Press

“Smart, captivating prose … [Readers] will love this unusual mix of history, adventure, feminism and blue-collar know-how. Highly recommended.”

“Inspirational story … moving”

“A fascinating voyage … a journey through the history of America itself as it moves from an industrial past into an uncertain future. … DuLong is refreshingly straightforward … The writing is graceful and engaging and she balances the various elements of her account with remarkable skill. … A remarkable book. Highly recommended.“

“This memoir is a meaty, satisfying read, and in light of the recent economic crisis, a powerful reminder of the kind of labor and laborers—men, and now, women—who built this country by hand.“

“Most of all, this book is about passion. About falling in love with something, finding you are good at it … There is a marvelous thread running through the book about the value of hands-on work and what we’ve lost because the apprenticeship system had broken down. What I wanted to do most after finishing the book was fix something complicated and seemingly irretrievable with my own two hands.“

“She’s an astute observer of quirks, human or mechanical, and a lot of fun to go boating with; her prose is warm, direct, and drily hilarious. She speaks eloquently for the honor of making and building and producing things, seeing the rough poetry inherent in river towns where bricks and blocks of river-ice fed families for generations, and the sprouting shoots of hope in an engineering camp for girls, a repurposed brickyard, and the reality that a single tugboat with barges can move as much stuff downriver as 900 trucks. Not least, in the thrilled face of a child with a hand on the tiller. … This book includes a great deal of subtle wisdom. “