'Trespassing Across America' will take you on a powerful, 1,700-mile journey

"To travel alone, I'd learned, isn't to rely on yourself. To travel alone is to force yourself to depend on others. It is to fall in love with mankind."

So writes author and environmentalist Ken Ilgunas in his book Trespassing Across America. In it, Ilgunas documents his 146-day, 1,700-mile journey hiking the route of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

But Ilgunas's hike is more than just about the love of travel. His journey was inspired by a mixture of personal existentialism (the kind that comes from being an adventurer who finds himself stuck washing dishes in Alaska) and part advocacy about global warming. As Ilgunas travels the distance of the Keystone XL pipeline --  from Alberta, Canada to Port Arthur, Texas -- he explores America's oil dependency, the history of the American landscape and just what the pipeline means for the communities and ecosystems it is routed to bisect.

Part stirring travel memoir and part powerful exploration of the environment, Trespass Across America is an eye-opening look at the beauty of the earth and forces that threaten it.

This month, Mashable's social book club MashReads is reading Trespassing Across of America. 

You can join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. And don't forget to use the hashtag #MashReads to let us know what you think of the book.

Ilgunas will also be stopping by MashableHQ in New York City on May 24 at 6:30pm ET to chat about the book and his journey. We hope that you can join us. You can RSVP here.

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