Cork Boat Audiobook (Free)

In the past due 1990s John Pollack was operating like a Washington speechwriter when, annoyed by the cynicism and hypocrisy on Capitol Hill, he quit his job to go after a boyhood dream: to build a boat produced entirely of wine corks and take it with an epic journey.

Cork Boat tells the storyplot of Pollack’s improbable quest. Conquering one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save their corks, corrals an excellent but disorganized partner, and finally cajoles more than one hundred about Cork Boat volunteers who help build the fishing boat until their fingers bleed. Eventually, Pollack completes his vessel of 165,321 corks and sets sail on an excellent voyage down the Douro River in Portugal, where in fact the Cork Boat becomes a national feeling.

In recounting these ventures, Pollack skillfully meanders through exciting arcana, from your cork wars to the history of rubber bands (some 15,000 of which help hold his boat jointly). He also offers an insider’s look at the Light Home, where he was a Presidential speechwriter and enlisted navy stewards to save corks for the boat.

Written with unusual grace and disarming humor, Cork Vessel is usually a buoyant tale of whimsy, adventure, and the power of imagination.