''Two and a Half Men in a Boat'' is a 1993

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

book written by English novelist, screenwriter and playwright Nigel Williams describing his travel on the Thames inspired by

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

's book ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...

''. The book has been described as"a whimsical account of a lazy trip up the Thames with friends" but was written to pay a tax bill of £28,000. Like Jerome, Williams travels in a

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have devel ...

with his dog Badger and two friends, BBC executive Alan (

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its collap ...

{{Cite web , url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/13/alan-yentob-last-impresario-bbc , title=Alan Yentob: the last impresario , last=Knight , first=Sam , date=2016-12-13 , website=The Guardian , language=en-GB , access-date=2018-08-26) and professional explorer John Paul, called JP. The book describes their journey, with frequent references to Jerome and his book. At first, Alan is reluctant to go, but is persuaded to meet them halfway, after being promised the use of a

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

. JP is, as an experienced adventurer, comfortable with sleeping outdoors but the rowing takes its toll. They are at times towed, which makes Williams reflect on the morality of rowers being towed. Food and its preparation plays an important part, with a detailed description of how William's wife Suzan prepares a lavish picnic. Footnotes are used throughout, with the preparation of the above picnic placed in one footnote spanning several pages.

References

1993 non-fiction books British travel books Hodder & Stoughton books Books about England Culture associated with the River Thames