What possible serendipity could bring together the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, a talking frog and a mountain man? You may believe that much is known about Americas finest philosopher. But the sage of Concord has an imaginative side unrevealed until now. You are invited into his mysterious world, and into his contemplative walks to Walden Pond where he encountered Henry Thorough, the frog he mentored toward self-realization and, ultimately, ascension. Author Phil Gates sets his novel in the middle of the Civil War while the explosive energy of westward expansion moves at a frenzied pace. The story of their perilous cross-country journey to Californias gold fields in 1863 is a rambunctious and delightful saga. Its tapestry includes the movers and shakers of the 19th century the politicians, preachers, soldiers, trappers, charlatans and poets. It leads us to inquire and perhaps to answer lifes fundamental question: Who am I? It would be a shame to miss this adventure. Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old. R.W. Emerson