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Book SynopsisBrilliant, clear, and humane' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, LoveMiraculous and hopeful' Emma Straub, author of All Adults HereQuietly profound belongs on the shelf next to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild' New York TimesRiverman: An American Odyssey uncovers the story of an extraordinary man and his puzzling disappearance, and paints a picture of the singular spirit of America's riverbank towns.The peace of mind I found, largely alone, on that white-water mecca convinced me that life was capable of exquisite pleasure and undefined meaning deep in the face of failure. The experience itself is the reward.' Dick ConantOn his forty-third birthday, Dick Conant, a golden boy who never quite grew up as those around him expected, stepped into a homemade boat to embark on a journey despite a gathering snowstorm. Among his possessions was a Gideon Bible and biographies of Einstein and Bismark. It was the beginning of an all-consuming odyssey by an unconventional man into the watery arteri
Trade Review‘This is a beautifully told and near-mythical tale of one man’s quest to find peace through communion with nature, and through perpetual motion. My heart was deeply stirred by Riverman, and by Ben McGrath’s brilliant, clear, and humane storytelling. This one will stay with me for a long time’ Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
‘Riverman is as miraculous and hopeful as its protagonist, the Zelig of America’s waterways, Dick Conant. It’s a great book for people like me, who read Into the Wild but have shed our self-destructive wanderlust and settled into middle age. This book will make you want to buy a canoe and spend less time on Instagram’ Emma Straub, bestselling author of All Adults Here
‘McGrath’s reconstruction of Dick Conant’s tangled career and yearning soul is so meticulous, so obsessive, that Conant comes to life on the page as vividly as any character in American literature. Conant wanted his story told. Here it is, in all its pathos and sheer unlikeliness. You will never see rivers and the towns on their banks the same way after reading Riverman. Ditto, I predict, for expansive, raggedy strangers’ William Finnegan, bestselling author of Pulitzer Prize winner Barbarian Days
‘This quietly profound book belongs on the shelf next to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild’ New York Times
‘Superb … McGrath captures his subject with warmth and humour’ Wall Street Journal
‘Captivating … A paean to eccentricity and endurance and a study of a life that changed the chronicler’s own perceptions … A memorable and intoxicating exploration of what we make of those who reinvent themselves’ Kirkus, starred review
