Rushton and His Times in American Canoeing

If you all you know about old canoes is that some of them were made of wood and they looked as elegant as violins, then this book will show you that a) you were correct and b) there's lots of history swirling around that bit of knowledge you have. It gives an excellent description of America in a time when there were actual wildernesses within traveling distance from the big cities, and it details how the activity of wilderness camping came about. Along the way you learn a ton about not only Rushton's incredibly elegant and sturdy canoes, but about how the whole canoe industry came about in this country. It's a must read for any canoeing enthusiast, and particularly for anyone thinking about actually building a historic wooden canoe. That's what brought me to the book. It was great to see just much variation there was in the boats being built back then. That's helpful when you're trying to build an "authentic" canoe from the late 1800's. Rushton would regularly tweak the length, sheer, rocker... you name it to satisfy his customers. He's a great example of an industry leader who got there through hard work, attention to craftsmanship, and near constant experimentation based on the feedback from his customers.