Westward I Go Free Tracing Thoreau&39s Last Journey [Paperback]

While Henry David Thoreau’s travels to the Maine Woods and Cape Cod were well documented and have been followed by “Thoreauvians” for decades, his 1861 “journey west” with Horace Mann, Jr.—which took the duo from Massachusetts to Minnesota and back—was left to be veiled in mystery. This book details this, the last, longest, and least-known of Thoreau’s excursions. The story of two 19th-century men and the 21st-century woman who was determined to follow their 4,000-mile path, this account will intrigue history buffs as they follow in the footsteps of a popular American writer and naturalist.

Meticulously researched, brimming with energy and wit, it admirably fills an omission that previous biographies have been content to skip over.   —Jerry Dennis, author,The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas

In her superbly written and researched book, she takes us to the places where Thoreau went and describes them, then and now. In addition, she enriches each segment of their trip with her own 'Thoreauvian adventure,' which reveals fascinating connections with Thoreau and others, from Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin to lilacs on Michigan’s Mackinac Island.   —J. Parker Huber, author,The Wildest Country: Exploring Thoreau's Maine

Corinne H. Smith has woven a complex tapestry of history, biography, and acute observation that would delight the sage of Walden Pond.   —David K. Leff, author,Deep Travel: In Thoreau's Wake on the Concord and Merrimack