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Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp | 
 enlarge | Author: Gwen Roland
Creator: C. C. Lockwood
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $14.23
You Save: $8.72 (38%)
New (27) Used (11) from $13.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 35284
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 161
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0807130893
Dewey Decimal Number: 976.342
EAN: 9780807130896
ASIN: 0807130893
Publication Date: April 15, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
In the early 1970s, two idealistic young peopleGwen Carpenter Roland and Calvin Voisindecided to leave civilization and re-create the vanished simple life of their great-grandparents in the heart of Louisianas million-acre Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp. Armed with a box of crayons and a book called How to Build Your Home in the Woods, they drew up plans to recycle a slave-built structure into a houseboat. Without power tools or building experience they constructed a floating dwelling complete with a brick fireplace. Towed deep into the sleepy waters of Bloody Bayou, it was their home for eight years. This is the tale of the not-so-simple life they made togetherdays spent fishing, trading, making wine, growing food, and growing uptold by Gwen with grace, economy, and eloquence. Not long after they took up swamp living, Gwen and Calvin met a young photographer named C. C. Lockwood, who shared their "back to the earth" values. His photographs of the couple going about their daily routine were published in National Geographic magazine, bringing them unexpected fame. More than a quarter of a century later, after Gwen and Calvin had long since parted, one of Lockwoods photos of them appeared in a National Geographic collectors edition entitled 100 Best Pictures Unpublishedand kindled the interest of a new generation. That photo and many others by Lockwood are included here. With quiet wisdom, Gwen recounts her eight-year voyage of discoveryabout swamp life, wildlife, and herself. A keen observer of both the natural world and the ways of human beings, she transports readers to an unfamiliar and exotic place, preserving her great adventure for those who did not make the trip in person. "I [would write] in the stern of our red and green bateau while Calvin was running nets or lines from the bow. Since ink smears when it gets wet, I used pencils on a yellow legal pad propped against the black Mercury outboard motor. Whenever it was time for me to crank the motor and run us to the next line or net, Id sit on the pad to keep it from blowing away. . . . During the writing process, we carried on our regular conversations. The stories are almost extensions of those conversations, rising and falling with our voices, capturing the essence of our daily lives like our elderberry wine captured the fragrance of April to be released again in October."from the prologue AUTHOR BIO: Gwen Roland is a writer and editor for the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at the University of Georgia in Griffin. She is at work on a novel set one hundred years ago in the Atchafalaya Basin.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Loved it! October 28, 2008
I loved this book. I had seen a documentary on PBS and had to search high and low for a copy. I love that she sets the mood but is not overbearing in her telling of the story. I do wish we knew more of Calvin but perhaps we knew all there was to know. Childhood friends really don't need much communication. I had hoped to find Preston in the book at the exact point she met him. Perhaps he was there in the stories but I could not pick him out. That would be my own problem and not that of the author. My own prying eyes wants to find him but perhaps she has him woven throughout.
I loved all the stories told in such a way to cause them to be legends. Pancho! Cide! There are ghosts, loves and tragedy.
My only problem (notice I still gave it 5 stars) is that at the very, very end it mentions..........becoming a Christian. ARGH! It is my opinion, so shouldn't matter to anyone else, that this statement detracted from the entire book.
 Too short July 16, 2008
I found this book facinating and I enjoyed it. My only complaint is it was much to short considering the author had lived in the swamp Ten years. Perhaps she kept a few things for her next book on the same subject. I sure hope so! A good albeit short read.
A beautiful account of life in Louisiana March 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I came across 'Atchafalaya Houseboat' when tasked with an extra credit book report for my Louisiana History course during my undergraduate studies at Louisiana Tech University. Although it began as an assignment, I absolutely fell in love with it! I immediately fell in love with Gwen and Calvin and the simple life; enjoying the many beauties of the Louisiana swamp they desired.
I was a bit disappointed with the fact that Gwen did not go into more detail about her life and express more of what she was actually feeling and her relationship with Calvin during those years on the swamp. I felt it was there but she chose to keep it to herself, almost as if not wanting to relive those feelings vs. exposing them to the reader. I would love to someday see another version where Gwen is willing to open up a bit more and expand on the life she and Calvin experienced while living on the Atchafalaya.
Since reading this book I have passed it on to many friends who have all fallen in love with it as well.
Swamp houseboat fever August 15, 2007
Having lived in Louisiana all my life, this book caught my attention last summer when it was first released. I had wanted to read it on the beach during a family vacation, but after many failed attempts to find it in a Florida Bookstore, I had to give up. So this year it was the first book I thought of when our August beach trip was scheduled for Destin, and this time I found it at the local library. The book has captivated me and makes me think of time spent canoeing the Atchafayala swamp & staying overnight at Betty's Wildlife Gardens and stay in a Trapper Cabin with alligators at the doorstep. Gwen Roland's writing style envelopes you and pulls you in further with each chapter. You can't help but want to visit the places and meet the people (except most have passed on to the great swamp in the heavens). My interest was captured. The book inspired a trip to the local library where I borrowed a copy of the lpb documentary by Bill Rodman, where he interviews Calvin Voisin & CC Lockwood. I'm become a fan of CC Lockwood's and would love to read the subsequent unwritten (or unpublished) chapters of a life well-lived by Mrs. Gwen Roland. If you liked this book check out :It All Began with Daisy
A new favorite! July 31, 2007
I absolutely loved this book. I found it in a quaint little book shop in Zebulon, Ga close to Gwen Roland's current home.
It is now on our "library bookshelf" at our lakehouse because I want everyone I know to read it.
The language is glowing, the story beautiful and serene. I was a little disappointed to read that she is currently working on a novel. I wish she would write more non fiction. Surely she has so much more to tell about such a rich life!
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