Home

“What can be more fun than a childhood fantasy realized and beautifully told? An absolute delight for sailors; for landspeople; for people like ourselves who delight in the simple, noble, and amusing cork, often the best part of the wine.”
—David and Daniel Hays, authors of My Old Man and the Sea

Premise has promise..

..but the tale is maudlin, self-congratulatory, and in many places annoying. I was hoping for an uplifting triumph-over-adversity tale, but the only adversity were a few inconveniences brought on by the author's lack of common sense. (Really, would it have been so hard to check the prevailing wind direction on the Douro river, or to anticipate the possibility of sunburn in the Portugese summer, or realize that tides might play a role where the river meets the sea?)

I'm giving it two stars because portions of the book work as a travelog. But give this book a pass if you're looking for adventure.