This, my second book for Harvard University Press was published in celebration of the bicentennial of Thoreau’s birth on July 12, 1817. By October 5, Library Journal had listed it as a bestseller in the category Environmental Science.
Blurbs
“The Boatman presents a whole new Thoreau — the river rat. This is not just groundbreaking, but fun.” David Gessner.
“Robert Thorson reminds us why Thoreau is so essential to our environmentally imperiled times.” Robert A. Gross.
Selected Reviews
NPR – National Public Radio, Alex Ashlock: “A new book offers a different take on the famous author and naturalist.”
Wall Street Journal, John Kaag: “Thorson argues convincingly—sometimes beautifully—that Thoreau’s thinking and writing were integrally connected to paddling and sailing.”
New York Review of Books, Robert Pouge Harrison: “Thorson’s book offers the reader an in-depth account of Thoreau’s lifelong love of boats, his skill as a navigator, his intimate knowledge of the waterways around Concord, and his extensive survey of the Concord River.”
New York Times, John Williams: “The Boatman, about Thoreau’s relationship to the Concord River and alterations made to it during his lifetime, promises what the publisher, Harvard University, calls, “the most complete account to date of this ‘flowage controversy.’ ”
Los Angeles Review of Books, Daegan Miller: “The Boatman is an impressive feat of empirical research, and Thorson’s conclusions are an important contribution to the scholarship on Thoreau as a natural scientist.”
Environmental History, Dale Potts: “Thorson has written a definitive work on Thoreau’s river journals that is erudite and accessible.”
American Scientist, Diane Timblin: “Years of meticulous research by geologist Thorson went into the making of this penetrating, revelatory book that delves into Thoreau’s pioneering work in river science.”
Image Gallery
Sample of images from the book shown in color with short captions.
Ten Takeaways
Ten key content takeaways from the book.
Launch
Sample of events associated with the launch of The Boatman.
Media and Scholarly Reviews
Online Repository
Link to Online Repository for many things that support the book bsuch as tables of data, charts, and dense text, but which could not be included in the book.
Photo: Cover by Joan Cocak, titled “Concord River.”