Who Asked About Jimmy Buffett's "A Salty Piece Of Land"?

[XOKCowboy]

It was in a thread about what books did you read last year and I mentioned I was reading said book. Someone asked me to PM them after I finished and tell them my thoughts on the book. I'd say PM me about the book but what the heck here is my mini-review...

Me? I'm not a "go to every concert wearing a fin" kinda Buffett fan but I have always been a fan of his music, his lifestyle and now his books. I bought "A Pirate Looks At Fifty" in the Miami airport on the way home from my first visit to the Bahamas and I was hooked on the Caribbean. That book showed me how well the story-telling facet of his music translated into his writing. It also made me a Buffett lifestyle fan. He's a ultra-successful musician but instead of a life of excess he goes more for the things that give him pleasure. Bonefishing, flying and playing music. Pretty good lifestyle.

In the past year I've read "Tales From Marguaritaville", "Where Is Joe Merchant" and now "A Salty Piece of Land". I really liked "Tales" because it was short stories and had a lot of very diverse and entertaining characters. "Joe Merchant" (a novel) was good too but at the time I liked Tales better. Then I started reading "Salty". It was the best of both worlds. It continues the journey of Tully Mars, the former Wyoming cowboy who escaped his legal troubles in Wyoming by heading out to sea in "Tales". It answers a lot of questions from the first story then delves headlong into a fascinating voyage through the tropics.

The OP asked if I'd recommend it? Hell yes. I thought it was a great book especially if you liked any of is other books. If you haven't read any Buffett books then I'd say if you like good romantic/adventure fiction based in the tropics, go pick up any I've mentioned and see what you think. Easy read that leaves me smiling and checking my frequent flyer miles for a trip to Belize.

[pokerfan]

1. Pirate Looks At Fifty is a classic

I read it a couple of years ago while flying to Cancun, on my way to Cozumel.

Great philosophy of working to live, not living to work.

[bmbmd]

2. That three hundred word run-on sentence on the back cover

of "Pirate" is, I believe, one of the great pieces of literature of the last twenty years. If one sentence can capture the life of an aging baby boomer, that is it.

[XOKCowboy]

4. Darn it I gave my copy away...

Next time I'm in the bookstore I'll check it out.

[pokerfan]

6. This one?

My Life (In Four Hundred Words or Less)

I broke out of the grip of Catholicism and made it through adolescence without killing myself in a car. I flunked out of college. I learned to play the guitar, lived on the beach, lived in the French Quarter, finally got laid, and didn't go to Vietnam. I got back into school, started a band, got a job on Bourbon Street, graduated from college, flunked my draft physical, broke up my band, and went out on the road solo. I signed a record deal, got married, moved to Nashville, had my guitars stolen, bought a Mercedes, worked at Billboard magazine, put out my first album, went broke, met Jerry Jeff Walker, wrecked the Mercedes, got divorced, and moved to Key West. I sang and worked on a fishing boat, went totally crazy, did a lot of dope, met the right girl, made another record, had a hit, bought a boat, and sailed away to the Caribbean.

I started another band, worked the road, had my second and last hit, bought a house in Aspen, started spending summers in New England, got married, broke my leg three times in one year, had a baby girl, made more records, bought a bigger boat, and sailed away to St. Barts.

I got separated from the right girl, sold the boat, sold the house in Aspen, moved back to Key West, worked the road, and made more records. I rented an apartment in Paris, went to Brazil for Carnival, learned to fly, went into therapy, quit doing dope, bought my first seaplane, flew all over the Caribbean, almost got a second divorce, moved to Malibu for more therapy, and got back with the right girl.

I worked the road, moved back to Nashville, took off in an F-14 from an aircraft carrier, bought a summer home on Long Island, had another baby girl. I found the perfect seaplane and moved back to Florida. Cameron Marley joined me in the house of women. I built a home on Long Island, crashed the perfect seaplane in Nantucket, lived through it thanks to Navy training, tried to slow down a little, woke up one morning and I was looking at fifty, trying to figure out what comes next.

That might be all some of you want to hear, but for those who want to read a little more, continue on, for though I got most of it all into four hundred words, there is a lot more meat on the bone.

[bmbmd]

7. Yep-that's it.

Except for the millions and the records and the airplanes and the drugs, that's me.

[alarimer]

3. It's a good fun read

Perfect for the beach or the pool. Not everything has to be a literary classic. I thought it might make a good movie too.

[XOKCowboy]

5. After "Tales"

I was wondering what happened to Tully Mars, Mr. Twayne and Donna Kay. Like Buffett's songs are fun songs, so are his books. Good characterization with a good story line.