Qayaq

"This slim volume, originally intended as a catalog in support of the only museum exhibition ever devoted solely to these nimble little craft, offers an accessible review of much of what is know about traditional kayaks. Even though the form has existed with remarkable consistency for at least 2000 years, the skin boats of arctic hunters now constitute an endangered breed; they are resilient at sea but fragile in storage, so perhaps at most 300 original kayaks, decked-over skin vessels with cockpits for individual paddlers, have survived in collections worldwide. It is author Zimmerly's…