“Drinking from the Stream” by Richard Scott Sacks

Drinking from the Stream 

Richard Scott Sacks 
Koehler Books (2025)
ISBN 979-8888246436 
Reviewed by Sarah Nichole January for Reader Views (01/2026) 

When life gets tough, the impulse for many of us is to run. For some, they just need to take a drive out of town for a few days. Other times, it feels as if you have to get as far away as possible to try to escape your problems. Drinking from the Stream by Richard Scott Sacks examines two young men from 1970s America who are both attempting to leave their troubled lives behind. Though they have vastly different reasons for doing so, they embark on a journey together that shows them a different side of the world and each other.

Jake Reis and Karl Appel come from very different walks of life. While Jake is a blue-collar worker who had a rougher life, Karl is a more privileged academic who has had many opportunities, but also has an activist’s spirit. and a few problems of his own.  The young men meet by chance after leaving the United States and ending up in Oxford, England, while Karl is pursuing his education there. Both men are on the run from different things in their lives, and decide to leave the established safety of Europe for the relative unknowns of Africa. 

With limited money and few supplies, the two companions set off for Ethiopia. As they navigate their way across the country, they are met with new experiences right off the bat. The men interact with other travelers from America and Europe, as well as with the local populations, as they travel the continent. The culture they encountered was different from anything they had ever experienced before, from the food to social customs to politics. However, it was the politics of the regions to which they travel that leaves long lasting impressions. 

The characters of Jake and Karl are well-developed, multifaceted, and intelligent, which is something I always appreciate. With the story being set in Africa during the 1960s and 70s, Sacks does an amazing job covering all of the political unrest and conflict going on during this time. I learned so much about the chaotic governments of places like Ethiopia and Rwanda that I hadn’t been aware of before. I also enjoyed the subtle comparison to the racial tensions and political mayhem going on in the United States as well. The speed and structure of this story were well done, as it kept moving but also allowed time for the reader to process the historical events taking place.

I loved the author’s writing style because Sacks does a great job of helping the reader paint a picture of the events he describes. As a lover of history, I enjoyed Drinking from the Stream very much. Even though it is a fictional tale, it addresses historical events in a way that I think readers of any genre would enjoy.