In America: Travels with John Steinbeck - Hardcover

Mak, Geert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184655702X ISBN 13: 9781846557026

Publisher: Harvill Secker, 2014

Synopsis

In 1960 John Steinbeck and his dog Charley set out in their green pickup truck to rediscover the soul of America, visiting small towns and cities from New York to New Orleans. As Steinbeck said to a friend: ‘I must see how the country looks and smells and sounds.’ The trip became Travels With Charley, one of his best-loved books.

Half a century on, Geert Mak sets off from Steinbeck’s home with his wife and his sat-nav Sandy. Mile after mile, as he retraces Steinbeck’s footsteps through the potato fields of Maine to the endless prairies of the Midwest, sits down to eat with farmers, workers, fishermen and teachers, stumbles across glistening suburbs and boarded-up stores, he searches for the roots of America and what remains of the world Steinbeck describes.

Part biography, part cultural history, In America asks how America has changed in the last fifty years; what’s happened to Main Street, USA, and the American dream; and what do we, Europe and America, have in common in the twenty-first century?

About this title

Review:

"Where Steinbeck generally avoided the hubbub of big cities, Mak balances descriptions of the rural plains and towns that symbolize the country's early origins with fascinating sections on urban growth and decay... An ambitious and enjoyable take on America's story" (Times Literary Supplement)

"Rambling, thoughtful, often funny... Wonderful" (Guardian)

"[A] smart, deep-rooted state of the nation report from Main Street, USA" (The Times)

"Perfect for armchair travellers" (Choice Magazine)

"The lyrical story of two journeys interwoven with a broad history and witty observations about the changes of place and people over the past 50 years" (Julia Richardson Daily Mail)

Book Description:

Following in Steinbeck's footsteps, half a century on from Travels With Charley

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvill Secker
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 184655702X
• ISBN 13: 9781846557026
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 560