An exciting book that takes travel writing to a new frontier ! Wouldn’t it be a great adventure, said kayak voyager Jim Payne, to copy a rowboat trip that famous naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau took in 1839 on the Concord River? It sounded easy, but once upon the restless waters in a kayak that has a habit of tipping over, Payne has more white-knuckle moments than he bargained for. To this expedition, Payne adds a parallel voyage into history and philosophy. As he connects with Thoreau’s place and time, Payne introduces Thoreau’s ideas, his thoughts on nature, consumerism, authority and religion. With uncanny coincidence, these themes come to life in Payne’s encounters with people and events in voyaging through Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The result is a thought-provoking adventure tale by a master humorist and travel writer