Britain's greatest living author - Rated 
'Coasting' has to be considered one of the best books by a living British author. It is a travelogue describing Raban's single-handed voyage around Britain in an old restored sailing boat, that takes various digressions - just as his journey does - as he mulls over his childhood as the son of a Church of England priest and the current state of Britain under Mrs Thatcher at the time of the Falklands War.
The book is remarkable for its penetrating and highly perceptive insights into the character and state of the British nation. Raban is able to form a detached view of his country whilst out at sea, and quite rightly he finds there is more to criticize than praise. However, rather than taking the battering ram approach of his eccentric predecessors (whom he ironically describes in his story), he uses beautifully crafted language to describe the life of a single-handed sailor in awe of the power of the sea, with detailed almost lyrical descriptions of the characters and encounters he meets along the way. There are two passages that I am particulary fond of. One is of a rather hostile meeting with Paul Theroux at Brighton marina, himself in the midst of researching a similar book about Britain on foot, and a much friendlier one with Philip Larkin at Hull, a city that Raban knows well from his student days and working as a part-time minicab driver.
This is a writer at the very heights of his craft. Having become disillusioned with so much low-grade modern writing, it is a delight to come across an author who is on a par with some of the great writers of the past. Whereas 'A Passage to Juneau' and 'Hunting Mr Heartbreak' are similar in theme but more localized in their American context, I consider 'Coasting' his best novel because it so successfully reflects and intertwines Raban's perspective on his own life with that of the British nation.
Excellent read, thoroughly recommend it. - Rated
This title makes compulsive reading for every escapist who looks to the sea for salvation. I myself read it cover to cover in one session, so please give it a go and see if you submit to the same call. I don't think you will be dissapointed in fact I think you will be left wishing for more! (I originally put my review on an oop spoken word, apologies to anyone who noticed but I was very keen at the time!)
A brilliant meditation. - Rated
Jonathan Raban takes to the water to write a rich account of English culture and personal history. His voyage in a patched-up boat, stocked with books, is the embodiment of a million (probably largely male) escapist fantasies. Coasting is packed with beautifully crafted phrases, fertile ideas and acutely observed passages which make you laugh out loud. This was my first encounter with Jonathan Raban's writing, since when I have made a thorough nuisance of myself recommending him to everyone I meet. Non-fiction doesn't get much better than this.
Travel at its best. - Rated 
Raban's study of England and the English is a standout peice of travel writing. By eschewing a linear structure, and talking generally about his voyage, the sea and his childhood when the mood takes him, Raban is able to get to the core of what being English is. The voyage then becomes an intimately personal but utterly fascinating blend of autobiography and reportage. The intricacies of Falklands war, the embarassment of growing up, the consciousness of an increasingly fragmented nation are all discussed with seriousness and wit. He loses one star for being just the teeniest bit boring when he bangs on about the sea.
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