Many Rivers to Run

The following are some of the reviews the book has received...

Dave Manby has been at the cutting edge of expedition kayaking for the best part of a quarter a century. In that time he has had more first descents and epic adventures than most paddlers have had swims, from his expedition experience on the Dudh Kosi in the 1976 to leading a trip for disabled paddlers on Turkey's Coruh river in 1993. Along the way he has met many of kayakings more colourful characters, and here he presents the stories - and rivers - that have defined their lives: Mick Hopkinsons account of big crocodiles and even bigger cataracts on the Blue Nile; Don Weedon's arrest after running the infamous whirlpool rapids below Niagara Falls; Arlene Burns' epic struggle just to get to the put-in of Tibet's Bramaputra; and Dave's own intimate and personal battle with the Braldu in Pakistan, first with Mike Jones in 1978 and then on his own in 1983. For those who paddle, these stories provide not just inspiration, but confirmation of the spirit that is constantly pushing back the boundaries. To the uninitiated, each is as much an excellent adventure as an explanation of what drives paddlers.
By Paul Grogan

It is a little different to the format which I had expected as, instead of being a collection of Dave's memoirs (which would easily fill a book), it consists of around twenty chapters written by other well-known paddlers from around the globe. Each contributor is introduced by Dave. Knowing some of the contributors - and many of the rivers - it has been a fascinating book for me to read. There is something for anyone with interests in paddling, travelling or just plain adventure in Many Rivers to Run. Everyone will have their own favourites, whether it be the heart-stopping wild rides had on the Imatra Gorge, the North Fork of the Payette at 7000 cubic feet a second, Mick Hopkinson's account of the Blue Nile descent or the gentle eccentricity of Donald Bean. Dave's own very human account of his struggle with the Braldu is one of my own favourites. If the stories aren't enough to set the heart racing then the few black-and-white and superb sections of colour photos will help. This book is far and away the best and most enjoyable collection of paddling stories that I have read. An inspirational read.
Reviewed by Chris Sladden


So far people have only used cliches - adrenaline rushes, Man Against Nature, Pushing The Edge, as if these simplistic throwaway buzzwords are the motive force behind everything. The stories presented in Dave's book go beyond the buzzwords. Don Weeden's wild account of a bandit run of the Niagara Gorge is almost Keystone Coppish until one remembers the magnitude of the rapids they were running! I recall seeing film footage of Don being led, handcuffed, to a waiting police car at the end of this run. A great read! Doug Ammon's white-knuckled story (in typical Ammonesque detail) of a run down the NF at 7000 cfs leaves one sufficiently breathless. Arlene Burns was Tresspaddling on the Tsangpo before many of us even knew of the river. And what can be said of the marvellous wit of Whit Deschner?

By Ken Strickland