Julie Angus

Angus went on a journey accompanied by her husband and infant son to find the origins of the olive tree. As a molecular biologist her goal was to examine the DNA of trees from different locations to discover their history through genetic markers. They purchased a sailboat and travelled around the Mediterranean to accomplish the task - nice work if you can get it. Probably unintended but for this reader the entire book screamed "I just got funding for an extended family holiday in the Mediterranean!"

There is no shortage of interesting information in the book but mostly it is in snippets, often repetitive, lost amid the the scientific story and the personal story. The sailing adventure, the Mediterranean locale, the family involvement did not make the book more engrossing, in fact it detracted from the point; made the story neither fish nor fowl, neither academic nor general interest. After claiming that there is so much fraudulent olive oil around, tests to determine if your extra virgin olive oil is the real deal were inconclusive. Apparently only the taste test is of any use. However, she did include a good section on how to perform a taste test, what to look for, what to avoid. An appendix provides a handful of fairly ordinary recipes using olives or oil that seem like an afterthought. A planned a visit to her father's family in Syria is where the book ended abruptly because of the current violence there.

It should have been an interesting account and yet I found it disappointing.… (meer)

When they were giving out the adventure gene, I was somewhere else, probably with my nose stuck in a book and although I shun wild and crazy adventures, I do like to read about them. As she obviously does possess the adventure gene, Julie Angus, author of Rowboat in a Hurricane decided to plan her own adventure while her fiancé was off on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe by human power. Her choice was to row across the Atlantic and she went about setting up her own expedition. Along the way fate stepped in and she ended up joining boyfriend, Colin in Moscow. They then biked to Lisbon and from there they launched a sea-going rowboat and rowed across the Atlantic, stopping on St Lucia and then on to Costa Rica. Not resting on their laurels, they then resumed the bike trip and pedalled home to Canada completing both his around the world expedition and her plan of being the first woman to row across the Atlantic.

This book is about the rowing trip and how this couple managed to overcome two hurricanes, a couple of tropical storms, the isolation and constant battling of waves and seasickness to reach a safe port on the other side of the ocean. After spending over five months on a 23 foot rowboat with only each other for company, that these two went on to get married says a lot about their relationship.

Rowboat in a Hurricane is that rare book that offers a great adventure, lots of information about the ecosystem they travelled upon, and had two engaging characters that I could admire and root for. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to read more about them as they continue to lead their adventurous lifestyle and work with organizations around the world to pass their knowledge on to others.… (meer)

This book was a great camping read! I devoured their adventures and was constantly amazed at their endurance and perserverance during such a challenging time. This kind of adventure is something I would never personally do but it was great to read about. I have read Colin's other adventures in Mongolia and the Amazon so I was sure this book from Julie's perspective would be good too. This book contains great details of all aspects of the trip, is well written and difficult to put down because you really do want to see what happens next. This book is suitable for anyone who likes true adventure stories or reading personal memoirs.… (meer)