Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0897320506, Paperback)

Anyone who kayaks--or would like to--will get a laugh out of Kayak: The Animated Manual of Intermediate and Advanced Whitewater Technique. Author William Nealy draws on his 12 years of whitewater experience to combine instruction and kayaking philosophies with his offbeat sense of humor. Through animated diagrams, Nealy explains intermediate paddling techniques, different types of Eskimo rolls, river rescue, and running a river at flood stage. The chapter on hydrotypography ("the art of using watery features to your maximum advantage") provides an excellent tutorial on river dynamics. The book's animated style is especially useful for illustrating the dynamics of eddies, ledges, holes, and other river features. Despite the humor, safety is Nealy's primary message in Kayak.