“This quietly profound book belongs on the shelf next to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild.” —The New York Times The riveting true story of Dick Conant, an American folk hero who, over the course of more than twenty years, canoed solo thousands of miles of American rivers—and then disappeared near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This book “contains everything: adventure, mystery, travelogue, and unforgettable characters” (David Grann, best-selling author of Killers of the Flower Moon). For decades, Dick Conant paddled the rivers of America, covering the Mississippi, Yellowstone, Ohio, Hudson, as well as innumerable smaller tributaries. These solo excursions were epic feats of planning, perseverance, and physical courage. At the same time, Conant collected people wherever he went, creating a vast network of friends and acquaintances who would forever remember this brilliant and charming man even after a single meeting. Ben McGrath, a staff writer at The New Yorker, was one of those people. In 2014 he met Conant by chance just north of New York City as Conant paddled down the Hudson, headed for Florida. McGrath wrote a widely read article about their encounter, and when Conant's canoe washed up a few months later, without any sign of his body, McGrath set out to find the people whose lives Conant had touched--to capture a remarkable life lived far outside the staid confines of modern existence. Riverman is a moving portrait of a complex and fascinating man who was as troubled as he was charismatic, who struggled with mental illness and self-doubt, and was ultimately unable to fashion a stable life for himself; who traveled alone and yet thrived on connection and brought countless people together in his wake. It is also a portrait of an America we rarely see: a nation of unconventional characters, small river towns, and long-forgotten waterways.

"Touch Nature: Art in the Age of the Climate Crisis" extends the dialogue initiated by the group exhibition "Touch Nature," held at the Austrian Cultural Forum in 2023/24. It captures a dynamic conversation exploring the profound impact of human activity on the environment and climate. Artists delve into pressing issues like global food systems, epidemics, and the legacy of colonialism, with many drawing inspiration from nature's restorative qualities and its role in various mythologies. Artists featured: Uli Aigner, Edward Burtynsky, Petah Coyne, Mark Dion, Ines Doujak, Titanilla Eisenhart, Michael Endlicher, TIME GATES, Peter Hauenschild, Barbara Anna Husar, Kevin King, Kitty Kino, Christiane Löhr, Yvonne Oswald, Monika Pichler, Klaus Pichler (in collaboration with Maren Jeleff and Martin Kirchmair), Margot Pilz, PRINZpod, Luisa Rabbia, Oliver Ressler, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Gregor Sailer, Marielis Seyler, Elisabeth von Samsonow, Martin Schrampf, Rebecca Smith, Betsy Weis, Nives Widauer, Laurent Ziegler and Balint Zsako.

Article abstracts and citations of reviews and dissertations covering the United States and Canada.

Includes music (mostly songs with piano accompaniment).