Jeremy Seal writes in Meander not just of his adventures from source to sea across Anatolia but also — with flair and insight — of people, places and of the complexities of life in modern Turkey. Rich in historical associations, the Meander, for obvious reasons, presents some challenges to navigation. The Greek geographer Strabo described it as “running in a direction excessively tortuous.” Taking up the challenge, Jeremy Seal (A Fez of the Heart, Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat) sets out to paddle from source to sea, an occasion to wax eloquent on ancient history, his adventures in out-of-the-way places and, especially, on Turkey today. He is, ahem, digressive, part of the charm of this engrossing travelogue. Aimlessness, after all, is an alluring virtue — particularly on a languid summer afternoon. For aficionados, Seal, no great athlete, was very pleased with his Packboat Puffin canoe, as seen above tied up to a stray column on the shores of Lake Bafa. Photo by the author.