Downstream from Here - by Charles R Eisendrath (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

After plum assignments in Washington, London, Paris, and Buenos Aires, TIME magazine correspondent Charles Eisendrath gave up the glamor. It wasn't that he'd gotten it wrong-

the career, the stories-it was the realization that getting it right in terrorism zones could lead to something worse than just wrong for his family.

Eisendrath took a leave of absence (just a delaying tactic), packed up the household and set off to find out what else he might do. His new base would be a 146-acre farm in Northern Michigan. Journalists, he says, spend their time looking out windows, but the farm encouraged introspection. No, more than introspection-the farm led him deep into agriculture, engineering, fishing, hunting, and supporting journalism by raising $60 million to endow fellowships at the University of Michigan.

In this memoir of a big life in a small place, Eisendrath's bright eye and curious mind flashes on maple syruping, replanting a forest after tornadoes, an octopus in the basement, the personalities of brook trout, inventing the perfect grill, a plane crash in the jungle, and his many friends, family, and neighbors. Ken Auletta of The New Yorker calls it, "An amazing, beautifully written memoir." Actor Jeff Daniels says, "Prepare to be inspired."

Review Quotes

"The perfect holiday read, the balm to soothe the madness of our times, I give Downstream five stars." -Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor, CNN

"When Charles Eisendrath extolls fly fishing, or extracting maple syrup from his farm's trees, or the wonders and perils of his past life as a foreign correspondent, he coaxes readers to his campfire and mesmerizes us with glorious stories. The stories, as with Thomas Jefferson's from Monticello, are really love poems-to Eisendrath's Michigan Overlook Farm, to its shimmering and stormy lakes, to its varied trees and wildlife and fish, to his devotion to family, and to a love for journalism exceeded only by his love for the wondrous outdoors." -Ken Auletta, author, media columnist, The New Yorker

"Written with the eye of a journalist, the prose of a novelist, and the wit of a humorist, Downstream from Here takes you on a long walk down the path that leads to a life truly lived. Prepare to be inspired." -Jeff Daniels, actor, playwright, founding director, The Purple Rose Theatre Company

"Too often we are told we have to choose between living wide or living deep, between traveling across the surface of the earth, or coming to truly know and love one place. But Charles Eisendrath has done both in his rich life. This is the memoir of a foreign correspondent and a journalism mentor and yet a man who is spiritually rooted at his beloved Overlook Farm." -Ellen Goodman, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner

"From his rural Michigan "spirit home," as he calls it, Eisendrath offers us an eclectic collection of essays that highlight the value of place in our emotional lives. With wit and wisdom, he revisits the past and helps us to feel better about the future." -Clarence Page, author, columnist, The Chicago Tribune