When you're reading a first-person travel account, it *is* like traveling with someone; if you don't like them, the most wondrous scenery, delicious food, and enlightening experiences somehow can't compensate for unpleasant company. I can't say I enjoyed traveling with Ken Ilgunas--he has odd ideas about women and marriage, is singularly mean to his mother, and often doesn't have the courage of his anti-pipeline convictions. But it's hard to imagine that a walk across two First World countries could be dangerous until you read this book; hostile property-owners, suspicious cops, and aggressive cows challenged Ilgunas's desire to trace the pipeline's path. The book is particularly timely now, given the anti-pipeline protests in North Dakota. Worth a read.