Uneasy Rider: The Interstate Way of Knowledge (Vintage Departures) - Softcover

Bryan, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0679742654 ISBN 13: 9780679742654

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1998

Synopsis

"Engagingly curious open-mindedness . . . an amiable deadpan worthy of Richard Ford." --Pico Iyer, Time

in this offbeat and original road book, cultural observer Mike Bryan takes issue with the traditional idea that the "real" America is to be found somewhere on our scenic backroads. He argues instead that it is right out in the open on the interstates, and he travels the big highways of the Southwest to prove the point.

Bryan engages motel operators, state troopers, and traveling salesmen. He discovers the world's only "No Smoking" ranch; hobnobs with elusive novelist Cormac McCarthy; spars with Bob Sundown, who prefers his covered wagon to any car. Between encounters he contemplates everything from America's pioneering spirit to its history of road building. In the end, he discovers that the interstates, far from producing the homogenous society he feared, nourish a rich community of eccentrics. And that ultimately, as this deeply romantic travelogue shows, there is no such thing as an "ordinary American."

"A wonderful writer, he manages to transmit his enjoyment of the places and people he encounters." --Austin American-Statesman

About this title

About the Author

Mike Bryan has written and collaborated on books about topics ranging from golf and baseball to travel and religion. His credits include Uneasy Rider, Baseball Lives, and Cal Ripken's bestselling autobiography, The Only Way I Know. He lives in New York City.

From the Back Cover

"Engagingly curious open-mindedness . . . an amiable deadpan worthy of Richard Ford." --Pico Iyer, Time
in this offbeat and original road book, cultural observer Mike Bryan takes issue with the traditional idea that the "real" America is to be found somewhere on our scenic backroads. He argues instead that it is right out in the open on the interstates, and he travels the big highways of the Southwest to prove the point.
Bryan engages motel operators, state troopers, and traveling salesmen. He discovers the world's only "No Smoking" ranch; hobnobs with elusive novelist Cormac McCarthy; spars with Bob Sundown, who prefers his covered wagon to any car. Between encounters he contemplates everything from America's pioneering spirit to its history of road building. In the end, he discovers that the interstates, far from producing the homogenous society he feared, nourish a rich community of eccentrics. And that ultimately, as this deeply romantic travelogue shows, there is no such thing as an "ordinary American."
"A wonderful writer, he manages to transmit his enjoyment of the places and people he encounters." --Austin American-Statesman

Edition details

• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679742654
• ISBN 13: 9780679742654
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 364