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Title details for My River Chronicles by Jessica DuLong - Available

My River Chronicles

Rediscovering America on the Hudson

by Jessica DuLong
Jessica Dulong
Audiobook
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In 2001, journalist Jessica DuLong ditched her dot-com desk job for the diesel engines of a rusty antique fireboat, the John J. Harvey, and the storied waters of the Hudson. My River Chronicles: Rediscovering America on the Hudson tells the story of this mechanic's daughter and Stanford graduate who had left her blue-collar upbringing behind until the fireboat drew her back, offering a chance to become an engineer and a taste of home she hadn't realized she was missing.


The more time DuLong spent toiling in the engine room, running the boat's finely crafted machinery, the more she wondered what America is losing in our shift away from hands-on work. These questions crystallized in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, when the FDNY called the retired fireboat back into service, and DuLong and the rest of the boat's civilian crew pumped water to fight blazes at Ground Zero. As blue-collar workers clambered on the pile, DuLong was struck by the dignity of physical labor and the honor of having joined the world of skilled labor whose talents were useful at the site.


DuLong brings her two worlds vibrantly to life in this beautifully written memoir that evokes the vitality of New York City's bygone working waterfront and the Hudson River, a birthplace of American industry. Blending four centuries of Hudson River history with unforgettable present-day characters and events, DuLong offers a porthole-view narrative of the river and its social tapestry as a microcosm of postindustrial America. As she tracks changes along the shoreline, where industrial sites give way to recreational respites, a celebration of American labor and craftsmanship emerges. While searching along the river's edge for the meaning of work in America, DuLong pays homage to our industrial past and raises important questions about the future at this pivotal moment in our national story.


My River Chronicles is a journey with an extraordinary guide, a woman who bridges blue-collar and white-collar worlds and turns a phrase as deftly as she does a wrench. Soulful and illuminating, My River Chronicles is a deeply personal story of a unique woman's discovery of her own roots—and America's—as she runs the fireboat's diesels on the ever-changing river that flows both ways.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 2, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400194131
      • File size: 290746 KB
      • Duration: 10:05:43

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The elimination of her dot-com job in New York City was the start of a new life for Jessica DuLong, who found herself working as an engineer on a Hudson River fireboat. DuLong characterizes herself as small but strong, and that would be a good way to describe her voice as she tells about her participation in World Trade Center rescue efforts and her quest to rehabilitate a tugboat. DuLong gradually pulls listeners into her life on the water as she shares the history of the Hudson and makes a pitch for a return to a hands-on life. Thoughtful and fascinating, this is a unique story of New York. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 25, 2010
      DuLong shares her inspirational story of quitting her dot-com job to become the engine operator for an old fireboat on the Hudson River, going from working with bits and bytes to working with her hands in physically challenging environment. In recounting her transition, she reflects on the people who encouraged or blocked her way and how her newfound love for machinery has made her re-evaluate her entire being. As moving as the material is, DuLong’s decision to narrate is unfortunate; she doesn’t fall into a steady rhythm and her quoting voices fall flat. Her voice is agreeable but her management of the text, despite her enthusiasm, is middling. A Free Press hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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