In 1899, railroad magnate Edward H. Harriman organised a most unusual summer voyage to the wilds of Alaska: He converted a steamship into a luxury 'floating university,' populated by some of America's best and brightest scientists and writers, including the anti-capitalist eco-prophet John Muir. More than a hundred years later, Mark Adams sets out to retrace the 1899 expedition. Along the way, he encounters dozens of unusual characters (and a couple of very hungry bears) and investigates how lessons learned in 1899 might relate to Alaska's current struggles in adapting to climate change.