Path of the Paddle by Bill Mason is the classic, timeless treatise on canoeing, whether flatwater or whitewater. The clear and detailed descriptions with accompanying photos and illustrations are the best you will get from a book. Gimpy is right, though. You can watch Ted Williams hit home runs on classic sports shows a thousand times, but unless you get out and practice you couldn't do that to save your soul. Anyway, the book is available in any respectable public library, which I am sure Kansas would have. I usually check it out from our local library and flip through it on the road trip to Quetico and back each year. Several canoe manufacturers claim that Bill Mason endorses their models.

Posted by Yeehaw! on November 16, 2000 at 21:19