David Gessner

After the Deepwater Horizon well was capped in 2010, most reporters and government officials turned away from the unfolding narrative: the story was over. But for one writer the unimaginable amount of oil spilled into the ocean was only the beginning—initiating a journey into the heart of Gulf country and an exploration of the wildlife and humans who call it home.

With a tragically leaky canoe, a broken cell phone, a cooler of beer, and a passionate environmental planner in tow, the author sets off on a rough-and-tumble journey down Boston’s Charles River. Along the way, the vision of a new sort of eco-champion begins to emerge: someone who falls in love with a forgotten space, and then fights like hell for it.