MACKINNON, A(lexander) J(ames) 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born 1963, in Australia.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England. Office—c/o Sheridan House Publishers, 145 Palisade St., Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522.

CAREER:

Teacher.

WRITINGS:

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea, Sheridan House Publishers (Dobbs Ferry, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea is A. J. Mackinnon's tale of a sailing trip that became larger and more adventurous than he had planned. Mackinnon, an Australian-born resident of England, intended to sail his dinghy, Jack de Crow, for a few hundred miles on England's Severn River over a couple of weeks in 1998. He ended up, however, going 3,000 miles and visiting eleven countries, including Romania and Yugoslavia, the latter being in the midst of war. Along the way, he endured arrest, shipwreck, and attack by Romanian pirates; on the lighter side, he met actor-comedian-author Michael Palin.

"This fun account" is "loaded with self-deprecating humor," related Joseph L. Carlson in Library Journal. Barry Oliver, a reviewer for Weekend Australian, called the book "an enjoyable read," and Carlson pronounced it "highly recommended."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 15, 2002, Joseph L. Carlson, review of The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea, p. 83.

Weekend Australian, August 3, 2002, Barry Oliver, "Slow Boat to Romania," p. R25.*