'Drifting' Author to Sign His Book

Newport author and freelance writer Mike Freeman signs his book, "Drifting: Two Weeks on the Hudson," at Barrington Books on Saturday afternoon, June 23.

The book is described as a candid account of Freeman's two-week canoe trip down the Hudson River. It offers an "introspective and humorous look at both the river and recession-era Americ," according to its publisher.

Freeman, a fisheries assistant at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for 10 years, will sign his book at 1 pm.

Freeman takes the caneo trip as a new father and fresh from his 10 years of living in an Alaskan village, according to the back cover of the book. He sets out to relearn his country and ends up realizing it's in a greater midlife crisis than he could ever be.

Freeman leaves on the trip from the headwaters of the river in the Adirondacks. He drifts past industrial ghost towns; the Hudson Valley and its 153-mile estuary, where agriculture is being redefined and West Point still turns out Army officers; through the Hudson Highlands, and on to Manhattan, the world's financial center.

The book makes readers think about America as the country drifts toward an uncertain future. Throughout the book is the Hudson "as a great river and a great metaphor," according to author, educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben.