My dear friend Jesse Kornbluth,  the founder and resident genius of the cultural concierge website Head Butler (among many other things)–contacted me a few months ago about a book project he had in the hopper. He was planning to collaborate with Charles Reich, one-time Yale Law professor and author of the game-changing environmental book The Greening of America, on a new edition of the book.

Charles lives in San Francisco, so Jesse asked me to spend a little time with him, helping him address some technological issues he was having. Which is hilarious, given how un-tech-savvy I am, but whatever. So on a cold, rather blowy San Francisco afternoon in November, I set out for the unknown.

What I got was a great photo opportunity (a couple of my photos made it into the back of the book), as well as a journey into what the writer Cynthia Ozick refers to as “the mazy mind” of Charles Reich. The man is a brilliant thinker and orator–it’s easy to see why he was one of the most popular teachers at Yale Law.

And now the book is out, available for Kindle or Nook, and I suggest that you go buy it right away. For one thing, it costs less than a latte. For another, you may just end up inspired in a way you haven’t been since you were a youngster, and if you are a youngster, perhaps it will inspire you in a way you have heretofore never experienced.

And who doesn’t need a good dose of inspiration now and again?

All photos shot with Hipstamatic, John S lens, Rock BW-11 film.