Astray of the Herd: Observations, Commentaries and Rants from Outside the Mainstream

by Scott B. Williams

If you’ve ever felt left behind, out-of-step or just plain bewildered by the stampeding madness of the herd-like behavior of modern life, come along with Scott B. Williams on an irreverent and humorous examination of the materialism, technology and regulations of contemporary America. Williams shares his perspective as one who lives on the fringes of the mainstream. Just as Henry David Thoreau went to Walden Pond in 1845 to seek simplicity and separation from his peers in nature, Williams chose to go astray by paddling a 17-foot kayak to the Caribbean. Astray of the Herd is a collection of observations resulting from his life on “island time” with little money, no job, and boundless freedom to ponder the deeper questions of life. Read this book for a laugh, give it to your stressed-out friends, or get inspired to do some straying of your own.

From the

"Astray of the Herd is quite different from my other works. This is a light-hearted
but half-serious collection of observations resulting from all the time I've spent out
in the wilds and on the water. It's a bit philosophical, mostly humorous and
always irreverent. The structure of the book is associational chaining
from one topic to the next, and consists of 75 short chapters discussing each of
these topics. The topics are built around a loose narrative of my Caribbean sea
kayak trip, about which I have written a more serious adventure travel
On Island Kayaking the Caribbean, University Press of Mississippi, May
2005. Astray of the Herd is more of a whimsical look at all the things that make
some of us wilderness lovers want to "check out" and exit "the herd" for awhile."

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2005

About the author

Scott B. Williams has been writing about his adventures for more than twenty-five years. His published work includes dozens of magazine articles and twenty-five books, with more projects currently underway.

His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.

With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com