Cork Boat (Signed First Edition)

John Pollack

ISBN 10: 0375422579 / ISBN 13: 9780375422577

Published by Pantheon, New York, 2004

About this Item

New York: Pantheon [2004]. First edition. First printing. Hardbound. NEW/NEW. A pristine unread copy. SIGNED by author on title page (name only). A memoir about the Cork Boat, a vessel designed and built by American speechwriter John Pollack and his partner Garth Goldstein. The ship, composed of exactly 165,321 wine corks, took over two years to complete.

Seller Inventory # saylor17

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cork Boat (Signed First Edition)
• Publisher: Pantheon, New York
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375422579
• ISBN 13: 9780375422577
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Seafaring

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Before working as a speechwriter at the White House and on Capitol Hill, John Pollack worked as a foreign correspondent, at a history museum, and as a strolling violinist. In 1995, he won the 18th Annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he lives in New York City.