The author reminds me of William Least-Heat Moon, but with a bit more edge. He is an Englishman who read Huckleberry Finn as a kid and fell in love with the river. He describes most of the people he meets with thinly-disguised ridicule, especially if they aren't liberal and sophisticated enough for his tastes.

But he's an excellent writer and observer and has a lot more guts than I do.